Brown stresses big picture with winless Sixers
Brett Brown hopes that history will be kind to the 76ers. On the surface, the Sixers have been linked to the franchise's dismal 1972-73 squad after a 99-91 loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Brett Brown hopes that history will be kind to the 76ers.
On the surface, the Sixers have been linked to the franchise's dismal 1972-73 squad after a 99-91 loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center.
It was the Sixers' 15th consecutive loss to open the season, tying the organization's all-time worst start set by the 1972-73 team. That team went 9-73 to set the NBA's futility mark.
The current team, which is sacrificing wins for a top draft pick, might be hard-pressed to win seven games by season's end.
This team is built to lose games. Of the 12 healthy players, only Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel, and Tony Wroten were first-round draft picks. Luc Mbah a Moute and K.J. McDaniels were second-rounders, and the seven remaining players were undrafted free agents.
The Sixers rank last in the league in points per game, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, and three-point percentage. They also average the most turnovers at 17.3 per game.
But Brown wants his Sixers to be remembered for building a franchise - not their pronounced shortcomings.
"We believe in what we are doing," he said. "We understand what the argument is: 'Did you go too far? Could you have done something different?' We understand all of that.
"In regards to a legacy or how I choose to be remembered, I hope that people remember the whole process as one where a lot of sacrifices were made to move the program forward."
One thing people might remember is that the Sixers play hard, for the most part.
They did Wednesday night, giving Brooklyn (6-8) a scare before Kevin Garnett's clutch plays.
With his team clinging to a 90-89 lead, Garnett made a foul shot with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining. The Sixers turned the ball over on the next possession before Garnett drained a 19-foot jumper with 32.8 seconds left.
The Nets never looked back.
"We definitely had opportunities to [win the game]," said Noel, whose team kept battling back from large deficits. "We take pride in the fact that we fought together and got back in this one."
Garnett, a 20-year veteran, finished with nine points, nine rebounds, four steals, and a blocked shot. The power forward thanked the Revolutionaries, the Sixers' fan club, for his late-game heroics.
The Revolutionaries sat on the baseline closest to the Nets bench and had been riding Garnett.
"I had some females down there that kind of got me going," said Garnett, who was still fired up after the game. "I appreciate them."
Reserve guard McDaniels once again showed why many think he deserves to be inserted into the Sixers' starting lineup. The rookie finished with career highs of 18 points and six rebounds. McDaniels had four dunks and two three-pointers, and he scored on a tip-in in shooting 7 for 15 from the field.
"I hope somewhere out there our bench gets a little bit of attention," Brown said. "I was proud of what our guys did, our bench did."
The Sixers are closing in on the NBA record of 18 losses to begin a season set by the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets. Brown said perseverance and good practices will stop the streak.
"I feel if you're objective and look at some of our performances as of late, you would see what we see," Brown said. "I see good things. It's unfortunate for those guys. I bleed for those guys that they can't get a win to validate the work they put in."
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