Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown is pleased with his team's body of work on the defensive side of the ball to this point in the NBA season.

Brown told reporters on Wednesday that he would give his Sixers squad a “high mark” for their defense:

The Sixers have won their first three games of the season, including a 14-point win on opening night in which they held the Boston Celtics to 93 points and under 37 percent shooting from the field. Philadelphia also has the second-best defensive rating in the NBA thus far, according to Basketball-Reference.

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Joel Embiid has only played in two games, but he should be a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year award if he can stay healthy. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris are very capable perimeter defenders and they are also unafraid to bang down low.

Meanwhile, Josh Richardson should be a very capable replacement for Jimmy Butler on the defensive end. Butler is one of the most heralded individual defenders in basketball, but Richardson is long and athletic.

Perhaps most notably, rookie swingman Matisse Thybulle has been every bit as good of a defender as the Sixers expected him to be when they selected him with the No. 20 overall pick in this year's draft. Thybulle is still finding his rhythm offensively, but he already has eight steals and four blocks, and his versatility fits right in with Philly's rangy identity.

The Sixers were already expected to be favorites in the Eastern Conference, but they could take a similar leap to that of the 2018-19 Milwaukee Bucks if they continue this wave of defensive pressure.