The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that was built to chase down a championship in the 2019-20 season after coming up oh so close the season before. However, they have had some baffling issues that have left the team wondering what they’re going to do when the playoffs roll around.
The biggest issue has been winning on the road. This team is absolutely dominant at home sitting at 23-2, which is the best home record in the NBA, but they’re a pretty pathetic 9-19 on the road. They own some pretty bad losses on the road that really make you scratch your head on how far this team can really go. Especially with the team sitting at the 6 seed meaning they would begin the playoffs on the road.
“We need to grow on the road, the crowd’s not on your side,” said general manager Elton Brand. “I’m a realist, we have an uphill battle. As of now, we’re going to start the playoffs on the road and we haven’t been good on the road. So we need to figure this out and we need to figure it out fast, but I think we have the group that can do it and it’s a learning process.”
Some of the issues could maybe be attributed to team fit. The Sixers are trying to make the Al Horford-Joel Embiid duo fit while also trying to maximize what Ben Simmons brings to the floor. With the team’s struggles, there has been some talk of moving Horford to the bench, but Brand believes in the fit and what he and the whole team bring to the floor.
“We have the pieces on this team and we will make it fit,” Brand continued. “It hasn’t fit at times, but it’s baffling to us all and we have a lot of work to do. To have the best record at home in the entire NBA and then to play how we’ve been playing on the road, we’re not happy about that. I’m extremely disappointed, we’re extremely disappointed, the players understand they have to do better. The coaching staff, myself, my staff, the whole organization, we have to do better.”
So what causes the road struggles?
“I’ve talked to Brett (Brown) directly,” he added. “We work every day to get this problem fixed, we’re not happy with it and we know what it is.”
After a loss to the Miami Heat, there were a lot of fingers pointed at coach Brett Brown. That maybe Brown is not the right man for the job and lead this group.
“Brett Brown’s our coach, I believe in him, and that’s what I’m standing by and I truly believe that,” Brand explained. “He’s the leader of this team and I will support how I can support. He’s our coach and I’m supporting Brett Brown. He’s our leader.”
That statement likely means that Brown will remain the coach through the rest of the season, but he will need a deep playoff run in order to keep his job. The Sixers have a lot of expectations and they are expected to fill them this season.
Time will tell where this group ends up, but it does not look all that great right now for them. [lawrence-related id=25269,25259,25249]