March 17, 2016
Earlier this week, it was reported that injured Sixers center Jahlil Okafor was scheduled to go under the knife on Wednesday in Florida to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. According to Brett Brown, that hasn’t happened yet. Doctors representing Okafor and the Sixers are still trying to come to a consensus on the procedure.
“There’s no sort of conspiracy theories going on,” Brown said. “It’s more just trying to get a collaborative effort. It happened with Joel, it’s happened with Nerlens [though] I can’t categorically say that.
“You get opinions and expertise in a room and maybe the decision on one path isn’t as easy as you wished it was, although the procedure we discussed is a 10-minute procedure.”
Okafor hasn’t played in a game since February 28th. Before further tests revealed the tear, he had missed five games with a bruised right shin. Last week, the Sixers initially announced that the rookie center would be able to resume full basketball activities in six weeks.
“They’re stepping back, trying to figure out the best practice to continue the operation,” Brown said. “They’re discussing it amongst doctors to figure out what the next plan is. No plan has been determined and that is ongoing.”
Before Thursday’s game against Washington, Brown was asked how he doesn’t burn out. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that everyone who has followed the team over the past few years is feeling at least a little fatigue as the fourth straight season of losing slowly winds down.
Brown still has a job to do, though.
“I compartmentalize well internally,” Brown said. “I compartmentalize well I believe with the team in sets of 10 [games], breaking the season down into thirds, understanding the rhythm of a calendar.
“Already you already get excited to go say hello to Dario [Saric]. Already you get excited to take in a little more and pay attention to the draft.”
Brown’s main goal for the last 15 games is to get the Sixers to defend at a higher level, and we’ll have more on the defense this weekend. Yet just like the rest of us, it’s clear that at least part of the Sixers head coach is looking ahead.
“You sort of get used to it a little bit over the past three years now, ‘What’s next?’” Brown said. “It’s either the second third [of the season], it’s either the third third. It’s an imminent ping-pong ball night, it’s an imminent summer league, [or] it’s an imminent camp. There’s a rhythm to your day that’s quite clear given our situation.”
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
