Section 215
Fansided

In a City Desperate for Defense, 76ers Emerging as Philadelphia’s Beacon of Hope

By Somers Price

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From a personality standpoint, 76ers coach Brett Brown is as much a polar opposite of former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan as one could draw up. For all intents and purposes, Brown comes off as a real sweetheart in the media and is often as complimentary of his opponent as he is of his own team. Compared to Ryan, whose notoriety for antagonizing division rivals and putting out bounties on Troy Aikman often masks the fact that he never won a playoff game, Brett Brown’s personality is as far from what the standard of ‘lovable Philadelphia coach’ as one could imagine. Psychological and personal makeup aside, Brown does share a staple of his coaching approach with Ryan that could have him go down as one of the most revered figures in the city: a commitment to defense.

In a city that boasts itself as blue-collar and hard-nosed, Philadelphia loves a team with the capability of shutting down even the most prolific of offenses. It’s ironic that, as of now, a perceived offensive guru is arguably the most powerful sports figure in the city. Eagles fans won’t be picky. If Chip Kelly can win a Super Bowl with an offense-first approach, hoards of Ryan loyalists may trade in their ‘Bounty Bowl’ t-shirts for a ‘Culture Beats Scheme’ visor. Until then, if asked about which style they’d prefer their beloved Eagles to play, I’d bet an average Philadelphian would opt for a defensive-oriented strategy.

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Much like the Ryan-led Eagles, the rough-and-tumble ‘Broad Street Bullies’ Flyers teams of years past have painted the picture of how Philadelphia hockey fans want their team to win. Though not necessarily predicated on strong defensive play, though Bernie Parent may have made it look that way, Flyers fans (present company included) are among the last of committed NHL fanbases to realize what wins in modern-day professional hockey. While it does require an organizational emphasis on bolstering the blue line, a theory reinforced by the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks, skill and speed are more crucial traits for defensemen than size and nastiness. Teams that succeed in this era of the NHL are the ones capable of possessing the puck more than their opponent and demonstrating the ability to advance from the defensive zone to the offensive zone with the least amount of trouble. The Flyers have a few tremendous talents on their team, but are a few years away from fielding the type of roster capable of succeeding against the league’s best in those departments. Defensive hockey is as much about puck skills and prevention as it is body-checking, goaltending, and physical play.

As they were starting their most recent run of success, the Phillies were among the strongest defensive teams in baseball. Often overlooked due to their offensive success and strong pitching performances en route to a World Series, the 2008 Phillies had very few holes when it came to the team that took the field. Carlos Ruiz was, and remains, one of the strongest defensive catchers in baseball. The outfield of Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and Pat Burrell (to a lesser extent) makes the group that took the field in 2014 look like little leaguers. There was also the four-time Gold Glove winning shortstop Jimmy Rollins who launched the Phillies into the playoffs that season starting a game-saving 6-4-3 double play against the Nationals to preserve Brad Lidge’s perfect season. The 2008 Phillies may not have been as defensively gifted as this past season’s Royals team, but it was never something fans had to worry about.

This brings us back to the 76ers. At the All-Star Break, the team is 12-41 and once again destined for the top of the NBA Lottery. There is, however, a distinctly different feel with this Sixers team compared to the one that took the court in 2013-2014. Those who watch the young team see it from the opening tip to the final gun, more often than not. No matter the opponent, regardless of the venue, Brett Brown has his young team getting after it on defense and it is a treat to watch.

By no means is the current roster a projection of what fans should expect once the organization’s plans come to fruition. More likely than not, several players on the 2014-2015 Sixers will come and go and represent little more than an afterthought when it comes to their careers in Philadelphia. Any team that struggles as much offensively as the Sixers often do is likely going to have a few key contributors who would not sniff the roster of a title contender. That is something that Brown is unable to control and, sometimes frustratingly so, the coach deals with what he has. What Brown can control, and the evidence of doing so is showing more and more, is his team’s approach to the defensive end of the floor. Most nights, the Sixers are at least an athletic equivalent of their opponent, if not more physically impressive. Sam Hinkie has drafted a handful of gifted athletes with the attributes necessary to play defense at the NBA level. Between his staff’s heavy emphasis on sports science, conditioning, and the development of a team identity going forward; Brown’s young team is gradually morphing into an imposing shutdown squad. This little nugget (h/t @Anthony_Capelli) can provide some context to that notion.

It’s no secret that scoring sells in today’s NBA. Three of the Sixers’ last six games heading into the break were against top-10 scoring teams (Atlanta, Cleveland, and Golden State). Not coincidentally, the Hawks, Cavaliers, and Warriors all have emerged as in-season title favorites and fascinating stories to follow. Though they came away without a win in the trio of barometer matchups, the Sixers held each team under their season scoring average. Both the Hawks and Warriors scored at least 10 fewer points against Philadelphia than their normal evening’s output. Because of this, the Sixers held their own through four quarters against three of the league’s best and were not run off the floor like they had been as recently as earlier during the season. A figure-of-speech often used by basketball coaches who preach defense is that a team is far less likely to have a ‘cold’ night on that end of the floor than on offense. Look no further than a five-point loss in a game against arguably the NBA’s best team where the team turns the ball over 27 times and shoots less than 25% from three-point range to find merit in that philosophical approach. Following the loss to the Warriors, Brown echoed this sentiment in a more big-picture take on what he’s seeing from his team at this point of the season.

"“I think that it shows that if we can tighten up, clean up, grow some offensive skill, then our defense will be there to support that weakness at the moment.”"

Just under two years into his tenure as 76ers coach, Brown is setting a precedent as far as what he wants taking the floor for him. Playing defense in the NBA is as much a mindset as it is a skill and, though his team is prone to the occasional lapse, it is clear that Brown’s insistence upon this approach is starting to pay the types of dividends that have long-reaching implications. As the organization starts to inject some offensive punch into the roster with the understanding that each individual will be expected to give maximum effort on the defensive end, the fruits of the organization’s labor should start to show.

What happens when a coach introduces and emphasizes a defense-first approach to a group of superior athletes is that individuals start to see statistical gains to go along with overall defensive strides as a team. Nerlens Noel leads all rookies in rebounds per game (7.2), steals per game (1.60) and blocks per game (1.71). In fact, the 76ers have three rookies in Noel, K.J. McDaniels (1.31) and Jerami Grant (1.05) currently in the top-five in their class in blocks per game. The Sixers have four active players (Noel, Michael Carter-Williams, Robert Covington, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute) averaging over 1.3 steals per game. The big picture impact of these individual strides have the Sixers ranked 4th in team blocked shots per game (6.0) and first in the league in turnovers forced per game (16.3). Since starting the season toward the bottom in defensive rating category, the Sixers are up to 12th in the league, one spot ahead of the Chicago Bulls and defensive guru Tom Thibodeau.

As enjoyable as it has been to watch the current roster defend night in and night out, there is still the much-awaited debut of what will ultimately be the cornerstone to the 76ers roster and what he brings on that end of the floor. Prior to his injury, Joel Embiid was going to be the rim protector for LeBron James and the Cavaliers when they selected him first overall. When Embiid broke his navicular bone in the days leading up to the draft, Cleveland was forced to take a detour and the Kansas center instead landed in Philadelphia. Should Embiid return to pre-injury form, he will bring something to the Sixers that no one, not even Nerlens Noel, can on a nightly basis. At 7’0″ with a 7’5″ wingspan, Embiid has the sort of freakish length that the game’s best shot-blockers (Olajuwon, Mutombo, Anthony Davis) are notorious for. What makes Embiid particularly staggering on the defensive end of the floor is his quickness both off the jump and when covering ground. With a background in volleyball and soccer, Embiid’s functional agility often made up for occasional lapses in positioning and his length allowed him to block or alter shots without fouling. As he continues to develop familiarity with the game, one has to figure the amount of overpursuit and unnecessary movement will only decrease. Embiid figures to play at roughly 260 pounds, making him formidable enough to tangle with other big men in the NBA while not sacrificing the athleticism that made him the consensus top player in the draft before his injury. I’ve probably watched this highlight reel of Embiid against Oklahoma State 50 times since the Sixers drafted him. The entire repertoire is fully on display.

What’s interesting about the Sixers is that, when the ‘tank’ started, it was supposed to be all about the players. The ‘superstar talents’ that Philadelphia could not attract in free agency was the lure of Sam Hinkie’s plan to vault the 76ers to the top of the lottery. Though it is true that a great deal of the success of the general manager’s five-year plan hinges on the success of Embiid, Noel, Dario Saric, and whomever the team selects toward the top of this year’s draft, it is the performance of the team beyond those players who are starting to make believers out of the staunchest anti-Hinkie constituents. As much as superior talent is necessary for the ultimate success in the NBA, a team without an identity is ultimately destined to come up short. Without a constant to rally around when things aren’t going well, talent gives way to mental fatigue and the grind of the NBA season and postseason ultimately wins out. Teams who opt to develop that identity on the offensive end of the floor, like the Hawks and Cavaliers, are often times spectacular to watch and can make one’s head spin with their ability to score in bunches. Despite being painted in a similar light, the Warriors will insist that their emphasis lies on the opposite end of the floor. With Brett Brown, there’s very little question which side of the fence he falls on.

"“I’m proud of our guys’ improvement on defense and their attention to defense…They know it is our identity and to hold a team like that to 89 points, you can’t ask for anything more.”"

If Philadelphia is as blue-collar and tough as we often try to make it out to be, maybe it’s time to start praising the team that best exemplifies the identity of the city rather than resorting to hate-monger tactics to label a project in its infancy as a failure or a ‘fraud’. For as revered as Buddy Ryan still is among Eagles fans, a lot of what made him so memorable is also what paints Philadelphia sports fans in a negative light. Not every defensive-minded coach has to be the type of foul-mouthed, antagonizing figure that Ryan was. Instead of looking toward the gridiron for the type of defensive effort we value so much, shift your eyes to the hardwood. A man with all the defensive acumen of Ryan with the class and poise he so definitively lacked is teaching a group of young men to play the type of game this city has clamored for since Buddy patrolled the sidelines at the Vet. Hopefully if things continue to progress for the Sixers, Philadelphia can replace its ‘Patron Saint of Defense’ with a man more fitting of the title. Given what he’s already gone through in the manner that he has, I can’t think of a more fitting candidate than Brett Brown.