It's inevitable that rookies in the NBA will struggle at times, particularly on the defensive end. Look no further than Jahlil Okafor's struggles last season.
The 2016-17 Philadelphia 76ers will have a number of players who haven't played a single minute in an NBA game, so getting the defense right will be a huge challenge for Brett Brown and his staff.
Brown hopes that Joel Embiid can be "the crown jewel, the centerpiece to our defense."
"If we do anything, we have to defend," Brown said at his annual media luncheon on Thursday. "We have to guard. This city is built for this. Our team has to reflect the spirit and personality of this city."
Brown has seen that personality up close on numerous occasions recently. He spoke about a couple of them yesterday.
The first was when he traveled to Springfield, Mass. for Allen Iverson's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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"I look around and I see the dignitaries of our sport, it’s breathtaking,” Brown said. “It’s the who's-who of basketball. And then, you realize, ‘What’s that?’ It’s Philly fans in the rafters for A.I. They are loud. They are vocal. They are on A.I. and it’s ‘Sixers!’ It’s ’MVP!’ It’s Philadelphia.”
He saw that spirit again days later right across the street from the Wells Fargo Center.
"Then I go to the Eagles game. You’re driving up to the game and you see the atmosphere all over the parking lots. Then you see Jordan Matthews, the first pass he drops and you hear, ‘Booooooo!’ First pass play. Okay, here we go."
"There’s a vibe that this city has," Brown said.
It's not exactly always a cordial vibe though.
"This morning I’m at a red light, and after about one second it turns green and I didn’t go and people are honking at me. This is a competitive city. This is an aggressive city and we have to play the same way. The defensive mentality, that has to be the bottom line.”
The Sixers' team defense ranked poorly last season, 26th in the league with a Defensive Rating 110.15 (points allowed per 100 possessions). Only the Wolves, Pelicans, Nets, and Lakers ranked worse. Or 25th in Defensive Efficiency.
Brown doesn't see it being from a lack of effort, for the most part.
"I’m proud of my guys because most of the time they do play hard. When they don’t, and I look up into the stands and I see that plumber who spent $200 to bring his two kids to our game, and we just aren’t playing to the level of intensity that I think that guy deserves, that upsets me. That bothers me. That doesn’t happen often, but that bothers me."
"If we can get this right with that type of spirit and personality that Philadelphia is, I think this can be beyond exciting."
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