The Philadelphia 76ers are going through one of their bigger rough patches of the season. They beat the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks pretty good on Christmas Day, but then have followed that up with three bad losses to begin a four-game road trip.
They opened the trip by not responding well to the Orlando Magic and the physicality they presented, then committed too many errors down the stretch against the Miami Heat, and their latest loss was an embarrassing effort against the Indiana Pacers on New Year’s Eve.
The road trip has been frustrating so far. Tobias Harris criticized his team after the Magic loss for playing to the level of their opponent. That suggests that they play down to their competition and that comes with a lack of focus and a lack of respect for their opponents. They can’t just flip a switch come playoff time and be lackadaisical in the regular season. Coach Brett Brown sees this and he is not happy with his team’s play.
“I definitely see it out of them and it’s not acceptable,” said Brown at practice on Thursday. “I completely sort of coach and live life thinking that good things add up, and you don’t just click your heels and April 14th is here. That’s not how I see anything. We shared that notion today. They’re smart enough to agree.”
Philadelphia has impressive wins under their belt such as wins over the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors, the Bucks, and even a win over the Heat and the Pacers. However, these losses are unacceptable. They should be beating teams like the Magic and close out a game against the Heat when it’s there for the taking.
So then the question then becomes is Brown motivating them enough? Is Brown doing enough to get them to come to work and play hard for 48 minutes on a nightly basis?
“There are so many bullets as a head coach you think you’ve got,” Brown added. “I fire them responsibly, or feel like I have over the years, but you need some help. People have to own things and be able to answer the question of ‘what do I want out of this? what’s my role and responsibility?”
The next challenge for this team will be on Friday when they face James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and the Houston Rockets to conclude the road trip. Since the Rockets are considered a tough opponent, maybe the real Sixers will show up. [lawrence-related id=22557,22549,22539]