Nine games into the year, Brett Brown is figuring out Sixers rotation

Nine games into the 2019-20 season, coach Brett Brown is still figuring out the Sixers rotation.

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The Philadelphia 76ers still have a lot to figure out after nine games. They still have to figure out things like who is going to be the closer with the game on the line, how will Joel Embiid and Al Horford really work together, and they’re still developing team chemistry.

One thing that will still need to be figured out is the rotation. Big things like who’s the backup point guard and what to do with rookie Matisse Thybulle who has been out of the rotation since Ben Simmons’ injury.

A big change in coach Brett Brown’s rotation, due to the Simmons injury, has been Raul Neto starting at point guard and Trey Burke being used as a backup. This is notable due to the fact that Josh Richardson was being used as the primary backup point guard when Simmons was healthy and in the lineup.

With everything that has happened in the first nine games, Brown is still experimenting as he stated:

I wouldn’t say anything is set. We’re finding our way and we have different options. I think that the phrase that I like to use, ‘horses for courses,’ is based on who you’re playing and who’s playing well. I don’t feel married to anything this early in the season. You just figure it out. I won’t put a death spell on any of the players either. I feel open to playing the people that I think it’s going to take to win that night.

Does that mean the Sixers will go back to Thybulle in the rotation once Simmons returns? Will Burke go back to being buried at the end of the bench? Will Richardson go back to backup point guard responsibilities? These are questions that Brown will have to answer and figure out.

I feel like there are outliers in every game. It is possible to put Raul Neto and Trey Burke in the rotation with Ben Simmons. Those two guards have played well and it’s exciting. It’s one of those in-game adjustments that you could make, knowing that it is a unique lineup.

At the end of the day, the team is 6-3 and they are in a good spot in the early going of the season. The challenge now is for Brown and his staff to figure out a solid rotation and settle on it. It doesn’t help that Simmons is out right now and Embiid’s absences have put a wrench into the plan, but it must be figured out soon. [lawrence-related id=19083,19074,19064]

4 big takeaways from Saints’ 26-9 loss to the Falcons

The New Orleans Saints put up a disappointing performance in their Week 10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, showing a concerning lack of depth.

There wasn’t much to feel good about for New Orleans Saints fans, after their team got bulldozed by the Atlanta Falcons in a surprising upset on Sunday. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was sacked six times (tying his career-worst total for a single game), and coach Sean Payton frowned in disappointment on the sideline as his team slipped and fell all over themselves throughout the afternoon.

Still, there’s plenty to learn from it. Here’s what we picked up on when reviewing the game, hopefully giving an idea of what the Saints can correct moving forward. Their rematch with Atlanta (in prime time, on Thanksgiving) is just a few weeks away. They don’t exactly have much time to let this one linger, even if it was an embarrassing loss to a division rival.

The plan to use Alvin Kamara wasn’t up to snuff

The good news: Kamara went 8-for-10 as a receiver, picking up 50 yards. The bad news: his worst rep of the day came on the opening drive, in which Kamara slipped and fell on the Superdome turf. It was a designed pass to him on a route out of the backfield and the right call against Atlanta’s defense — the closest defender was in poor position to stop him before Kamara would have reached the end zone. Instead, Brees had to take a sack on third down and force New Orleans to settle for three points instead of seven.

There’s no way the Saints were going to ask Kamara to handle fifteen or more rushing attempts in his first game back from injury, but four carries (and 11 as a team) was pitiful. The Saints have run too well lately to call 51 dropbacks for Brees against just 11 runs. This was an example of Payton at his worst, allowing himself to get one-dimensional and over-reliant on his passing attack in a game that was close for three quarters. There’s no excuse for him to have abandoned the run so early.

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Brittany Lincicome set to return to competition next week at Pebble Beach

After giving birth to daughter Emery Reign Gouws in July, Brittany Lincicome will return to competition at Pebble Beach next week.

On maternity leave, Brittany Lincicome normally plays golf on Fridays. That is, until she received word that she’s in the field at the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational.

Now she’s out on a Monday afternoon, sharpening her game for her first competitive round since giving birth to daughter Emery Reign Gouws in July.

“It has moments of brilliance and moments of ‘Oh my gosh,’” said Lincicome of her current form. She last competed on the LPGA at the Pure Silk Championship in late May.

Lincicome said she’s five to seven yards shorter these days but can’t tell if that’s simply because she’s playing against friends at the club rather an adrenaline-fueled tour event. She’s relieved to have longtime caddie Missy Pederson back on the bag at Pebble.

The pro-am event, held Nov. 21-24, features players from the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Korn Ferry tours compete against each other from different tee boxes for a purse of $300,000. The full field has not yet been released.

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“When I heard there was a cut for this one,” said Lincicome, “I instantly got more nervous.”

Lincicome considered playing in mini-tour events against the men, which she has done in the past, to gear up for her return to the LPGA at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January. Pebble, however, presented the best kind of tune-up.

“I miss the competition part of it and that feeling of being in contention on Sunday,” said Lincicome, a two-time major winner with eight career victories.

One thing Lincicome will have to work on for the 2020 season is figuring out how to pack for the tour with a baby in tow. For an overnight outing in Orlando, Florida, last month, Lincicome and her mother loaded up roughly 17 bags for the short drive.

Emery won’t make the trip to Asia next spring, but Lincicome is already thinking about the West Coast swing. If Emery is on the road, at least one of Lincicome’s parents will be there to help.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to squeeze some naps in there,” said Lincicome, laughing.

Naps have long been a crucial part of her winning formula.

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Frank Vogel says injured Rajon Rondo will return ‘hopefully soon’

Rajon Rondo’s return from a calf injury has been a slow and deliberate one, with no clear end in sight.

All things considered, the Los Angeles Lakers are having a great start to the season. When they hit the three-week mark on Tuesday, they will still be 7-2 heading into a game against the Phoenix Suns. But if you were hoping for them to get Rajon Rondo back in the lineup soon, his two-steps-forward-one-step-back recovery from a sore calf, has complicated it.

After being close to playing on Sunday, Rondo’s return was immediately called off after a 5-on-5 workout, according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes. And the outlook for Rondo doesn’t look any clearer after Sunday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. Coach Frank Vogel told reporters that it would be “hopefully soon” when Rondo returns but acknowledged that the soft tissue injury has been tricky to deal with.

According to Harrison Faigen for Silver Screen and Roll, Vogel said before the game on Sunday:

It’s tough to say. With a soft tissue injury, you never know how quickly those things are going to heal. You want to have the mindset where you can ramp up activity and get through it with no pain and no soreness. And if that doesn’t happen then it can be delayed. So it’s not that unusual in my mind.

Vogel doesn’t seem too concerned by the injury given its nature as a difficult injury to recover from, let alone for a veteran like Rondo. The Lakers are taking it slow, but their patience doesn’t make Rondo’s slow recovery any less concerning.

Eagles’ Brandon Brooks now the highest paid guard in NFL after signing 4-year, $56.2M contract extension

Eagles Brandon Brooks is now the highest-paid guard in NFL after signing 4-year, $54.2M contract extension

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Brandon Brooks has performed like one of the best players in football this season and on Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles rewarded him handsomely for it. The Eagles announced the signing of Brooks to a new four-year contract extension.

Jeff McLane is reporting that the deal is for four years, $56.2 million, with $30 million fully guaranteed.

According to Over The Cap, the $14.25 million average is the highest in the league among guards, ahead of Zach Martin of the Cowboys ($14 million per year). Andrew Norwell of the Jaguars averages $13.3 million.

Brooks reached the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018 and is certain to be an All-Pro this season as well.