By Joe Tobia
The whole city of Philadelphia, as well as any standard NBA fan, recognizes how lethal the 76ers could be while playing at full potential. Sure, we may have a killer lineup on paper, but any athlete can attest that a coach plays a vital role in winning. I’ve been denying this thought since the post-season of the 2017-2018 Sixers season, but it is time the Sixers bring in a different head coach.
The phrase “Trust the Process” has been a mantra here in Philadelphia since before the 2013-2014 season. This phrase relates to the three-year era where Sam Hinkie, the former general manager (GM) of the team, made the decision to do something rarely many GM’s did in the NBA at the time. Hinkie planned to build a very below-average lineup, and lose as many games as possible so Philadelphia would retain higher draft picks in following year’s drafts. Before the 13-14 season began, Brett Brown was brought in from San Antonio where he was involved in many positions since 1998, most notably serving as assistant coach to Greg Popovich for the majority of his time on the Spurs bench. During his time with Popovich, Brett Brown contributed in paving the way to four NBA championships.
It’s not every day that you see an NBA assistant with four rings on his resume be given the position as head coach on a purposely losing team, but this move was a piece in the supposed “process”. Fast forward to the 17-18 season, which was viewed as the end of “the process”. As a result of this losing stint, the Sixers now had Joel Embiid, a Hakeem Olajuwon-esque dominant center, Ben Simmons, a skilled point forward with a style like Magic Johnson, and Markelle Fultz, well, who now gives any Philadelphia fan a headache at the thought of his name. The city was ready for the hype that was built to be proved on the hardwood.
Coming into the 17-18 season, ESPN projected the team to win 33 games. Throughout this first season with what seemed to be a complete lineup, Philadelphia finished third in the Eastern Conference, winning 52 games. Not only was our fan base shocked, the rest of the league was too. There was much credit due to not only our team, but to our coaching staff as well. Come the spring of 2018, it was playoff time. The playoffs are where a team’s true resilience is tested. A team could, I don’t know, have a record of 73-9 while breaking all sorts of records, make it to the Finals, and blow a 3-1 lead against LeBron James and the Cavaliers. How would a team like that be remembered? Not for their historic record, but for blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals. The point I’m trying to make is, in retrospect, the story a team writes in the 82 game stretch of the regular season does not guarantee anything in the postseason.
In the first series in the Spring of 2018, we managed to eliminate the Heat 4-1. With the feeling from blowing out the Heat, the Sixers moved on to play Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The head coach of the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens, showed that he is a mastermind of a coach regardless of his lineup. Aside from this, the Celtics had beaten us 3-1 in the regular season series. Brown and his players had to think outside the box if they wanted to prove Philly had the better squad. Unfortunately, we lost the series 4-1. But hey, we won 52 games, right? With some offseason adjustments the Sixers should be able to bounce back and manifest a different narrative for the following season.
October 16, 2018: We’re set for a redemption game against the Celtics to kick off the start of a fresh season. The team has shaken off the supposed jitters and have had a full offseason to build that chemistry we lacked, along with the coaching staff having to work to fix what we lacked. Being blown out in the season opener, doubts were already forming in the minds of the fanbase. Were we simply outplayed? Was our coaching staff out coached? What are we lacking? The franchise had the next 81 games to prove who they really can be on the court. Making early season adjustments that consisted of trading Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second round pick for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton. Jimmy Butler was the addition the team needed, right? There was now a real hope of making a championship run. We make it to the Finals, get a ring, re-sign Butler and it would be the start of a dynasty. Brett Brown had the keys to success, and all he had to do was put the key in the door. With a record of 51-31, the 76ers once again finished third in the conference. Brown did not show what the fan base was expecting with a lineup of Simmons, Butler, Fultz (I guess) and Embiid. This was alarming, but not acknowledged because we made it to the playoffs again. Everyone who follows the NBA knows how the story ended in Game 7 of the ECSF, so I’d rather not talk about it. What went wrong? We added the player with the mindset and attitude who acted as the glue to the success. Naturally, eyes went to Brown and his staff.
Something about Brown’s demeanor angers me. He seems as if he is afraid to confront the players or even discipline them when they are lacking on the court. Simmons was quoted during a post game interview saying “He [Brown] called me out a few times and yelled at me…love seeing that side of him b/c it motivates me.” (Jeff Skverskey, ABC) This proved to me it is on rare occasions that Brett yells at his players when necessary. How will your players take you seriously if you can’t even yell at them? Regardless of these observations, Jimmy Butler stated on JJ Redick’s podcast, “Hell yeah it was difficult, it was so different. On any given day, me as a person, as a player, I didn’t know who the f— was in charge. I think that was the biggest thing. I didn’t know what the f— to expect whenever I’d go into the gym, whenever I’m going to the game. … I think I was lost as the next motherf—er.” (NBC Sports Philadelphia)
Lacking leadership among other traits, this solidified in my mind that it is time Brett Brown finds a new team to attempt to coach. Don’t get me wrong, the man seems like a great person, just when he is far, far, away from the Wells Fargo Center.
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