The Sixers fell to 2-3 to open the 2018/19 season after losing to the Bucks on Wednesday night. While stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have looked good, as has veteran sharpshooter J.J. Redick, that hasn’t been enough for the club so far, as head coach Brett Brown said after his team was defeated by Milwaukee.
“We need help,” Brown said, per Keith Pompey of Philly.com. “We need other people stepping up, and playing more as a team and getting Mike [Muscala] and Wilson [Chandler] back in this. … I like what we have. I really like what we have. It’s just early days. You know we are struggling a little bit.”
Despite suggesting that the Sixers “need help,” Brown isn’t advocating for a trade this early in the season. Instead, he’s hoping that incorporating those new additions into the lineup will help unlock contributions from the team’s role players. Muscala returned to the court this week and Chandler is inching closer to making his debut for Philadelphia. Brown is betting that once the Sixers are at full strength, they won’t have to lean so heavily on Embiid, Simmons, and Redick.
“Those three are doing a lot of work,” Brown said, per Pompey. “They really are carrying the fort a lot.”
“We can’t just rely on certain guys,” Robert Covington added. “So other guys have got to definitely make things happen.”
While it’s certainly possible that the Sixers will seek reinforcements later in the season via trades or on the buyout market, returning players like Redick and Dario Saric believe that the team is capable of getting back to where it was at the end of last season, even without key contributors like Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova. Redick suggests that the Sixers just “have some catching up to do,” while Saric says they’re “not on the same page” so far, as Pompey details.
“I think everybody needs to step up and try to play like last year with the confidence,” Saric said. “I think we are thinking too much. We’ve just got to play the game.”
Where does last year’s number 1 overall pick play into this? Fultz has been a disaster.
Ben Simmons has been absolute garbage I don’t give a crap about his stupid triple doubles, he needs to start scoring the ball. There should be no reason for Ben Simmons to not be putting up 20-25 points a night and I don’t even want to get started on Fultz who seems like he’s trolling out there not even shooting the ball.
Dionis did you start paying someone to comment for You? You’re actually making sense this year!
Lol nah man it’s just facts. I admire Simmons’s all around game but he’s got to get up at least 20-25 points a night, no excuse not to.
Once Wilson Chandler comes back, that adds important versatility, especially defensively. They should probably also let Fultz come off the bench regularly, instead of messing with his role. I get the idea to give him early confidence, and then put him back on that 2nd unit later in the game, but I just think it makes more sense to have Reddick in that starting lineup with Simmons and Embiid. I could see Fultz in that lineup if they had Simmons at the 4, but they’re using him as a PG
Get some help from Butler. Fultz doesn’t fit with Simmons. The longer they keep him, the less value he has.
Fultz, Covington, and a 1st for Butler.
Does Fultz not fit with Simmons, or does Fultz just not fit as an impact player in the NBA?
Will trade you bulter. But for saric fultz and a 1st.
Covington & a #1 pick
I don’t think Covington helps them, they’d probably want Saric. I also don’t see them having Fultz very high.
They need coaching help. Brown sucks as a coach.
Lottery here they come! Fultz is a bust and simmons looks more lamar odom than lbj by the day! Cant shoot lol embiid is the only solid contributer and he has and will have concerns about his body lol.
Lol. Excellent trolling!
It’s valid. I would agree except for the lottery part. But Reddick will wish he signed with Pacers!
Karma for all that tanking the 76ers were doing! Plus they traded a # 1 for fultz! Could’ve got Tatum! HaHa
Chin Chan Chun
Every team in the league has tanked. Your rationale for “karma” is dumb. Knicks = Ewing. Spurs = Duncan.
Covington sucks, Fultz isn’t playing enough, letting the other two go was a joke.
Fultz, Chandler, RoCo, Bayless 2020 1st, 2 2019 2nds for Lillard, Turner, and Leonard.
Lmao put the crack pipe down