Sixers' Brett Brown has to learn from costly mistakes

It had been 142 days since the Sixers played their last meaningful game of basketball. Expectations were as high as they have soared all season and the long-awaited debut of the new starting lineup was finally put on full display. Just as has been the theme throughout the entire process, the time came for them to take the next step and they struggled. Falling to the 5th seed Pacers 127-121, the Sixers were hit with a needed dose of reality with the playoffs set to start in just 7 games. While there is no doubt that disappointing efforts were seen from key role players, Brett Brown needs to have a serious look in the mirror and evaluate his management of the rotation and ability to give the team the best chance to win.

Shake's Stinker

To start with, Shake Milton has to play better. In many ways, Shake is the X-factor and his fit within the team is essential for them to reach their playoff potential. In Saturday's game, Shake played just 19 minutes, racking up 5 fouls with 0 points and 3 assists, on just one shot attempt. He never settled in and the most notable part of his performance was his spat on the sideline with Joel Embiid. Shake has seen his role on the team be increased greatly in the return to play as he was handed the keys to the offense as the new starting point guard. Few guys have seen their role ascend so quickly and it seemed as if Shake was not entirely ready for this drastic change. Don't forget that just a few months ago he was told not the expect a role on the team and if not for injuries he would not have been given the very chance that he has taken advantage of.

While it is not Brett Brown's fault for the poor performance from Shake, his lack of adjustments for it is noteworthy. The first attempt from Brown was to sub in Furkan Korkmaz for Shake and Josh Richardson took over the role of primary ball-handler. Richardson did not play much better than Shake and in his 30 minutes of play, he scored just 4 points on 4 shots with 1 assist and a -9 performance. J-Rich has shown promise in this role in the scrimmages in addition to time in the regular season. Ben Simmons was also forced back into a more on-ball role which goes against all they have worked on since the return.

Raul Neto

The most surprising move by Brett Brown was the usage of Raul Neto. After seeming like nearly an afterthought in the scrimmage games and buzz surrounding the team, Neto got 21 minutes of clock in the opening seeding game. In those 21 minutes, Raul turned out a whopping 2 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebound performance. While the 5-year journeyman does not have any glaring weaknesses in his game, he fails to bring anything unique to the team on the court. His playstyle is vanilla and his minutes are largely forgettable after the initial thought of "Is that really Raul Neto playing?" Neto has carved out a career in playing smart and doing the little things, but he is certainly not the player expected to log the 6th highest minutes on the day.

What Happened To Alec Burks?

One veteran who may have been a better solution is Alec Burks, The man whom teammates refer to as "Buckets" flashed when he filled in time at PG and made an immediate impact when subbed into the game. After sitting out the first quarter, Burks opened up the 2nd quarter in the backcourt alongside Raul Neto. Burks knocked down a pair of 3's in his first 3 minutes on the court. Despite this, Burks played just 12 total minutes and ended with 9 points. Burks has looked to be more comfortable playing with the ball and impressed in the scrimmages since the return, but it seemed clear that Brown is not planning on using him in this fashion for any significant minutes.

Continued on the page below.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Other Bench Minutes

Burks was not the only bench player to get shorted minutes as Matisse Thybulle also only played 12 minutes and Furkan Korkmaz only got 14 minutes of burn. The offense never hit its stride and the defensive woes were even more concerning. The Sixers gave up an inexcusable 46 points in the 4th quarter and they never found an answer for TJ Warren's 53 point performance. After all the recent talk of Simmons deserving to be in the DPOY discussion, TJ Warren ate him up with a subpar effort that rivaled his LSU days. In the time Simmons spent being the primary defender on Warren, TJ scored 24 points while shooting 9 of 10 from the field and 5 of 5 from 3 point range. Mike Scott and Glenn Robinson III both missed the game and GRIII has the potential to be a key piece moving in the rotation when he returns.

It was especially daunting to see the decisions made down the stretch. Up 10 points with 8 minutes and 38 seconds left, Brett Brown subbed out Embiid and Tobias Harris who were the team's most consistent scorers on the day. At that point, the Pacers went on a 14-3 run to take the lead 102-101. Flashbacks of last year's playoffs ensued as Horford played no better than the efforts of Greg Monroe or Boban Marjanovic. Tonight's bench woes also fall on the heels of a 31-point performance from Trey Burke. While it is true that Burke would not have been the long-term answer either, it is undeniable the talent that Trey flashed. The situation never played itself out for the 27-year-old former Michigan stand-out (or his father), and Brett Brown's coaching style seemed far from a match.

What was most concerning out of Brett Brown was the decision making down the stretch. Despite never finding their stride in the game, the Sixers till held an 87-81 lead going into the fourth quarter. The "Embiid Factor" was in full effect as JoJo netted a +21 rating on the day despite the loss. Say what you want about Embiid's health, but he is a legitimate star and the team looks completely different without him on the court. The hopes of Horford being able to be the answer as a backup center took a major hit as the Sixers were -26 with him on the court.

The nervous whispers of Embiid not being healthy were shushed rather quickly on Saturday as JoJo finished the game with a dominant 41 point and 21 rebound performance. Joel proved he is the clear number 1 offensive option and his presence was greatly missed every second he spent on the bench. The trio of Embiid, Tobias, and Simmons combined for 90 points, which is all you can ask for. If they can produce up to that standard on a regular basis one would expect our chances to be pretty strong. It wasn't an ideal game, but it is one that should have provided Brett Brown with enough to juice out a victory.

Game management has always been the biggest flaw in Brett Brown's coaching ability and this will become a bigger deal as the team heads toward the playoffs. There are still 7 more seeding games before playoffs, so it is not time to chalk it up yet. But it should not be forgotten how warm Brown's seat was starting to feel when the season was put on hold. This year's Sixers team is loaded with more key pieces than has been seen in a long time, but it is up to Brett Brown to put the puzzle together. The game Saturday did not go according to plan from the start, but Brown must be able to adjust to this on the fly. The ability to put the proper line-up out there to scrape out winnable games is what separates a championship-contending team from a pretender. Failure to see growth in this area from Brown continues to be a source of a major source of frustration. The Sixers will look to bounce back against the Spurs, and hopefully the impressive Sixers team we have only seen flashes of decides to show up.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports