Brett Brown: 'We Are Open About Our Pre-Mortem'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia 76ers are no strangers to losing.
Since taking over as Sixers head coach in 2013, Brett Brown has just 17 wins, and none in his first seven games of this season.
"The reality of it is, we've had a lot of practice in this the last two years," Brown told reporters via CSNPhilly.com after his team's 111-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. "And so, I think that when you anticipate possibilities like we're going through, we have a thing we call a pre-mortem. If we're gonna die, how's it gonna be? And we talk freely about it."
While the Sixers are one of only three winless teams remaining in the NBA, rookie center Jahlil Okafor is off to an excellent start averaging 19.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. On Monday, Okafor had 21 points and 15 rebounds, his first career double-double.
Brown expressed development of the Sixers' young players as the team's No. 1 priority.
"And what always comes up in times like now is, we must stay together, we must be clear about our purpose and what the compass is for this year's team," Brown said. "And so it's always the same old, same old. We want to get you guys better, we want to help you get to the next level. Whether it's Jahlil's rebounding or Nerlens' [Noel] free-throw [shooting] or whatever.
"So we go right back to home plate, we stay together, we make sure that we don't get distracted, and we recognize what's most important. What's most important? And I think that we have earmarked those things in a very nonnegotiable way, we've delivered them to our team. They hear me say this all the time and we keep those young guys together and spirited. That's all we got."
