Happy Win No. 20, Brett Brown

Well, it's not a benchmark most coaches would hope to be celebrating for the first time in their fourth season, but it's been a long and not particularly advantageous road for Brett Brown to his first 20-win season. The challenges placed in front of our head coach seem to only be getting mightier, most recently exacerbated by the news that Joel Embiid has a minor meniscus tear in addition to his bone bruise -- hard to know yet exactly how dire that situation is, especially because the team never seems to be telling us the whole truth. But he continues to persevere, and he got win No. 20 for the '16-17 season on Saturday night in a particularly sweet home victory against the Miami Heat. 

As much as has been said about the transformative power of Joel Embiid on this Sixers squad -- all fair, and all earned -- kudos really need to go to Coach Brown for how he's managed to keep this team from falling apart in JoJo's extended absence. The rotation is currently at its most coherent that it has been all season (and may no longer involve Jahlil Okafor, who reportedly sees a trade as imminent), and Saturday night everyone chipped in to the win, with seven players scoring in double digits and nobody over 20. Down the stretch, their nearly game-long lead was threatened in a way that bent the Sixers until they broke in previous seasons, but this time their defense held with a couple stellar defensive possessions, which show just how far this team has come in terms of experience and professionalism. 

And oh yeah: The 117-109 win came over against a Miami Heat team that had just won an NBA season-best 13 games in a row, including an absolute immolation of an undermanned Sixers squad in South Beach a week earlier. The Ballers beat the hottest team in the NBA, they did so convincingly, and they did so without either of the dudes who are supposed to comprise the crux of their foundation. They've rebounded from a five-game losing streak and they're now 7-16 on the season without Embiid (and of course Ben Simmons) -- good for a 25-win pace, which would still be the best of the Brett Brown era. Can you imagine what this team could do if health and/or mismanagement would stop getting in their way? 

Hell of a season, Brett.

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