Sizing Up the Sixers (7-21):It's that time of year once again for the 76ers. With the winter holidays on the immediate horizon, and a week-long run of Disney on Ice shows booked at The Center, the team is back on the road for its annual late-December Western Conference trip.The Phoenix Suns are up first Friday night at 9:00 PM EST, followed by stops at the Sacramento Kings Monday, the Utah Jazz Thursday, and the Denver Nuggets Friday. The four-game, nine-day trek, when completed, will be the Sixers' longest to-date.Joel Embiid laid out his club's goals in clear, direct terms Thursday, prior to the Sixers boarding a plane bound for the desert.”Just get all four wins,” said the rookie big man.Coming from the mouth of a player, an ambitious, hungry outlook such as that one is as reasonable as it is expected. For a head coach, there is not only similar optimism, but a sense of opportunity as well.Perhaps few people other than Brett Brown better understand the realities surrounding the Sixers, and the growth that the young group is presently undergoing. Brown, however, also recognizes that before heading back home to ring in the new year, his squad will play three of its next four outings against opponents with sub-.500 records.Peeking ahead, the Suns are 8-21, the Kings and Nuggets each 12-17. Only the Jazz, with a mark of 18-12, currently find themselves on the winning side of the ledger. “You surely judge who you're playing, and you're very obviously aware of their record, and where they are,” said Brown, who then added, “It doesn't change for me much. It's the same sort of purpose.”These are words one would anticipate hearing from a man who has preached the importance of not skipping steps since assuming control of the Sixers' sideline in August of 2013. One dynamic, of course, that is somewhat different from past years is that the Sixers, for the first time in Brown's tenure, now have a center rotation stacked with youthful, healthy blue-chip talent. He and the Sixers' front office have subsequently had to devise a strategy for sorting out minutes.The plan, at least until the end of this road trip, appears to be that Embiid and Okafor will continue to serve as the Sixers' starting frontcourt duo, and receive the bulk of playing time at center. This has been the case for the previous four contests. Once January rolls around, Brown indicated Thursday the team will “reassess” the state of the frontcourt, and evaluate data that the Embiid-Okafor combination has turned in from the last two weeks. “You're trying to experiment with our guys, you're trying to grow your defense, you're trying to see what you actually have,” Brown said Thursday. “All those things that sound quite common remain. We are aware of who we're playing, and the record that those teams have, but the general direction and philosophy of which we're going to approach these games really quite remains the same.”Nerlens Noel, eager to physically and mentally regain game-ready form following an injury absence lasting nearly two months, hopes to accomplish goals both collective and individual during the Sixers' trip. He's appeared in three games so far, including Tuesday's setback to New Orleans.”Just go ahead and play good basketball,” said Noel, when asked Thursday what he wants to see from the Sixers, starting Friday evening at Talking Stick Resort Arena. “This team's only getting better and better. As we go to the West Coast, just individually, I want to continue to learn these sets, so I can naturally have a free-flowing game when I'm in there. Just still sticking to the basics, and just continuing to work.”On the human side, a stint on the road this long at this specific juncture of the calendar presents challenges for coaches, players, and support staffs alike. But, spending winter holidays on the road, often away from family and friends, is a reality that as many as 15 of the NBA's 30 teams face any given year.A self-professed “Christmas romantic,” Brown, a father of three, has learned to adapt, between his 12 seasons as an assistant in San Antonio, and now in his fourth campaign with the Sixers. “I think you just sort of redirect the spirit of Christmas to your team,” he said Thursday. “You're with each other. They become your sort of extended family.”For this year's edition of the Sixers roster, even in the 11 short weeks that have passed since training camp was held at Stockton University, Brown has developed a specific appreciation.”I'm very fond of this group,” said Brown, no stranger to adversity. “We're going through one of the most challenging times that I have had since I have been here. I concede that. I tell them that. We speak very freely. There are no elephants in the room as it relates to the bigs and the situation.”He then recalled a moment from Tuesday's game versus the Pelicans, in which Embiid, Noel, and Okafor all huddled together in a show of camaraderie and teammate-ship. “That is heartwarming, that's real,” Brown said. “We're trying to figure it all out together. So this extended family that we have, and going away together, maybe it's just the perfect time to do that.”Along those lines, we'll let Noel have the last few words.”It's crazy because, in my four years here, I think this is one of the more close-knit team we've ever had,” said the big man, who, along with Hollis Thompson, is one of two Sixers to be coached by Brown since his hiring. “I think the players that we have had over these past couple years have figured out their niche, and guys' personalities are all coming together, and just working as a team, figuring things out. I think this team's in a good place, and guys are all great guys, and really get along.”Sizing Up the Suns (8-21):Phoenix enters Friday's pairing having dropped four consecutive games to quality opponents – the Spurs, Thunder, Timberwolves, and Rockets. The skid is tied for the longest active losing streak in the NBA.The Suns play with tempo, generating over 103 possessions per game, good for the league's second-highest pace. Their collective speed has translated especially well on the offensive end, as the club ranks second and third, respectively, in the NBA with 17.8 fast-break points and 18.3 points off turnovers per game.The Suns' backcourt combination of Devin Booker, an All-Rookie selection a season ago, and veteran Eric Bledsoe has been dangerous. Both are averaging over 19 points per game, and each boasts five games with at least 30 points. Series History:The Sixers' 120-105 victory over Phoenix on November 19th was their third straight in the series between the teams. That night at The Center, Joel Embiid tallied what was then a career-best 26 points, to go along with seven rebounds. Nik Stauskas scored a season-high 21 points.Follow Along:
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