Some thoughts and observations left over from the 76ers’ most recent game, a 108-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at The Center.
The 76ers took the defending NBA champions down to the wire, using a furious 20-5 fourth-quarter run to level the tilt at 105-105 with 22.3 seconds to play. With time expiring, Golden State All-Star Draymond Green – stationed at the free throw line – found Harrison Barnes open in the corner. Barnes’ three-point heave found the bottom of the net, and wiped out any possibility of an overtime period, or a potential Sixers’ victory.As much as the first half belonged to Golden State (they reached the 70-point mark by intermission for the eighth time this season), the Sixers were the superior-executing team following the break. They stepped up their commitment to defense and pace, and managed to scrap and claw their way back to within striking distance. To give you a sense of just how much the game changed after 24 minutes of play, here’s a comparison of the box scores from the first and second halves. First Half: GSW 73, PHI 54Second Half: PHI 51, GSW 35″Give them credit,” Golden State All-Star guard Klay Thompson said afterwards of the Sixers’ ability to turn the course of the contest around. “They ain’t giving up. They played really hard. They’re a hard-playing team, and played disciplined at the end, the exact opposite of what we did.””I could feel it coming,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, discussing the Sixers’ comeback surge. “The first five minutes of the third quarter, we completely messed around with the game, and we probably should’ve lost. You know, if the gods delivered what should’ve happened, we probably should’ve lost because what happens when you mess around with the game and with the ball.”During that stretch of the third period to which Kerr was referring, Golden State gave the ball away six times in the opening five and a half minutes of the frame. When the game was said and done, the Sixers forced the Warriors into matching a season-high turnover total “We had 23 turnovers. After a beautiful first half of ball movement, we totally got away from our game, and lost our focus,” Kerr said. “But, you know, Harrison bailed us out, and Draymond made a great pass at the end.”Among the notable defensive developments that benefited the Sixers in Saturday’s second half, they contained Golden State, the NBA’s most prolific club, to their lowest output – 35 points – of any half this season. Furthermore, the Sixers yielded just 18 points in the third quarter, then buckled down to keep the Warriors to 17 points in the fourth period. Only one other opponent this year has held Golden State below 20 points in a quarter twice in the same game. That would be LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Christmas Day. “I think we started combining the physical side and the things we had talked about tactically and technically,” said Brett Brown. “I think our game changed when we brought Isaiah [Canaan] in with T.J. [McConnell] and Ish [Smith], we started playing three guards and amped up the speed. But I think our defense picked up more in the second half.”Since suffering a 95-85 loss to Cleveland on January 10th, Brown’s group is tied for the NBA’s third-best defensive rating (100.2 points allowed per 100 possessions). Only the Atlanta Hawks (96.5) and San Antonio Spurs (99.6) have been better in that respect.
Steve Kerr readily admits it. He feels “really lucky,” as he said before Saturday’s game at The Center. Hired by Golden State in May of 2014, the now 50-year old took over a roster that had already assembled the pieces for a young, budding All-Star nucleus, and had also put together back-to-back playoff seasons. Following an opening round exit from the post-season a few weeks before Kerr’s hiring, Warriors management decided to dismiss Mark Jackson, and replace him with an untested coaching commodity. Kerr, a five-time champion and the NBA’s most accurate three-point shooter of all-time, accumulated extensive broadcasting and front office experience following his playing career, but never once had he managed a sideline. In leading Golden State to a 67-15 record and the league crown last year, Kerr turned in the best winning percentage for a first-time head coach in NBA history. He was also the first rookie head coach to clinch a championship since Pat Riley did so with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982. Brett Brown was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs while Kerr played for the team, and believes the Warriors’ bench boss has made a high-pressure assignment look easy.”Without a doubt,” Brown said on Friday after the Sixers concluded practicing. “You inherit some of those teams that their only judgment day is do you win a championship or don’t you. And that was kind of where that program was out. Mark Jackson did a good job, and took them quite far, and that was going to be their report card, you either won it or you didn’t. I just think he handled the whole situation with class, and was very well-coached. He surrounded himself with good people, and was a fantastic leader. I think when you really study the leadership involved with what I think he did from a far, apart from just the really good coaching, that stands out to me as much to me as it does the court-time decisions.”Brown called Kerr “one of my all-time favorites.” When Brown returned to San Antonio’s coaching staff on a full-time basis for the Spurs’ 2002-2003 championship run, he served as the organization’s Director of Player Development. One of his responsibilities was to be Kerr’s personal workout coach. Brown said he has always admired Kerr for his “perseverence”, “spirit,” and “personality,” adding that Kerr gave him the “greatest lesson…of staying ready and not knowing when you’re going to have your number called.”Kerr looked back fondly on his experiences with Brown as well. Going back as far as nearly a decade and a half, the sharp-shooter saw NBA head coaching qualities in Brown. “He was already coaching with the Australian National Team, and obviously learning under [Gregg Popovich] has its advantages, and I know that from first-hand experience,” said Kerr. “Brett has the personality and the drive and the intelligence to do this job very well. His approach is so refreshing and fun.”Even while trying to get the Sixers on the track towards long-term, sustained success. “He’s doing great,” Kerr continued. “He’s got incredible energy. There’s nobody better for this job of trying to develop young players than Brett. I’m pulling for him. His spirit is pretty impressive to watch.”
