Following his team's 122-97 defeat against the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown admitted that the Sixers still have a long way to go before they can consider themselves to be serious contenders in the East.

It was the Sixers' biggest loss of the season thus far, and after the thrashing, Brown was in no mood to sugarcoat his words.

“We are not, right now, at this present moment, amongst the royalty in the East and we understand that,” Brown said, per Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “And it’s a badge that we want. It’s in us. But at this moment, after 11 games, that’s not where we are. And that’s OK.

“This group does have fight, this group does have pride and we will find a way to move on, move up, move forward and that’s my job.”

While Brown was being brutally honest here, he was still able to compliment his team and their unquestionable potential. The Sixers certainly have the tools to be one of the best teams in the East, and it's just a matter of figuring things out.

Away performances have been the downfall of the team thus far. The Sixers have won all six home games this season, but amazingly, have also lost all five away games to start the new campaign.

Excluding their one-point defeat against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 23, the Sixers' losing margin for away games is currently at 18.8 points per game. That's definitely quite a spread.

The good news for the team is that it's still very early in the season. The Sixers still have a lot of time to turn it around, and so long as they are able to carry over their home performances to their road games, they should be in good shape.