The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t having the best season before the NBA shutdown. They were considered favorites to compete for the title but their level wasn’t that good. They were struggling to win consistently and now their head coach has to move the pieces around to see if he can get this team to be what everybody expected them to be before the beginning of the campaign.
On Monday, Brown revealed he was playing Ben Simmons ‘exclusively’ at power forward in practices. Brown couldn’t hide his enthusiasm about Simmons and the things he’s seen inside the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World Resort.
“He’s so dynamic,” Brown said on a conference call with reporters, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Let’s just talk about running. There’s nobody faster in the NBA. So to always have the ball and dribble it up against five guys … to do that dilutes some of his potent weapons.
“So, watching him fly up the floor, watching him and Joel [Embiid] play off each other, has been a really good look. I think they’ve been fantastic together.”
It would be interesting to see how Brown manages this situation. The Sixers signed Al Horford in the offseason and this would mean he’d have to come off the bench.
There also have been several questions about Embiid and Simmons’ fit on the floor, but that situation could change shortly with these moves.
To replace Simmons, Brown would use guard Shake Milton, who became a big surprise for the team in January. The Sixers are trying everything to turn things around and be that team that can compete with the Bucks, Raptors, Heat and Celtics.
This is still a bet, but Brown is confident these changes will bring a lot of benefits for the team.
