New arrivals don’t leave Brown waiting for chemistry
PHILADELPHIA >> Brett Brown, who once was made to coach 16 point guards in two years as the Sixers processed a rebuilding plan, arrived for work Friday ready to start a lineup of five players with All-Star ability.
So instead of hoping to identify one Sixer capable of scoring, he had to find four on any one possession willing to let someone else give that a try.
His primary instruction: Share the ball. The result: Five starters playing at least 32:29 and scoring at least 12 points in a 117-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
“You want to pass and you want to play and you want to move,” he said. “It’s not my instinct to act as a waiter: He needs to eat, now he needs to eat, now he needs to eat, and let’s deliver food. That’s no way to play or coach. And to share the ball and coexist and to read the sport interests me the most.
“They are going to get each other shots. Some of this, they are going to have to figure out themselves. Some of this is going to be organic.”
That, at least, was the blueprint.
Brown, though, made one thing clear about the new project’s foundation.
“Joel Embiid is still the crown jewel,” he said. “Everybody should hear that.”
While the new-look Sixers eventually will morph into their own identity, their first appearance was successful, with J.J. Redick (34 points), Jimmy Butler (22), Embiid (15), Tobias Harris (14) and Ben Simmons (12) sharing the ball … and the applause from the capacity crowd of 20,627.
“What I really liked was the fourth quarter,” Harris said. “It was like, it’s your turn, now it’s your turn, now it’s your turn. And we were all able to make plays and live with those plays. That was awesome to see.”
His two most visible inseason acquisitions, Harris and Butler, are unsigned past this season. Elton Brand, however, made it clear that he had the OK from ownership to pay to keep them around.
“Absolutely,” the general manager said. “I have gotten all the assurances from our managing partners that we can bring them back and sign who we have to sign.”
Brown expected nothing less.
“I knew, talking with Elton, that if something needed to be done, we were going to be aggressive,” he said. “And I think the ownership group with Josh Harris and David Blitzer deserve a lot of credit. They approved it. At the end of the day, they allowed Elton and our program to do it. And now I am the recipient of the most talent we’ve had in our program since I have been here.
“I feel the responsibility of getting this right. But it is a fantastic situation.”
Brown knows that unfilled NBA responsibilities are often followed by a coaching change. He accepts it, too.
“It’s why I came here,” he said. “I’ll trade that for whatever pressure is coming my way, all day, every day. That’s what you coach for. You work a lifetime to be as good as you can be as a coach. Now, here we are, and we actually have a team that has a chance to do something incredibly unique. And if all that means that there is additional pressure, so be it.”
Embiid was listed as questionable before the game due to stomach distress, according to Brown. He would log 33:23 and provide 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“He wanted to come out and be a part of this,” Brown said. “We have a new team. You can feel the excitement. You can feel the vibe. He wasn’t able to keep any food down for 48 hours. And he played lethargic offensively. But defensively, he was excellent.”
At 7-feet-3 with a 7-10 wingspan and able to dunk practically without jumping, Boban Marjanovic is a unique player. Friday, he played 14:37 and scored four points.
Brown envisions situations where his new center can play alongside Embiid.
“When you roll out bookends of 7-2 and 7-3 and try that pairing,” Brown said, “I think that is going to be exciting.”
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James Ennis, acquired from Houston at the deadline, played 14:37 and shot 2-for-3 for six points.
“I was kind of shocked at first, but things happen,” he said of the trade. “It’s a business. So who doesn’t want to come here? When I heard I was coming here, I was very excited and thankful.
“It’s a good team. It’s hard to beat. It has AllStars. We played them and they beat us pretty good when we came up here. So joining them is a blessing.”