For the first time in Brett Brown’s seven years as head coach, it turned out that the Sixers were over this particular recurring issue.
They ranked 29th and 30th in the NBA in turnovers from the 2013-14 to 2017-18 seasons. Last year, they finished after 25th. And, after a difficult start, which left an impressive Brown to speak of “gold’s fool” and “a house built on sand”, the Sixers finished this regular season 10th in the league, averaging 14.2 turnover per game. match.
In their 109-101 Game 1 loss Monday night to the Celtics (see observations), the Sixers had 13 turnovers in the first half, 18 in the game. The team has experienced much less turnover in less recent memory, and yet these were mistakes they could not tolerate. Unlike in 2018, when the Sixers defeated the Heat in Game 4 of their first-round series despite 26 turnovers, the Sixers had minimal margin for error. With Ben Simmons indefinitely after an operation on his left knee, the forced passages, careless mistakes and moments of too much ambition were precious.
“I think this is an easy problem to fix,” said Josh Richardson, “because I think a lot of our conversions weren’t forced. We were just loose with the ball, throwing it everywhere. That’s an easy one. solution. ”
More specifically, Brown attributed much of the early turn to issues that Joel Embiid underwent. Embiid finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds, excellent figures on the surface but far below what he seems to be doing on pace after dropping his first five shots.
“I think part of our turnover came from getting up and trying to post,” Brown said. ‘And part of our turnover came when we posted, we were not crisp out of the post. This is the double-edged sword where you have to figure out which line you want to run. … I think this volume of dirty mouth, bully ball – to do it all the time comes with some level of punishment if you are not careful.
“And so I look forward to going back and seeing our post over, delivering the ball to the post. And I think we can improve a lot in that area. ”
Indeed, it is not an easy task to produce good offense if the defense knows what is coming, or at least knows exactly who the primary threat is. Keep in mind that Embiid’s rate of 1.10 points per possession on regular season post-ups was the best in the NBA, and that his 9.1 post-up points per game placed him over three points above the next player. Because very few players can place well enough to justify that it’s a pile of a team’s offense, Embiid is an anomaly.
Brown’s time as assistant coach under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs has influenced how he structures the post office around Embiid.
“A little more static (than with Simmons), a little more put on the table, where Joel can be comfortable with his outlets,” Brown told NBC Sports Philadelphia last week. ‘I just kind of replicated what we did 12 years ago with San (Tim) Duncan in San Antonio. We go to floors and use that as a starting point, and then other things happen from those starting points. ”
Three of those “starting points” are usually behind the three-point line, and there is one man in the weak “dark spot” – actually the short corner / low-block region.
Below is a play from last season that illustrates the idea, with Simmons on the dark spot.
A reporter asked him if it would be better to have all four players next to Embiid behind the bow.
“… I’m very privileged to have experienced the world of the postman,” Brown said, “because it relates to spaces and schemas. … One thing that is most resonant is four on the perimeter ‘The easiest environment for defenders to double a post and have the ability to put out a fire as a result. It’s too full. And so to occupy an empty zone and space, the court interests me the most.’
Brown took the opportunity to form a “great-great relationship” and greater chances for offensive rebounds as reasons why he intends to keep a man on the dark spot. After the Sixers scored 9 for 27 from three-point range on Monday, it is expected that the Celtics will still not hesitate to double down on Embiid, despite the spaces around him.
Embiid was, in fact, efficiently offensive in Game 1, converting 8 of 15 field goals and 9 of 12 free throws. He just did not dominate very much as he thought he should.
“I need to do more,” he said. ‘Whatever the statistics are, I need to do more. I have one task to do – it is to carry us. I will need my teammates to help me, but I need to do more. I need to take more shots, I need to get more aggressive. Defensively, I need to help my teammates. We all have to play hard, take care of the ball and do our job and follow the game plan. ”
Was he disappointed not to have more post-up opportunities after his stellar start?
“I’m not sure,” he said. ‘Like I said, I need to get more aggressive. Maybe we should name some more plays. I do not know. That’s another thing we need to fix in Game 2. I just need to be aggressive and get the game to me. ‘
Click here to download the MyTeams App from NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage from your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
