Still time for Brown to find right answers
PHILADELPHIA >> To Brett Brown, there is never one 82-game NBA season. There are three mini-seasons, each with their own challenges.
There is the portion of the season from training camp through the Christmas day showcase events. There is the middle portion, stretching to the All-Star break. Then, there is the final sprint for playoff seeding.
This season, Brown’s Sixers survived the first two segments. Because they did, they have a chance to find satisfaction in the third.
Brown was discussing that the other night after an interesting and impressive 110-103 victory over the championship minded Los Angeles Clippers. The particulars of that 55th game of the season were predictably clouded by the usual, because around the Sixers, there’s always something unnecessary generating news. That’s why Ben Simmons’ game-defining late defensive passion against Kawhi Leonard was much less discussed than some goofy so-
“We love to compete. And you see that from everybody on the floor. They love to come in and compete and hustle and make those plays. And it’s kind of just trickling down to everybody on the team.” – 76ers player Ben Simmons on the team’s play before the All-Star break.
cial-media posting from Joel Embiid. It’s why Al Horford’s improved play, clearly a result of his move from the starting lineup, was obscured by an obsession over whether he agreed with the move. And it explained why Josh Richardson’s play, a 24-point effort that suggested developing greatness, was barely noticed through the intense study of what percentage of the capacity crowd had come to boo.
But that’s what the Sixers were as they hit the All-Star break: Improved, intense and impossible to dismiss.
“We love to compete,” Simmons said. “And you see that from everybody on the floor. They love to come in and compete and hustle and make those plays. And it’s kind of just trickling down to everybody on the team.”
It is, but it must continue, which is why Brown left the Wells Fargo Center Tuesday with a promise to go underground. He would welcome a few days to not have to answer familiar questions, and had plans to encamp somewhere and study film, statistics, printouts and his own performance. He knew he faced rough decisions, and that how they were handled could impact his continued employment as head coach.
Presented with two fresh shooters at the Feb. 6 trade deadline, neither of whom would be out of place in an NBA starting lineup, Brown would be confronted by the one decision he never would have expected in training camp: Picking a starting lineup. Specifically, Brown would have to find the motivation to continue to use Horford as backup center, freeing the lane for Embiid to establish an early-game presence.
Since the Sixers have committed $109 million and four years to Horford, that is a tricky coaching move. And while Horford was accepting Tuesday, he was more professional than enthused. Brown’s initial move was to use the recently sizzling Furkan Korkmaz in place of Horford. But the Clippers showed how ordinary he can be once he rates premium space in a scouting report. A better option would be to turn to Alec Burks on the wing, with the knowledge that he can also handle the point and, as result, allow Simmons to frolic underneath, where he has been a remarkable finisher. Wherever he turns, Brown must continue to use Horford as a multi-purpose bench player, keeping the option to pair him later in games with Embiid. He did that successfully late in the second half against the Clippers. “I am not ready to anoint this or that,” Brown said. “There are options we can call upon. There definitely needs to be a symmetry and a consistency at some point. But sometimes, the games dictate the matchups.” In this league, bullpen-by-committee is always risky. Brown has a high-paid team including many veterans who will demand distinct roles. He has implied that he eventually would have a postseason rotation in place, but that it may not be visible until some time after the All-Star Game. But with only 27 games to play, he doesn’t have much time for experimentation. What Brown does have is a deep team that has survived a 9-19 road record to be within reasonable range of finishing in third place in the Eastern Conference, a spot good for homecourt advantage in the first playoff round. “I say this in an excited way,” Brown said. “This is not a traditional-type team. It isn’t. And it has taken us this long to try to figure some things out. But we have arrived at this place, and we’re learning.” The Sixers went 2310 in the first portion of the season, learning that Simmons will never be an outside shooter, even if it means publicly making his coach look weak. They went 11-11 in the second chunk, learning that they had to find shooting in some places and how to best attack a zone defense. As for the final third, the time for learning has passed. Last year, due to injuries and relentless roster upheaval, Brown never had his preferred lineup and rotation in place long enough to attain peak comfort. He must avoid a repeat of that situation. “It’s the optionality and complexity of the team that is exciting,” Brown said. “And it has prolonged some of these things that we’ve talked about.” Brown does have options, exciting or otherwise. If used wisely, they should make the Sixers better on the road late in the season, even if it is unreasonable to expect them to continue winning 25 out of every 27 home games. A regular lineup of Embiid, Simmons, Richardson, Burks and Tobias Harris, supplemented by Horford, Matisse Thybulle, Robinson and Korkmaz has a chance to thrive. As the last third of the season hits, Brown is out of time to get it right.