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Former Sixers Coach Larry Brown Talks About Philadelphia 76ers’ Real Issue
The Philadelphia 76ers were welcomed with high expectations coming into the season, but these pre-season expectations were eventually hampered by issues that hindered them from reaching their full potential. As a result, the Sixers find themselves struggling even with a loaded roster, and have been quite a disappointment this year, with the team dwelling in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Speaking of the Sixers, former coach Larry Brown joined ‘94WIP Midday Show with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie’ to share his insights regarding the team and their issue that prevents them from living up to expectations.
“I admire Brett, I love Philly, I want to see them win. Here’s my issue—you can’t lose Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick, and (T.J.) McConnell and tell me how you’re gonna be better? They’re not only really, really good players, they’re really, really great teammates which I don’t think people take into account enough.
“I’m a huge Al Horford fan, but he’s not a four man (power forward). He had an unbelievable advantage playing center because centers could not guard him and he could guard center. I’m a huge Tobias Harris fan, but he’s not a three man (small forward). He can guard four men, but they couldn’t guard him. It’s a struggle for him to guard three men. It’s a struggle for Al to guard four men. Again, I’m not trying to be critical because I’d have any of those guys on any team I’d ever be involved with. But I think losing the three I mentioned and then I think sometimes we’re playing some people out of position, that it affects everything.”
The Sixers knew the frontcourt logjam caused by inserting Horford in the same rotation with Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid was too detrimental to their spacing and flexibility, so it wasn’t too long for the Sixers to address it and make adjustments.
Before the All-Star break, the Sixers tweaked their lineup and moved Horford to the bench, allowing him and Harris to play their natural positions. And as reported, the Sixers will continue to play Horford off the bench once the season resumes in Orlando this late July.
Still, there’s no guarantee how long Horford will be satisfied playing off the bench, considering the fact that this year was the first time he came off the bench since his rookie season. Furthermore, it’s also not ideal for a player who just signed a massive four-year deal with the team to stay as a bench player, unless Horford is willing to embrace the sixth man role for the next few years.
