December 08, 2015
On a day when the Sixers were already very much in the news, they got taken to the woodshed by the San Antonio Spurs, 119-68. The 51-point defeat was the largest home loss in franchise history, and the team's head coach didn't have much to offer after the game.
“I think it’s the first time where I’ve been in front of you all where I really don’t have anything to say,” said the normally talkative Brett Brown.
When asked a few questions, Brown, who we earlier learned is in “deep discussions” on a new contract with the team, was in fact able to muster a few answers.
“I think that when you play as poorly as we did in front of our home crowd, there are great lessons that we can learn if we’re smart, because that’s embarrassing,” he said.
“And it was interesting to me to watch our guys actually come more together than separate in the second half, try to help each other."
Brown, who is very familiar with the Spurs after assisting Gregg Popovich for 12 years, said the Sixers “felt every bit” of San Antonio’s stingy defense. That unit leads the league in defensive efficiency.
San Antonio held the Sixers to 68 points despite missing a couple of their best defenders, Kawhi Leonard and the ageless Tim Duncan. After the game, some of the Spurs offered sympathy for their former colleague/coach.
“What’s tough is I know he’s a hell of a coach, but it’s not a fair battle talent for talent,” Popovich told reporters after the game. “It’s ridiculous.”
Spurs Tony Parker on the #76ers "In this league, you can't have just young guys. You need veterans. I feel bad a little bit for Brownie."
— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) December 8, 2015
With new front-office addition Jerry Colangelo sitting courtside next to co-managing owner Josh Harris, the Sixers weren’t competitive from the opening tip. At the end of the game, the Philly crowd took a particular interest in 7-foot-3 Spurs center Boban Marjanovic, who finished with 18 points.
“We just came out a little lackadaisical,” Nerlens Noel said. “We didn’t come out with the edge and intensity we needed to against a team that moves the ball so well.”
Even though the Sixers sit at 1-21, they had been more competitive recently only to throw away game after game down the stretch. The trend obviously changed on Monday night.
“The only way out of this is to go back and do what we’ve been doing,” Brown said. “I’m going to push this game aside and really that’s all I think I have to say about this game.”
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
