Brett Brown is convinced that the Sixers could accomplish much better results this season if they could just take care of the ball. Credit: Getty Images
Sixers coach Brett Brown has repeatedly said he expected growing pains this season.
He’s OK with that.
But he’s not content with how the Sixers have been playing.
Plain and simple, they’ve been highly erratic and continue to lead the NBA in turnovers per game.
With their season high-tying 26 turnovers Monday night at Brooklyn, the Sixers saw their turnovers per game average increase to 17.4.
The Sixers have turned the ball over 25 times or more three times this season.
And they haven’t seen this many miscues since their frustrating 22-60 season in 1996-97.
“I think I’ve got to do a better job of tightening some things up,” Brown said.
The players are keenly aware of what has transpired on the court. They’re not happy and understand this trend needs to change immediately.
“Some of them are just careless and we know that,” center Spencer Hawes said. “Other times, we’re attacking and making bad decisions. You’re going to have some turnovers, but you can’t expect to win consistently in this league with as many turnovers as we’ve had. On the flip side, I think we’re improving and the young guys are getting better every game. That’s a positive sign.”
In that loss at Brooklyn, four players had at least four turnovers.
The topic has been discussed on a daily basis.
“I don’t think anyone in this locker room is happy with the turnover issue,” forward Thaddeus Young said. “We know it has to be cleaned up. At the same time, we have to be aggressive. If you lose that aggressiveness, it can hurt you. But at the same time, you have to be smart with how you’re attacking the basket.
“This is a major issue for us and we need to fix it. We’re working extremely hard to improve in this area of our game because it will definitely help us win ballgames.”
The Sixers committed 16 turnovers in Wednesday’s 114-108 loss to the Celtics, which is slightly under their average. To really improve, it’s going to take a team effort. That’s a tall task with such an inexperienced team.
“We just need to value the basketball best we can,” Hawes said. ‘I’m confident things will improve. They have to.”
