Storyline: Reggie Jackson Injury
123 rumors in this storyline
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Rod Beard: It seems the #Pistons are more optimistic that Reggie Jackson will return to the lineup in a couple weeks and be able to contribute this season. That will help with managing Derrick Rose’s minutes and add another scorer to the starting lineup.
Rod Beard: #Pistons Reggie Jackson saw a specialist in L.A. and is making progress but there is no timeframe on a return as he is continuing toward full basketball activities.
Vincent Ellis: #Pistons coach Dwane Casey says Reggie Jackson (back) will likely be re-evaluated for a potential return after Christmas. Has been out since the the first two games of the season. He’s been doing non-contract stuff for several weeks.
James Edwards III: #Pistons announce that point guard Reggie Jackson (Stress reaction in lower back) has made progress but will continue rehab for another two weeks and then be re-evaluated.
Rod Beard: For those wondering, the #Pistons announced Reggie Jackson’s stress injury in his back on Nov. 2 and said he would be re-evaluated in four weeks. That means we should be hearing something at least in the next few days. I wouldn’t expect a return soon, though.
Rod Beard: In early injury report, #Pistons Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Reggie Jackson and Sekou Doumbouya are listed as OUT for tomorrow at #Pacers. Tim Frazier is doubtful. Could change tomorrow, possibly.
Reggie Jackson out four weeks
Shams Charania: Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson has a stress reaction in his lower back and will be out for at least four weeks.
Rod Beard: Word on #Pistons Reggie Jackson: He has lower-back tightness that is exacerbated with the activity. He can go a certain amount of distance and then it starts to flare up. Once it starts to spasm up, he’s not moving right.
James Edwards III: #Pistons’ Dwane Casey said Reggie Jackson (back) is out. He wouldn’t say who is going to start.
Vincent Ellis: The expectation is Reggie Jackson (back) will be available Monday night when the #Pistons face the #Pacers. He missed Saturday’s loss to the #76ers.
Vincent Ellis: Reggie Jackson (back) our tonight vs. #76ers.
Rod Beard: #Pistons Dwane Casey on Reggie Jackson’s recovery from an ankle sprain: “If he’s in uniform, he’s going to play. We’re going to war and he says he’s okay and can go, so we have to be ready to roll from that standpoint.” Jackson is slated to start tonight vs. #Lakers.
James Edwards III: Dwane Casey: Reggie Jackson will start tonight. X-rays were negative.
James Edwards III: Reggie Jackson (ankle) is questionable against the Lakers. Again, would be surprised if he wasn’t back by, at least, next week’s West Coast trip. LeBron James is out because, of course, load management.
Rod Beard: FINAL: #Pistons 120, #Knicks 103 Drummond: 29 pts (season high), 20 rebs, 3 blks Griffin: 26 pts, 6 rebs, 4 assts Jackson: 20 pts, 6 assts It’s DET’s first 3-game win streak since Dec. 1.
Vincent Ellis: #Pistons coach Dwane Casey says PG Reggie Jackson (ankle) will be on a minutes restriction. He said he will force himself to limit Blake Griffin’s minutes.
Erik Horne: No Reggie Jackson (right ankle) for the Pistons tonight. Blake Griffin not starting, but not on injury list.
Jackson was back at full speed Thursday during training camp at Crisler Center, after a summer of rehabbing his surgically repaired right ankle prevented him from participating in off-season basketball activities. “Another step in the process of being on the court,” Jackson said. “Happy to get some five-on-five and contact with my teammates. I feel good. Wind feels good, my body feels great.”
Casey isn’t certain if or how much Jackson will play in the preseason, which starts Wednesday at Oklahoma City. “I’m going to play it by ear,” Casey said. “I’m going to talk with the medical people and find out, make sure he checks with his body. As well as he’s playing, we’ll see where we can get him in and get him some run and get the rust off.”
James Edwards III: News from #Pistons camp: Reggie Jackson is continuing to progress, participated again. Leuer is still up in the air for preseason. Also, Casey said he didn’t know how good Blake was until he got his hands on him.
Vincent Ellis: #Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson (right ankle) was a full-participant in 5-on-5 stuff today, according to Dwane Casey. Said he looked rusty and throwing the ball all over the place, but was good to see him out there.
The Pistons are hopeful Reggie Jackson will be ready to play by the start of the season, although he’s still working his way back into shape following an ankle injury. Jackson went down in late December, derailing what had been a promising start for Detroit in 2017-18.
Ed Stefanski, a new senior executive for the Pistons, sounds optimistic about Jackson’s health, but the point guard’s recovery isn’t complete yet. “Reggie is fully healed. We did an MRI I think a couple weeks ago, and it’s perfect,” Stefanski said at media day Monday. “It’s just now basketball shape, and he hasn’t played all summer long.”
“I’m excited to be getting on the court,” Jackson said. “I didn’t touch a court much in the summer, so I’m excited to just go ahead and love on Spalding some — get out there with my teammates and try to get back to playing basketball.”
Rod Beard: #Pistons Ed Stefanski: “Reggie is fully healed. We did an MRI a couple weeks ago. It was perfect. Now, it’s just basketball shape…hoping to get him ready to go opening night.”
Detroit Pistons fans have been eager to see what a healthy dose of Reggie Jackson, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond means for the franchise’s postseason aspirations. And with opening night less than a month away, they may have to wait a little bit longer than anticipated. “I’m day-to-day,” said Jackson, who missed 37 games last season after suffering a grade-3 right ankle sprain on Dec. 26, “and I’m doing everything to get ready.”
And while the rest of his teammates gathered in California for offseason work with the new coaching staff, he kept his distance in order to get his body back to full health. “(Rehab) has been about getting mobility back and making sure the body is good,” he told reporters. “Rehab hasn’t just been about the ankle, but it’s making sure everything else is correct and ready to go. “I’ve been nursing injuries, and they’re nagging, but it’s part of the career, part of life.”
The Pistons finished 39-43 and parted ways with coach Stan Van Gundy on Monday, and Jackson realizes that things could have been different if he had been able to play more. “Being injured the past few years, I wish I could have done more and been healthy more to help us win games and to secure our future as a whole and (Van Gundy’s) future,” Jackson told The Detroit News. “I wish we could have been better the past few years and not have to get to this point.”
Rod Beard: #Pistons Reggie Jackson (pregame) on his return tonight (about 16 minutes): “I’m not going to try to force anything and just go out here and play basketball with the time that I’m allotted to play.”
Rod Beard: Jackson will start and play 15-16 minutes
James Edwards III: #Pistons’ Reggie Jackson will not suit up tonight, per SVG.
Rod Beard: #Pistons Reggie Jackson on ankle rehab: “It’s feeling better and not as much pain at all now. It’s just strengthening and doing everything functionally so that I can go out there and be myself but I’m getting more confident each and every day.”
Rod Beard: Full #Pistons SVG quote on Reggie Jackson’s progress: “He’s okay, but there’s nothing imminent with him. He’s doing his rehab and he did a little bit of 1-on-1 against one of the video guys today, but that’s as far along as he is.”
Rod Beard: #Pistons Stan Van Gundy on Reggie Jackson’s ankle rehab progress: “The plan right now is hopefully he’ll be able to run over the All-Star break … I don’t think he’ll be cutting by then. It’s all a buildup. That’s the hope: (Feb. 15th-21st), he’ll be running.”
Coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t have a detailed diagnosis but from replays, it looks to be more serious than a simple sprain. “Right now, the X-rays were negative; he’s got an ankle sprain,” Van Gundy said. “We’ll get an MRI and see (Wednesday) where we are.”
Rod Beard: #Pistons Andre Drummond on Reggie Jackson’s ankle injury: “That was tough to see my guy go down like that. It’ll be okay; it’s not as bad as we thought it was. He just needs time to rest and get himself together and he’ll be right back.”
From the loud yell he let out while writhing in pain on the court, it was clear almost immediately that Reggie Jackson was hurt. In the third quarter of Tuesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers, Jackson was driving to the basket threw a pass but landed on Pacers center Myles Turner’s foot. Jackson severely twisted his right ankle and stayed down on the court, unable to get up. He was helped to the locker room but couldn’t put any weight on the foot.
Michael Gallagher: Reggie Jackson is down. Grabbing his ankle.
Rod Beard: #Pistons SVG on Reggie Jackson’s confidence in his knee after return: “That’ll be dependent on him.” Right now, he feels ready to go. He feels different than at any point he did last year. I don’t think at any point last year he felt as good or had as much confidence in his legs as he has right now.”
“I just want to see him and make sure he’s ready to go,” Van Gundy said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow, whether or not he’s going to go tomorrow night. Our original plan going into today was to play him about 12 minutes in the first half and then make an evaluation at halftime going into the second half. “But now I don’t know if the (adductor) is going to complicate that.”
Jackson was a full participant for the first time this training camp in a full-contact scrimmage. Coach Stan Van Gundy decided to switch things up and scrimmage during the morning session and leave the instruction to the evening session. The sessions were reversed earlier this week. The 4-on-4, full-court action left Jackson in a playful mood with reporters afterward. “The pain I could tolerate,” Jackson said. “It was just the lack of explosion and the feeling you’re letting your teammates down out here — especially with the goals we had set last year.”
Vincent Ellis: #Pistons Reggie Jackson (knee) was full participant in 4-on-4, full-court scrimmage today. Downright jovial mood with reporters.
Reggie Jackson has to wait a little longer. With Detroit Pistons training camp beginning Tuesday, the team will conduct its first scrimmage later in the evening. The team is going to keep playing it cautious until Saturday when the plan is to allow Jackson and his left knee to fully participate in 5-on-5 action.
But after the trials of last season, Jackson is confident that after an off-season geared toward doing a better job of managing the chronic case of tendinitis, he is back to normal. “One hundred percent would always be great to feel, but this year I just want to be better than I was the day before,” Jackson said Wednesday at the practice facility in Auburn Hills.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told the Free Press on Monday morning that after an examination last week, Jackson has increased basketball activity and will arrive at the practice facility later this week to join teammates. “All good with the doctors and ramping up his basketball work,” Van Gundy wrote in a text. “He’ll be ready.”
The Detroit Pistons start training camp in two weeks. And Reggie Jackson, seeking a bounce-back season after struggling with left knee tendinitis, is on track to be on the floor when the team begins the earnest work of preparing to make the inaugural season at Little Caesars Arena a successful one. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told the Free Press on Monday morning that after an examination last week, Jackson has increased basketball activity and will arrive at the practice facility later this week to join teammates.
“All good with the doctors and ramping up his basketball work,” Van Gundy wrote in a text. “He’ll be ready.” Jackson appears to be right on schedule.
Stan Van Gundy likes practice. But he also wants a completely healthy Reggie Jackson. So don’t expect him to be a full participant in two-a-day practices when the Detroit Pistons being training camp Sept. 26.
“He should be good to go for the start of camp,” Van Gundy said after the Little Caesars Arena ribbon-cutting ceremony today. “I don’t think on the days we do two-a-days that we’ll have him do two (practices), but other than that, the hope is he’ll be ready to go. “You never know, but he should be.” Van Gundy – and the whole organization – has fingers crossed when it comes Jackson.
Vincent Ellis: SVG: Reggie Jackson has yet to return to basketball activity, but set to enter ramp-up soon with camp starting Sept. 26. #Pistons
Vincent Ellis: SVG: “I don’t think on the days we do 2-a-days that we’ll have him do 2 (practices), but other than that, the hope is he’ll be ready to go.”
But don’t expect Reggie Jackson, inactive for the last seven games, to return. “We just talked about that, and I don’t think so,” Van Gundy said. “It’s hard, because we’ve had that planned with him but to now say, ‘Oh, get ready’ – his mind has been in a different place here for a few days. “So no, I don’t think we’ll go back to that.”
Rod Beard: #Pistons SVG says he doesn’t plan to play Reggie Jackson in the last 4 games. Injuries could change that.
“He’ll tell you he doesn’t have pain. He’s fine,” Van Gundy said. “But you’ve seen a lot of guys go through injuries. It takes time to really get back. He was trying to get back and as the games grew in importance and he had some bad ones, it started weighing him down and he wanted to do all the things he thought he should be able to do. He put a lot of pressure on himself, forced the issue a little bit. He’s a competitor and he just wasn’t fight and it started to spiral a little bit.”
“I blame myself for that, a little bit, that we didn’t take care of this a little bit earlier. But it’s nothing he would’ve asked to do. He had some very good games, some very good fourth quarters. But I don’t think he ever got to a point where he felt like him himself. This is just the start of a long off-season of getting himself to not only get physically right but to mentally recharge, take the learning experiences from this season and come back better than ever. He’ll be 27 years old next year, so he’s coming into his prime, not going out of it.”
“This season at times, it felt good, and I could get (to my spot), but at other times, I felt like I was a shell of myself,” Jackson said. “I could see the gap, but I felt like I couldn’t get there, I couldn’t explode there seemingly as quick. “It was like guys were popping out of nowhere. They’d get back in front of the ball in front of me so I didn’t feel like I was the same.”
Pistons shutting down Reggie Jackson?
A. Sherrod Blakely: Reggie Jackson (neck spasms) will play tonight according to #Pistons HC Stan Van Gundy
Reggie Jackson to make season debut tonight
Rod Beard: #Pistons Stan Van Gundy says Reggie Jackson will play tonight vs. #Magic.
Rod Beard: #Pistons Stan Van Gundy on Reggie Jackson’s return: “It’s up to him now.”
Rod Beard: #Pistons Reggie Jackson on possibility of playing Sunday vs. #Magic: “We’ll see.”
Tyzzar (@WorldWideTy2332): Any further update on Reggie Jackson’s return date? Langlois: He indicated Monday that he’d probably need at least one more practice session with the team and that might force Van Gundy to do something he – and pretty much every coach – rarely does: practice on Thursday after a back-to-back set at Charlotte and Boston. It wouldn’t be a typical practice, but it has to be something that comes close to approximating an NBA game – some semblance of full-court, five-on-five basketball. He’s been fully cleared medically to participate in everything the Pistons are doing in practice, so it’s no longer a case of physical limitations from his Oct. 10 platelet-rich plasma injection in his left knee. It’s a case now of Jackson feeling confident in the stability of the knee, feeling he’s knocked off sufficient rust and feeling like his conditioning is at an acceptable level if less than optimal.
Stan Van Gundy confirmed pregame Monday starting point guard Reggie Jackson has been cleared for contact drills in practice and could begin those as soon as Tuesday. “How much, I don’t know,” Van Gundy said. “But that he’ll be able to do some. And quite honestly, (it) will be a lot like last year when Brandon (Jennings) was coming back. You sort of structure your practice around those guys when they’re coming back.” Jackson has been rehabbing his left knee since Oct. 10, when he had plasma injection therapy to treat tendinitis.
January 20, 2020 | 2:48 pm UTC Update
Do the Nets try to upgrade the roster before free agency? General manager Sean Marks will do his due diligence ahead of the trade deadline, and although Irving recently said that the team needs another piece in addition to Durant to be true title contenders, it’s hard to see the Nets making such a significant move before Durant returns.
As one of the returnees on a team with eight newcomers, Kurucs was passed on the depth chart by multiple players until he recently found his stride. After such a promising rookie season in which he averaged 8.9 points per game on 45 percent shooting, Kurucs is averaging 4.3 points on 46 percent shooting this year. He still has the second-half of the year to prevent a sophomore slump, but given the Nets’ depth at forward and uncertainty surrounding his court case — he’s facing multiple domestic violence-related charges stemming from a September arrest — it’s hard not to wonder about his long-term future with the organization.
“I didn’t even know,” Mykhailiuk said Saturday night, after scoring a career high for a second straight game with 25 points in the Pistons’ 136-103 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. “I knew it was a business and sooner or later people get traded. It’s part of the business of the NBA. I was like, ‘Alright, I got to keep doing my thing, working hard and hopefully I’ll play in Detroit.’ ” He’s doing more than playing; he’s excelling.
Jared Weiss: Celtics have recalled Carsen Edwards from Maine ahead of tonight’s Lakers game.
Chris Grenham: Jaylen Brown tells @Adrian Wojnarowski on the Woj Pod he didn’t think the Celtics would budge after their first offer of four years, $80 million. He said was prepared to play his fourth year out before they jumped to four years, $115 million. m.espn.com/general/cast?i…
Antetokounmpo, the overwhelming favorite to win MVP again, believes that line of thinking should be turned the other way, toward the team that is currently on pace to become the third team in NBA history to win 70 games. “I don’t think there’s a team in this league we cannot beat,” Antetokounmpo said. No Eastern Conference team has recorded back-to-back 60-win seasons since James’s Cleveland Cavaliers from 2008-2010. These Bucks bear some resemblance to those Cavaliers.
Milwaukee also might not have the supporting cast that warrants a “SuperTeam” label, but the pieces around Antetokounmpo fit. What else matters? And, while they did blow a 2-0 lead against Toronto, they were a shot or two from being up 3-0 before losing in double overtime. Leonard really was on one. “We’re not worried about it at all. People can think whatever they want. We know what we have going on in this locker room. We know what we need to do and what we need to accomplish. We’re not too worried about any outside influences,” Middleton said, declining to make the above case.
Walker’s 29th try to defeat James comes Monday when his Boston Celtics host the Los Angeles Lakers in the first of two regular-season matchups — assuming that Walker returns after missing the Celtics’ previous game on Saturday with left knee soreness. In eight seasons with the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets, Walker stepped onto the court against James 24 times in the regular season and four times in the 2014 NBA playoffs, and never left the court with a win.
“I know he still thinks about it a little bit,” said Phoenix Suns center Frank Kaminsky, Walker’s teammate for four seasons with the Hornets, “and he wants to beat him.” The Hornets did have one win against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers when Kaminsky and Walker were teammates — a 106-97 victory in Charlotte on Feb. 3, 2016. But Walker was sidelined by a sore left knee and replaced by Jeremy Lin, who scored 24 in the win.
Steve Clarke, who lives in Norway, first visited the museum by himself while his son was practicing at the FedExForum on Dec. 14. But after going on the tour, he was excited to tell his son about his trip and suggested Brandon attend when he had the time. “I said, ‘This museum is around the people you are around every single day, and it’s part of you as well,’ ” said Steve Clarke. “ ‘Although I am not African American, I am of Jamaican descent, so that is the same thing. They paved for you to get here, otherwise it would not have worked out for me or you.’ ”
The Clarkes spent nearly two hours at the museum. The Grizzlies forward said the exhibit on slavery touched him the most. His father added Clarke was stunned about how poorly African Americans were treated and made a point to talk to his son about the importance of freedom. “He stayed for everything. Watched everything and listened to everything. I was really happy to see that he was interested to see that,” Steve Clarke said. “I felt good about it. I didn’t know if he really wanted to see anything like that. That is not something we really talk about on a regular basis.”
“All these other idiots who don’t play basketball and never played basketball, when they say you wanna judge a guy’s greatness by number of championships … they’re idiots.” It’s safe to say Robert Horry is fed up with NBA fans using rings instead of common sense in debates … telling TMZ Sports titles don’t mean a damn thing when talkin’ G.O.A.T.s. “Here’s the thing that people are so stupid about. They measure great players by how many championships they win. It’s the stupidest thing,” Big Shot Bob told us at the California Strong charity softball game on Sunday.
But, Horry says the whole debate over championships is pointless … ’cause not everyone is able to win in their careers. “That’s like saying Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing are not great players.” Horry points out using that logic would make him one of the greatest hoopers to ever walk the earth, considering he’s got 7 championships.
January 20, 2020 | 12:46 pm UTC Update
Robert Covington not worried about trade rumors
So how is Covington dealing with the trade chatter? “I’m not even focused on that,” Covington said recently. “My main focus is this team and what I do every day. I’m not going to get caught up in rumors or hype or whatnot. I’m a Minnesota Timberwolf. That’s all my focus is.”
One player Saunders isn’t concerned with when it comes to handling speculation is Covington. “He’s a professional in terms of the way he approaches this game,” Saunders said. “His commitment to us and what we’re doing on a nightly basis has been a great example to our young guys especially. Cov is somebody I never worry about.”
Doug McDermott after the @Pacers ‘ win over the #Nuggets: “People don’t give us a lot of respect, and we like that. It’s just motivation for us. We feel like we’re one of the better teams in the East and we can play anyone, so we’re going to continue to play hard.” #Pacers
“Thankful, most of all,” Carter says of the treatment. “And I say that because I was an opponent for 22 years for most of these teams and obviously these are great organizations that are class acts and for them to do that is great. “I just enjoy playing the game regardless of being an opponent of these different organizations … regardless, it’s a brotherhood, it’s a small community and it makes for an emotional roller coaster.”
And he will hearken back to those glory days of the early 2000s and that special night in Oakland he got to witness in person. “I tell you what, I was thankful that I was able to be there and see those guys win. I remember sitting next to Tracy (McGrady) and thinking, ‘Do you believe what’s about to happen?’ There was like two minutes left, and it was like, ‘Dude, this is unreal.’
Bradley joined forces with James when he signed with the Lakers in July, but his appreciation for Boston has not wavered over the years. He still considers himself “a bit of a Bostonian” and remains close friends with people from the city, such as Dorchester-native and rapper Cousin Stizz.
“It’s different, but I prefer my people on the East Coast,” Bradley said. “Some people might be offended by that, but I mean, especially knowing I’m from the West Coast. I don’t know if it’s because it’s home for me or what, but I just feel like people are real good friends. That’s all it is. I could go years without talking to someone in Boston but [when] I see them, it’s a real friendship. People are honest, that’s the culture. East Coast, but specifically Boston. People are just good people.”
New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is officially listed as doubtful for Monday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team announced the change in the injury report on Sunday evening, but don’t read too much into it. Williamson is still expected to make his NBA debut on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
Even if he does decide to play, he may make his signal behind the scenes in the coming weeks and let the world know when he arrives at training camp. For now, Wiggins is keeping his cards close to his chest. “I’m not sure [about the summer],” he said Saturday after recording his first career triple-double in a Timberwolves loss to the Toronto Raptors. “Right now my team is struggling a little bit [they were five games out of the 8th seed in the West as of Sunday] so we have to get back and try to get in a playoff run. That’s my main goal right now. And after that I’m going to decide on Canada Basketball.”
Rob Perez: huge assist here from Becky Hammond…she convinces Pop to challenge Jimmy Butler’s AND 1 continuation in tight game with one minute to play. Pop originally says no, then says yes. Spurs win challenge, points taken off board, and eventually win game.
January 20, 2020 | 1:29 am UTC Update
Scott Agness: Jeremy Lamb tested his bruised left hip and will play tonight in Denver, where the Pacers haven’t won since 2007. pic.twitter.com/aP9Ro5nkSD
Greg Logan: Garrett Temple & Joe Harris are off injury report for #Nets against 76ers, but Wilson Chandler is out: Chandler (left hamstring tightness) – OUT, Jordan (right middle finger dislocation) – OUT.
January 19, 2020 | 10:33 pm UTC Update
Paul Garcia: The Spurs defeat the Heat and improve to 18-23 this season, 12-10 at home, 7-12 against .500 and above teams, and 9-10 against the East. The Spurs have wins against the Top-4 teams out East now pic.twitter.com/rHBKJ1irYt
Fred Katz: Lots of status updates from Scott Brooks today about John Wall, who played “controlled” 4-on-4 with teammates for the first time. Brooks says he still doesn’t know if Wall will play this year. All the quotes and info below: pic.twitter.com/VVN0EBpsDo
Fred Katz: More Brooks on Wall: “That guy is as competitive as I’ve seen an NBA player be, and it was taken away from him. Think about it. It’s 40 games. Last year, 50 games. This year, 41 so far — maybe 82. That’s not easy.” The rest of this is good stuff from Brooks: pic.twitter.com/XhWHQvVwES
Chris Forsberg: Celtics list Jaylen and Kemba as questionable for Monday vs Lakers.
January 19, 2020 | 10:08 pm UTC Update
Serena Winters: Al Horford is questionable for #Sixers #Nets with a left hand sprain.
Sarah K. Spencer: Hawks injury report: Alex Len (low back pain) is doubtful. Jabari Parker (right shoulder impingement) is out. Chandler Parsons (concussion/whiplash) is out.
January 19, 2020 | 9:19 pm UTC Update
And now here we are, with the Sixers charging headlong toward the playoffs, ready to make good on what head coach Brett Brown has proclaimed is a championship-caliber team. This is new territory for Brown, who was hired as coach seven years ago, just when the team embarked on an epic intentional collapse — dubbed “The Process” — in order to position itself near the head of the worst-goes-first line in the drafting of the best college players. The team set records for losing over four years, and Brown, all along, stood behind this method, often talking about his players as if helping them become men might be his real job. Was Nerlens Noel, a center the team drafted in the early days of the Process, engaged in timeouts? Was he helping teammates off the floor? How was he comporting himself on planes when the team went on the road? At the end of 2014, when Embiid was proving to be high-maintenance as he rehabbed a broken foot, Brown said this: “Joel Embiid has a good heart. At the end of the day, he has a good heart. I don’t throw that sentence out lightly. That needs to be the criteria of everybody in here.”
Meanwhile, Brown’s approach hasn’t changed. He talks up his best players, never criticizing them publicly. And to this point, it’s worked, obviously: Embiid and Simmons, 25 and 23 years old, are All Stars. But they still have a big piece of themselves to overcome, or to unlock. They still need to grow up. Which gives Brown, who started out in Philly with all the room in the world, a dilemma: Suddenly, he has very little time. Sixers owner Josh Harris has a history of listening to the noise of fans and media, plenty of whom think the team’s head coach should stop babying his two stars and force-feed their growth, given that they’re being paid tens of millions a year and we’re so close to that championship.
IT MIGHT SEEM, then, a bit strange that Brett Brown talks a lot about toughness as central to what he’s all about, though it’s not by accident. “Philly tough, Philly strong” was the banner phrase of an early-season team promo featuring the coach’s voice. Talking toughness is a part of getting his team to play in a certain style, but for Brown, it’s also been a natural way of connecting to the city, of molding a certain persona. “You become a spokesperson and mouthpiece of the owners and players,” Brown says. “I am quite calculated on what I want to talk about.” It helps his standing here, too.
But Brown, who’s 58, does come by toughness, in his own way, naturally. He grew up in seaside Maine towns where his father coached basketball. His father’s father made a living taking wealthy businessmen from New York and Boston and Montreal to fish or hunt moose and bear in Northern Maine. And his father — Brett’s great-grandfather — had a job as a railroad switchman, changing the tracks to direct trains either to Quebec or Montreal. “He had to shovel snow off the tracks and remove dead animals, too,” Brown says. “Which could be anything.”
Tania Ganguli: The Lakers are listing Anthony Davis as questionable for tomorrow’s game in Boston. Although Frank Vogel had indicated Davis might work out this morning before the team flew, the Lakers say that didn’t happen.
January 19, 2020 | 7:24 pm UTC Update
Tim Reynolds: Tyler Herro will play today, Heat announce.
January 19, 2020 | 6:26 pm UTC Update
Andy Larsen: Royce O’Neale signing now official. Statement quotes below. We’re also about to talk to Dennis Lindsey/Justin Zanik/David Morway at ZBBC. pic.twitter.com/dU55N4tHfu
Royce O’Neale: Jazzzzzzz Nation @Utah Jazz Let’s get it 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 #Blessings pic.twitter.com/4ieoXYwqfR
