A Christmas List for the Philadelphia 76ers Coaching Staff
Everyone deserves to have a Christmas wish list. Here’s what would be on the list of the coaching staff for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nov 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts during the second quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center. The Chicago Bulls won 105-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The 2016-17 campaign for the Philadelphia 76ers has been up and down to say the least.
While some highs including Joel Embiid’s flashes of dominance, back-to-back road wins for the first time in two seasons and Ersan Ilyasova’s surprise immediate impact, the season has been filled with lows including multiple heart wrenching losses at the end of games, injuries to No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons and free agent acquisition Jerryd Bayless, and a place as one of the worst teams in the standings for the fourth consecutive season.
With that being said, I could certainly see how Coach Brett Brown and his staff could use a couple gifts during the holiday’s that may make their lives a little easier and help solidify both the team and their jobs as the season progress. So without further ado, I present “A Christmas List for the Philadelphia 76ers Coaching Staff.” Hope you’re listening Santa…
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
A frontcourt trade
What has been more frustrating this season for Brett Brown and the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff than the frontcourt logjam of Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel & Jahlil Okafor?
While it has become pretty clear that Joel Embiid will be the starting center for the 76ers long-term barring any injury issues, the 76ers need to figure out what to do with top ten overall picks Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor as well.
At this point, it would make Brett Brown’s job a lot easier if he didn’t have to please all three bigs who all fit the bill of the center position the most. The issues this logjam have presented for the team have now extended beyond the court as Nerlens Noel has publicly expressed his disappointment with playing time as well as the fact that all three are centers and their skills do not correlate well together as each player’s strength offensively is in the paint. While Embiid can expand his range past the 3-point line (42 percent on the year so far), it would hurt more than help to have your best player away from where he’s best. With all of this being said, I’m sure Brett Brown and the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff would love to see one of Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel move onto another team, allowing them more playing time and some much needed new scenery as well as an even greater headache when Ben Simmons comes back from injury.
Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Getting an outside shooter
With a trade for a big necessary, what would really make Brett Brown and coaching company’s Christmas great would be the aforementioned trade of a big for an outside shooter, something the current 76ers roster is missing sans Ersan Ilyasova (if you really want to go there, Hollis Thompson. Hey, he is a 40 percent career three point shooter!).
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Acquiring shooting help from the outside would be a nice Christmas present for Coach Brown and company as the team is really missing a 3-point specialist, especially considering the team averages 30 (!) 3-pointers a game throughout the season so far.
Adding Ilyasova, who is shooting 38 percent from downtown this year, has helped. Now imagine if Coach Brown has another weapon he can roll out that can consistently shoot at that forty percent clip. Only one player on the team, Joel Embiid, has shot above 40 percent from downtown this season. Two names that would be huge gets for the 76ers in a deal for Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel would be C.J. McCollum (43.5 percent from downtown this season) from the recently struggling Portland Trail Blazers (lost 9 of their last 10 games) or Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors (shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point land).
While both names have been linked as potential trade rumors in the past, they were rumors for a reason, as the team may need more firepower then just Noel or Okafor to acquire McCollum or Ross.
But hey, it’s Christmas, after all, and we have wishes here for our man Brett Brown. Either one of these players would make Coach Brown sleep a little better at night knowing that teams would have to close out on these guys, opening up the paint for Joel Embiid just a little bit more each game night.
Dec 13, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts to a non foul call against forward Robert Covington (33) during overtime in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center. The Grizzlies defeated the 76ers 120-115. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Covington solving his struggles
As we just mentioned the 76ers lack of outside shooting talent, a big disappointment in that category has been the struggles of Robert Covington shooting the ball.
Covington, who was a surprise star of last year’s team, has stepped into the starting small forward role and has been asked to do less with greater talent around him.
76ers fans hoped Covington would be able to take advantage of this with greater efficiency. Unfortunately, his results have not matched expectation as Robert Covington is shooting a putrid 36.1 percent from the field and an even worse 29.5 percent from beyond the arc, all this while attempting nearly ten shots per game. It would be a Christmas gift for both Covington and Brett Brown and company for Covington to elevate his play and start see these shots falling on a more consistent basis.
As a full time starter averaging 29 minutes per game, Robert Covington is a focal point of this team’s success. Being that Brett Brown has been rumored to be on the hot seat, Covington putting the ball in the basket more often than he is now would help Brett Brown as much as it would prove the Covington doubters wrong.
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) talks with head coach Brett Brown before entering the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
No more minutes restrictions
The best news so far for the 76ers this season has been the dominating performance of Joel Embiid. We have only played the first quarter of the season out and Joel Embiid is running away with Rookie of the Year, with no one in sight to challenge him. He’s first in points, rebounds, and blocks, and could potentially be in the running for an All-Star appearance in his rookie season.
Unfortunately for Brett Brown and the rest of the 76ers coaches, Embiid has joined them on the bench during the game more than they would have liked due to him playing his first season after missing his first two due to navicular bone surgery in his foot.
What would really make Brett Brown’s Christmas is to no longer have to worry about Joel Embiid’s minutes. The minutes have marginally increased, but at the moment, he is maxed out at 28 minutes a game. An extra seven or so minutes of Embiid a game could mean the difference of a victory and a loss for the 76ers — he is that good. It would make Brett Brown’s holiday and be a nice way to start 2017 if the Head Coach could have his best player on the court as much as possible, just like the rest of the teams in the NBA.
Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers number one overall draft pick Ben Simmons (R) and his father David Simmons (M) and head coach Brett Brown (L) during an introduction press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
A healthy Simmons
Much like with Joel Embiid, the 76ers coaching staff has been teased with the fact that their most impactful player may not be on the floor quite yet.
Ben Simmons was selected with the number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the 76ers, yet due to a Jones fracture, Simmons has sat the entire 2016 campaign so far. With his ability to run the offense and push the pace as well as rebound the basketball with the best in the league, Simmons and his freakish athleticism would give the 76ers a game changing player that Brett Brown and the rest of the coaching staff can build a gameplan around and start to groom as the primary ball handler for the team.
Having Simmons back will give the coaching staff a full glimpse at the team they’ve been waiting to see on the floor all season (minus Jerryd Bayless). This impact cannot be understated and it’s actually unfair to judge Brett Brown when this game changing prospect is not on the floor with the team. Look at what Coach Brown was able to do with Michael Carter Williams his rookie year. Michael Carter-Williams finished his rookie season with averages of 16.7 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, and 6.3 assists per game on his way to a Rookie of the Year trophy.
This put him in esteemed company as he was one of only three players in NBA history to average 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in their rookie season, the other players being Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.
I expect similar numbers from Ben Simmons as both players are big bodied ball handlers that had flawed jumpshots. With Simmons back in the fold, Brett Brown and his coaching staff can start to really build this team for the future and start creating a chemistry for future years to come. Let’s hope Brett Brown’s Christmas list is heard by Santa himself and that he grants these presents as possibilities in the near future. Both Brown’s job and the Sixers starting to win more basketball games may truly depend on it.
