Brett Brown is pleased with Sixers’ conditioning after first practice

The Philadelphia 76ers have come to Orlando in solid shape ahead of the NBA’s restart.

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown wanted to begin his team’s first practice Saturday with a spark.

He didn’t want to start slow. And though Philly’s last game was in March, the Sixers responded to Brown’s desires for a high intensity session. Brown wanted his squad to be at a B level for conditioning before coming to Orlando, and the Sixers met that expectation.

“It was my feeling to start quick in relation to competing and getting up and down the floor instead of static stuff,” Brown said to media Sunday over Zoom. “I think that we need to jump start some spirit and let them feel competition and their teammates again. And so in that environment, I felt like it was a pretty good judgment of are they in decent shape? Did they attain that B goal that I had put to them? And I can confidently say I believe that they have.”

The Sixers will play three scrimmages before the restart, with games against the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, per the NBA’s Twitter account. Philly will play its first seeding game Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.

Brown added he is confident the Sixers can continue to improve their conditioning in the three weeks of training camp and scrimmages leading up to the season’s resumption.

“I think that the runway to take a B to an A is in front of us with the three week sort of window with some preseason games that lead up into regular season,” Brown said. “I’m happy with the conditioning. I thought Joel (Embiid) especially stood out.”

With Brown being pleased with the Sixers’ conditioning, that has to add a layer of relief and ease. Considering the league has been on hiatus since March, along with teams not being able to practice together, it is an impressive feat that the Sixers have come to Orlando in solid shape.

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