It’s Cold and Gloomy and Brett Brown Should Be Back

Did you get out of bed today? Were you able to get your ass to work? If so, how?

Today is miserable. The Sixers lost in historic fashion. It’s Monday. It’s raining. My heat turned on…in FUCKING MAY!

I just can’t do it. I can’t get out of bed. In fact, I’m typing this on my laptop, from my bed. I don’t think I can face the day. I may just stay in bed until Wednesday when the temperature gets back above 70 degrees.

That triple, double doink shot by Kawhi was heart-wrenching. The shot was short. It should’ve rimmed out, but it didn’t and the Sixers season is over. This cold, gloomy Philly day in May feels fitting.

I’ve supported Brett Brown against vocal critics for the past couple of years. That changed a couple of months back when I just grew frustrated with the development of this team and his rotations.

As I lay here, under the covers and hiding from the world, I’m as shocked as anyone else when I say this. Brett Brown deserves to come back. He deserves another shot with this core and an actual offseason with an NBA GM.

The man has coached back-to-back 50-win seasons. The Brown-led 76ers won 50 games this year and were the third seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs this year despite having a star center playing only 62 games due to “load management” and lingering injuries and a star point guard who doesn’t shoot outside of five feet from the basket, unless it’s a half-court three-pointer at the end of a quarter or half. Think about that for a minute or two.

Brown and the 76ers entered the Postseason with a starting five that played only 10 games together and a bench that consisted of Mike Scott and James Ennis III. They stumbled out of the gate versus the Nets, but then won four straight.

Then, they took the Raptors to game 7. This is a Raptors team that arguably has the best player or two in the NBA in Kawhi Leonard and a stingy Top 10 defense, which ranks 5th in the NBA in Opponent Field Goal %. The Sixers lost on a historic, buzzer-beater in Game 7 on the road with a core that played 15 games together going into the series and with Embiid sick for a couple of games with diarrhea and an Upper Respiratory Infection. Yet, they were still right there at the end with a chance.

If you process all of that and still don’t think Brown should return, you’re just not being fair.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE THREE POSSESSIONS AT THE END OF THE 4TH QUARTER THAT WERE BASICALLY SHOT-CLOCK VIOLATIONS? THAT’S EXECUTION! THAT’S ALL BRETT BROWN AND COACHING!

Those possessions were atrocious, but you can’t put them all on Brown.

In the first possession, the game was tied 85-85 with 3:13 left on the clock. Embiid ends up with a wide-open three, but decides to drive to the basket. Jimmy even looks to be waving for Joel to shoot the open shot. Whether you agree or disagree that Embiid should be out there is another story. But, a wide-open shot was available out of the timeout.

Embiid decides to drive to the basket. He gets double teamed, then makes a pass to Butler. Kawhi makes a great play and deflects that ball so that Jimmy can’t get a clean catch and shoot. By the time Butler composes himself there’s not shot to be had.

On the following bad possession, Brown calls a pick-and-roll for Embiid and Butler. Butler draws the double team of Gasol and Kawhi, but never looks for the wide open Embiid just above the foul line.

Jimmy drives into a double team with Ibaka helping and never sees Tobias wide open in the corner while Embiid remains open in the lane.

Six seconds later, with :04 on the shot-clock, Jimmy and JJ are at the 3-point line with a mismatch after a switch. Kawhi is on Redick with Lowry on Embiid. Embiid on Lowry draws Ibaka’s attention and he helps. Ben just stands there as the shot clock runs down. That is not on the coach.

The third bad possession is with 1:41 remaining. The Sixers trail 87-85. They come out of a timeout and run a double screen for JJ with Embiid and Ben. Lowry runs through both screens. This seems to be a combination of lazy screens (Embiid and Simmons) and great hustle by Lowry. He’s a disruptive, annoying gnat. The kind of player everyone hates playing against. Maybe Redick should’ve read Lowry’s aggressiveness and cut towards the hoop.

Later in that same play Toby has the ball with :04 on the shot-clock. Raptors are playing great pressure defense and Toby misses a streaking JJ Redick, which would’ve resulted in a 2-on-1 with Redick and Ben vs. Ibaka.

Shots and opportunities were there for the Sixers on those three ugly possessions. Players just didn’t capitalize on them. That’s not on Brett Brown. I think it has a lot to do with the defensive intensity and pressure of the Raptors.

The criticism that Brown should have Embiid posting-up deeper is valid. The story all year has been Embiid’s conditioning and he looked gassed at the end. Maybe he didn’t have it in him to post-up deep vs. Gasol with all the minutes he logged.

Marc Gasol is a seasoned veteran, though. He excels on the defensive end. He’s a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year and has been named to numerous All-NBA Defensive Teams. He wasn’t giving up ground to Embiid and giving him anything deep. There were a couple of plays were Embiid tried posting, but Gasol just muscles him toward the foul line. That’s just a matter of experience. Joel will learn, grow, and improve.

Ben is 22. Joel is 25. Tobias is 26 and had only been in four playoff games before this year. The Raptors with Gasol, Lowry, and Leonard exploited the youth and inexperience of this Sixers squad. Brett Brown didn’t lose this series.

Give credit to the Raptors. They are a good team, especially defensively. The Sixers are also a good team trending in the right direction, but they’re young. They deserve another chance with the core of Butler, Ben, Joel, and Tobias. Elton Brand deserves an offseason to lock down the core and build a bench through the draft and free agency. And, Brett Brown deserves a full season with all the above. He’s not perfect, but the team plays for him and he was a miracle shot from taking the 76ers to the Conference Finals.

And hey, the Phillies are in first place so there’s that.