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Sixers coach Brett Brown looks for positives out of 34-point loss

Preseason-opening defeat had a few pluses, but Sixers still fell hard to the Wizards.

IT WAS ONLY one preseason game, and if there's anything people in this area have learned recently, it's that putting stock in exhibition games is about as solid as the Eagles' offensive line.

A 34-point loss to the Washington Wizards shouldn't exactly sound the alarms for fans looking for the 76ers to improve on consecutive seasons that produced 19 and 18 wins, respectively, but it sure looked concerning up close.

Yes, rookie Jahlil Okafor did impress in his pro debut, hitting his first five shots en route to scoring 12 points in 17 minutes. He appeared comfortable at the offensive end, even when pushed out of an eight-foot comfort area in the post to a spot 12 feet away by Washington's Marcin Gortat. And Nerlens Noel seemed comfortable at power forward, roaming around on defense and finding some baskets here and there at the offensive end.

But finding positives out of Tuesday's game is a stretch, especially when you consider the point of emphasis this training camp was transition defense. The second-most talked about part of the game was transition defense, as was the third and fourth.

Yet on Tuesday, All-Star point guard John Wall led a track meet against the Sixers that produced quick layups and wide-open jumpers, which mostly contributed to the Wizards scoring 129 points, while shooting 50 percent from the floor, including 58 percent (15-for-26) from three-point range.

"I leave that city and I look at that team, and it's got that corporate knowledge where that team has been playing with each other and you got a head of the snake in John Wall, and now they're playing with pace and they shot the hell out of it," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "You give them credit. They are one of the best teams in the East.

"It doesn't water down my disappointment at all that we didn't play transition defense and we didn't do what we said we were going to and (what) our whole camp was based on. We've had a lot of practice on how to manage this, and all I know is that you go back and you do it again, and then you do it again and you do it again. Ultimately, they get more comfortable. I'm proud of the evolution of last year's team defensively, where we just moved up the food chain and we ended up someplace - pretrade stuff - that is incredibly difficult, given the resumes and the experience that we had. So that's the plan."

As has been since Brown arrived, the plan has holes, and not because of him. There really is no veteran presence, as there was last season with Luc Mbah a Moute. Point guard, handled well at the end of last season by Ish Smith, is in flux because of injury and debatable talent. The roster again is far different from the one Brown had at the start of last season, let alone at the end of it. Plans must be retaught continuously because of the constant personnel changes.

Brown thrives on the grind and shines at getting his players to play hard every day. The gym is always vibrant and upbeat, whether it be a game day or after a 34-point loss, in the regular season or preseason.

It can't be easy for the coach. Pieces are grown, then taken away. Local talent Jason Thompson, a veteran big man who has competed in the rugged Western Conference for his seven NBA seasons, was obtained during the offseason from the Sacramento Kings. Envisioning him as a strong voice in the locker room and nice sub off the bench was easy. But he was gone almost immediately, dealt to Golden State for Gerald Wallace, whom the Sixers released. So Brown looks down at a bench filled with unknown commodities, yet again.

"Criticism, as you hear the tom-toms and 'What are they doing? The culture is not getting used to losing, and the tolerance level is becoming more accepted,' that is so far from the truth," Brown said. "I don't believe it. It's my job to never let it go. We're here to win. Obviously, we're here to develop. Obviously, there needs to be a level of patience. But to downplay it, to undersell it . . . Why you play sport and why you coach sport, at the end of something, you win or you lose. I can't do anything in my life without 'Did I get a time when I ran?' I want to beat my son at pingpong. We do stuff out here where you win or you lose. It's done with time and score, and the losers have a penalty. That's how I see about damn near everything. So it won't get to that. It won't get to that."

Six shots

The Sixers host the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. LeBron James is not expected to play . . . T.J. McConnell, nursing a sprained foot, is expected to play. Fellow point guard Pierre Jackson (groin) is not. Brett Brown reiterated that Tony Wroten and Kendall Jackson (both out with ACL injuries) won't be back until at least the end of the month.

Blog: ph.ly/Sixerville