Scene Setter:
More than pace and space, and even defense and passing, too, there has been an underlying quality about the 76ers that’s defined the franchise during the Brett Brown era.
Through good times, and times that could be described as the polar opposite. With budding stars and proven veterans, or with players who, in past years, likely never would have gotten a shot in the NBA anywhere else, there’s one thing Brown’s teams have always done.
They’ve fought.
They’ve been tough, they’ve been gritty, they’ve been resilient.
The 2017-2018 season has been the Sixers’ best in 17 years, since their run to the NBA Finals in 2001. That is fact, and, regardless of the outcome of their second-round series with the Boston Celtics, can’t and shouldn’t be diminished.
But to attribute the Sixers’ success this year to upgrades in talent and depth alone would be to simplify the situation.
Like the previous four iterations of the Sixers that were coached by Brown, the current crop battles just as hard, and is cut from a no-quit cloth. It’s one of the leading reasons why the team has managed to accomplish as much as it has this season, and leap over all the bars that were set along the way.
Heading into Monday’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Sixers, no doubt, will need to channel every ounce of determination and perseverance they’ve got left in an effort to stave off elimination.
On the heels of a twisting, turning Game 3 Saturday that ended in a tough overtime defeat, 101-98, the Sixers now trail Boston, 0-3, in the division rivals’ best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinals series.
There is no margin for error.
But Brown, as you’d probably expect, is prepared to confront the challenge head on. More than that, he’s embracing it, in the same vein that he’s always embraced adversity, whenever it’s surfaced.
“I think there’s all an element of the reality of what a task at hand we have,” Brown said Sunday, following practice at the Sixers’ training complex.
The Sixers are hoping to make history, and become the first team ever to advance in the post-season after dropping the first three games of a series.
“We all get the numbers of how nobody has really done it, and in an inverted way, that’s a tremendous challenge for us. We’re at home. We want to try to just take care of business.”
“This team has been through a lot over the past year, so it’s not something we’re holding our head on,” said Robert Covington, who’s played more games for Brown than anyone else. “We know we’re playing against history and whatnot. Coach said the other day, ‘Why can’t we be the first ones to do it?’ Guys came in with the mentality that it doesn’t feel like we’re down 0-3. It’s just a matter of making a few adjustments, and then coming out Game 4.”
Inside the Sixers’ gym Sunday, there was no sulking. The atmosphere, instead, was, in typical fashion, upbeat and feisty.
Remove context from the equation, and there was no indication, whether in respect to body language or vibes, that the Sixers were dealing with tough odds.
That, of course, is the way Brown has managed to keep the environment surrounding the Sixers since his arrival in August of 2013.
“We’ve jumped into this in a quicker way than any of us probably would have guessed at the start of the year,” Brown said. “We’re all kind of hoping to make the Playoffs. Then, we got real greedy and wanted to win 50 games, and then we wanted to get a home court, and then we wanted to finish third [in the Eastern Conference standings].
“We’ve done all that. Then we have a great series against Miami, and we win 4-1. So the table is set, the expectations are set. You can’t re-dial that.
“I’ve said, and I stand by this, we do have more to give. We’ve stumbled on an incredibly hard match up for us, there’s no doubt about that.”
Through three games in the East Semis, Boston has made it difficult for the Sixers to do much of what has gotten them to this late stage of the season. The pace is down (96.09 possessions per game), and the 3-point shooting not as readily available (30.3 percent on 29.6 attempts per 100 possessions), while the Celtics, particularly due to their athleticism, have proven hard to guard (the Sixers have 110.1 defensive rating for the series).
Nevertheless, with the last two games against Boston particularly close, the Sixers believe that, with the right tweaks and better execution, they’re capable of reversing course.
“We ok, we good,” said Joel Embiid, averaging a series-high tying 24.3 points per game, and series-best 15.3 rebounds per game. “We know what we got to do. It’s never been done before, so I think everybody is just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time, one quarter at a time, and we’re going to be fine.”
Embiid and his fellow players have spoken to each other, whether in text message threads, or team meeting settings, about the mindset that will be necessary moving forward.
“No one’s down, no one’s defeated, that’s the great sign of maturity of a team,” Covington said. We still believe we can do it. Mentally, everyone’s in a positive place.”
Resiliency is a trait that’s served the Sixers well on Brown’s watch, helping hold the team together.
Said Brown, “We’ll need all of that, and some, to find a way to move this series on.”
Opponent Outlook:
If there’s one thing that both the Sixers and Boston Celtics could probably agree on three games into their second-round match-up, it’s that, with a couple of different breaks, the series could have an entirely different feel.
“When you study the analytics, and you look at different measurements of everything, you’re reminded of really how close you are, and in fact how we should have won a few,” said Brett Brown, whose Sixers have dropped Games 2 and 3 by a combined margin of eight total points.
Brad Stevens, Brown’s counterpart with Boston, clearly feels similarly.
“I think to think there is a massive overhaul is wrong,” Brown said, when asked about the adjustments currently on his mind.
The fifth-year head coach did acknowledge that he’s continually contemplating how to take advantage of the combination of skill and intangibles that T.J. McConnell brings to the table, and whether to increase Ersan Ilyasova’s use at center.
As far as Ben Simmons is concerned, Brown said he’d like to see the rookie point man establish himself more often close to the basket on post ups.
“We talked about that. Out of some of our sets, when [the Celtics] are switching, to look more at that environment than Ben attacking.”
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