Brett Brown was hearing the footsteps and the criticism. The popular narrative after the Celtics went up 3-0 on the Philadelphia 76ers was that Brown was being thoroughly outcoached by Celtics coach Brad Stevens who is quickly becoming the popular choice for best coach in the game. I believe Gregg Popovich is still coaching, but I could be mistaken.
Taylor Snow on Twitter
Paul Pierce on Brad Stevens: “Today, he’s the best coach in the league.
Brown assumed Phillys head coach position in 2013 and was basically a sacrificial lamb that would oversee years of tanking as the team used a#trusttheprocess approach to throw seasons, stack draft picks and get to the point they are now — down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The media hype behind Philly’s come up may have overrated Browns young talent a bit, but the reputable sports minds in this country sang the praises of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and influenced by a meaningless 16-game winning streak at the end of the regular season, totally ignored NBA history and fast-tracked them to advance to the NBA Finals.
Stephen A. changes his mind: 76ers will beat Cavaliers to reach NBA Finals | First Take | ESPN
First Take’s Stephen A. Smith changes his mind and says the Philadelphia 76ers will beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the NBA Finals.
When Bostons young guns blitzed Philly with three straight wins to start this series all of the Sixers supporters panicked because they saw their narrative twirling down the toilet of hyperbole. To save their intellectual hides, they started boosting Stevens as a coach and some radio hosts even suggested that Brown is not the caliber of coach that will take Philly to their first championship since 1982 when Dr. J and Moses Malone were wrecking shop on the hardwood.
ESPN First Take’s Stephen A Smith Calls Out Sixers Coach Brett Brown
Stephen A Smith Says Brett Brown Lost 3 Games In A Row for The Boston Celtics.
The narrative was turning on Brett Brown quickly. He went from a possible NBA Coach of the Year candidate to an outclassed tactician biting off more than he can chew against the NBAs next wonder coach.
Ignored is the fact that Brown was a member of four championship squads with the San Antonio Spurs under Popovich and he was also the head coach of the Australian National team. His basketball acumen and coaching experience stands up against Stevens who failed to win an NCAA Championship at Butler despite going to back-to-back title games and suffered through some rough times in his early years as coach of the Celtics. Philly won 52 games this season, Browns fifth year at the helm. Prior to 2018, he had never won more than 28 games as a coach. That’s got to count for something right?
Tom Moore on Twitter
Sixers promoting Brett Brown for #NBA Coach of the Year. Also pushing Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for All-NBA and All-Defense.
Brown should be fired. Jay Wright is right there at Villanova ready to enter the NBA said basketball expert @Champsportsguru. You keep Jay Wright in Philly and make him the head coach, it brings you some credibility and structure and bring someone with experience at the pro level to help him and I think Philly can keep this going. I think Brown’s time in Philly is up and it should be. As a coach, your job is to build a championship-caliber team.
Philly has to make some personal decisions and figure out what they want to do.”
SLAM Magazine on Twitter
Sixers: “Who ya got to save our season, fam?” Brett Brown:
The fact that Browns future is being discussed and some say he’s coaching for his job, doesnt bode well for him. Thats why Phillys 103-92 win over Boston on Monday night to stave off elimination is probably the biggest win of Browns career. Anything can happen in the NBA and ownership is unpredictable, but shouldn’t Brown be given the full opportunity to take Philly to the top? He walked this sidelines and coached with passion when he didnt have a rooster worth five cents to ball with.
He may have been outcoached by Stevens in the last three games but Brown orchestrated the winning game plan on Monday night and if he can pull it off again in Game 5, the narrative changes back in his favor and so do his chances of remaining the head coach of a team that should be the beasts of the east for years to come once LeBron has moved on.
