Everyone has their opinion on whether rebuilding is a good plan or not. It appears Brett Brown, on the surface, has a negative opinion on it himself. Though he publicly claims he doesn’t regret the plan, Brown has made it known that things are not going the way he imagined or anticipated.
It started last month when he admitted he was thrown off by having to slide Nerlens Noel to power forward because he anticipated the team would draft Andrew Wiggins. That was the very first indication that the head coach may be out of the dark for the plan with the squad. The fact that he used the word “anticipate” indicates he’s not even being told the plan in exact detail, or what the team targets, but rather he’s just guessing along just as the fans are.
Last night, he added another piece of evidence that the plan isn’t quite the same as the one he envisioned in his mind. He claimed that when he and Sam Hinkie each took their jobs, they never thought that in year two they would be this far off from competing against the rest of the NBA on a nightly basis.
The interesting point is not so much that they are losing, but the fact that the head coach seems a bit off in the way he’s expecting things to go. The Sixers were never going to make a playoff run this season, so ultimately how many games they win/lose should irrelevant, aside from draft positioning. The takeaway here is apparent discourse in what to expect.
Game Notes:
- The Knicks have won 10 of the last 13 games in this series.
- Michael Carter-Williams, who had a triple-double last year against the Knicks, averaged nearly one last season with 18.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 8.3 apg.
- When allowing at least 96 points in a game, the Knicks are 0-9 this season.
Injuries:
Andrea Bargnani, who was expected to make his season debut tonight, is out with calf injury, suffered trying to return from a hamstring injury. Claeanthony Early (knee) is also out. For the Sixers, Joel Emiid (foot), Jerami Grant (ankle) and Jason Richardson (knee/foot) are all out.
Projected Lineups:
Philadelphia:
PG- Michael Carter-Williams
SG- Tony Wroten
SF- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
PF- Nerlens Noel
C- Henry Sims
New York:
PG- Shane Larkin
SG- Iman Shumpert
SF- Carmelo Anthony
PF- Quincy Acy
C- Samuel Dalembert
Prediction: The Knicks pull away late and take it 100-91.
