I am on Twitter quite a bit. (Follow me, I’ll follow back @ChicksTapePod) I guess I am a part of #NBATwitter. On Twitter, I often see 76ers fans ready to get rid of Brett Brown. Even Garrett Burroughs had Brett Brown on the hot seat BEFORE the season even started. Is it really time for that though? Let’s look into it real quick.
Brett Brown Through The Years
His first 4 years of his NBA Head Coaching career are….rough. In those 4 years, he only had a total of 75 wins. That is an average of about 19 wins per season. That is horrendous for sure. This was during the years that the 76ers were “trusting the process” though, so the talent was not there and it was deliberately done.
In his last bad season in the 2016-2017 season, where we went 28-54 (.341), he rapidly improved the next year. That next year, he went 52-30, his best season to date. Of course, with the resurgence of talent, it isn’t a surprise that he improved rapidly. Last year, he actually declined in a win total of 51 wins, and that was AFTER they traded for Jimmy Butler. That roster was more talented that his 52-30 season. So the decrease in win totals, even if it is by one, is weird for sure.
Now more than halfway through the season, the 76ers are on pace for about the same amount of wins, despite having an even more talented roster than last year! They have one of the best defenses in the NBA, so the fact that they haven’t been able to get more wins is mind-boggling. Most teams would dream of having a core of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford on their roster. The fact that we are more than halfway through the season and Brett Brown hasn’t found a way to make that team fit has been his downfall. Tobias Harris hasn’t quite stretched the floor as the 76ers hoped. Al Horford and Joel Embiid on the floor together is an awkward fit.
76ers This Season
If it were me, I would have Al Horford come off the bench for Joel Embiid and have them play around 25 minutes each. That way, they don’t have to fit together on the floor, plus you’re getting solid production from both, AND they both do not have to suffer from fatigue. Just a thought. Now, it is odd that the 76ers can’t seem to add more wins by adding more talent.
So, yes the time to move on from Brett Brown is now. HOWEVER, this is a major flaw from moving on from coaches: if you do not have a coach you’d rather have ready to go when you fire the coach, firing the coach is detrimental. I think Brett Brown will finish this season. He might be back next season as well, but it is championship or bust for the 76ers. If they don’t make the finals, expect the 76ers to look elsewhere. But they won’t officially do anything unless they have someone else for sure they want.
