Philadelphia 76ers therapy session for early struggles

Brett Brown

Coach Brett Brown been on the hot seat since he got hired and clearly that won’t change until the Philadelphia 76ers go 82-0. Every loss since Brown got the job has resulted in a discussion of his job security, which he has handled quite well.

Not many could have endured what he has, from speaking for the front office to trying to motivate G Leaguers to win NBA games to coaching through constant roster turnover.

And yet, somehow, he has the blame once again. His best player has missed four of 11 games so far, three of the four losses were effectively decided by a possession’s worth of points and his after timeout (ATO) plays are overall excellent (one of which won the game against Cleveland). But he still weathers quite a bit of blame.

Brown’s most questionable decisions have been with the rotation, but not in the same ways as last year. Matisse Thybulle‘s three-game absence from the rotation proved to be purely experimental, a microcosm of what Brown is trying early on.

He is playing with different parts to see who works best together, which is not only what he should be doing, but also evidence that the bench has a lot of playable pieces. These are good signs.

He does not control what the players do. He influences who goes in when, but overall the outcome on the court is decided by those on the court.