Sixers Say Patience Is Key in Their Championship Pursuit

As tempting as it is to think about the future, the Sixers must stay in the present. They can't win an NBA title in August, but they can lay the bricks of championship habits to get off on the right foot. There is no crystal ball to predict how the season will play out, especially before seeing the team play together.

According to team president Mike Gansey, patience will be crucial in managing expectations with the integration of new players. Chemistry and unselfishness will be most necessary for the team to achieve its ultimate goal.

Mike Gansey's faith in the team

The Sixers now boast four All-Stars who have each had to be the No. 1 option for their respective teams at certain points.

There's been plenty of talk about the Sixers having too many go-to guys to fit together. With only one ball on a star-studded roster, there might be some growing pains early on.

"Now with three, maybe four guys, it's gonna take some time," Gansey said on the Middays With Marks radio show.

If having too many great players is the Sixers' biggest problem to solve, Gansey will happily accept it over the alternative.

"But I'd rather have the talent and figure it out. ... (Coach) Nick's been in the lab figuring out how we're gonna play, staggering lineups."

The fact that the team has already begun brainstorming lineups and playing styles is encouraging for their future outlook. However, Gansey still doesn't expect the Sixers become title contenders overnight. The full team has yet to play together, leaving plenty of questions about whether they can live up to the hype.

"We gotta get to camp," Gansey said. "We haven't even had a practice or played a game. So we gotta see if this thing works."

Gansey remains optimistic that the players can navigate the obstacles that will inevitably pop up. The biggest reason for his belief is simple: His team wants to make it work, and they've bought into the mission.

"I think it's gonna work because these guys are gonna want to be together. They see the big picture, and that's what's exciting."

Nick Nurse game-planning

Gansey wasn't lying when he said Nick Nurse was already mapping out how to help his team rack up wins. To better put Brown and LeBron in positions to succeed, Nurse has been watching film on them in their previous stops.

He spent many years game-planning for Brown when the 29-year-old was on the Celtics. One of the first ways Nurse grew familiar with his game was when he coached the Toronto Raptors. Brown's Celtics faced a relentlessly scrappy Raptors team in a seven-game series in the bubble.

There are already some similarities between this Sixers team and Nurse's 2019 Raptors, who won a championship.

Both teams made deals for stars before the season: Kawhi Leonard with the Raptors and Brown and James now. They were composed of hard-working players who adopted the proper team-first mindset. New acquisitions also required them to start from ground zero to build chemistry.

"I think championship teams have a lot of similar characteristics," Nurse said on Takeoff with John Clark.

"And the first thing is we need to get to work. ... Are we gonna outwork our opponents? Are we gonna watch more film, better film? Then we gotta get some chemistry; we have to handle adversity. Just keep climbing to get a little better as the season goes by."

Getting better each day

Focusing on small, incremental improvements is also a key that Nurse noted in the Raptors' title season.

"The team I coached in 2019 with the Raptors that won it all, we were a completely different team at the end of June than we were even at the start of April when the playoffs started," Nurse said. "... It's a two-month-long process, but each series we just kept getting better and better, and that's the goal. You just got to try and reach your ceiling."

The Sixers know a great opportunity lies ahead of them this season. But to get to where they want to go, they can't get ahead of themselves.

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