The chants of “trust the process” are not bothering Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown, who has rather come to embrace the moniker over the first 17 games of the season.
While most coaches would want the crowd to be quiet while their players shoot free-throws, Brown has welcomed Philly fans chanting while his prized star Joel Embiid goes to the line.
“I do [like it],” Brown told ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Sunday. “I do. You know, I think we need something like that in this city and I'm not frowning upon that. We want to have some fun.”
With the injury to No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons and the uncertain future of Nerlens Noel, the 4-13 Sixers have a long process before the front office actions materialize into wins.
“I think it's all good,” Brown said. “I'm personally at a stage that you get — and I say this in a positive way — you're sort of numb to scrutiny. You're numb to taking the massive amounts of hits that we're all — and I say it personally, with the team — you feel hardened. You just got another layer of armor. And so the fans standing, the fans on us, the fans with us — I see our world clearly and we're not blinking.”
The Cameroonian seems to feed off the crowd and has responded admirably during the first fifth of the season, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots despite his minutes cap of 22 minutes per game.
“How many times do you see over our past few years where somebody is going to go stalk somebody down, like LeBron [James], in open court at 7-2, at 275 pounds and bat it off of the board and then look at the crowd… and want Philadelphia to stand up, and Philadelphia stands up?” Brown said, recalling a block Embiid had on James the last time the Sixers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers. “And he'll pound, pound [with his dribble and then] dunk. And he'll flex and he'll go to the line and Philadelphia stands up.
“And there is a confidence that I love because it's also mirrored by talent. There's a toughness that this city demands — it's Philadelphia — that I just think this city is going to wrap their arms around him the more he plays. He's still like a gangling 20-something-year-old to me … And that doesn't cloud his mojo, his swagger, his attitude and I love it. I love it. It's what our program needs.”
Follow Us
Subscribe