Brown's late game coaching remains questionable

The 76ers suffered a frustrating, inexcusable and bizarre 108-107 loss at the now 19-win Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. Before dissecting the "lowlights" of the defeat, the Sixers lost this game for multiple reasons falling under the umbrella of they coughed up a 10-point fourth quarter lead, which they held with about six minutes left. Chicago went on a 10-0 run to get back in the game. That in itself is bad based on where these teams sit in the standings. The Sixers are vying for a championship, while the Bulls are rebuilding.

But, let's go under that umbrella and break down the most notable "lowlights," both of which came in the final seconds and both of which head coach Brett Brown was, in part, responsible for.

Zach LaVine's Game Winning Layup

Jimmy Butler put the Sixers up 107-106 with 4.8 seconds after a pair of free throws. The Bulls called a timeout, allowing them to inbound the ball on their half of the court. Zach LaVine, who finished with 39 points, threw the ball to Robin Lopez, who immediately handed it back to LaVine.

Butler was initially on LaVine and Mike Scott was manning Lopez. Butler switched on the hand-off, but Scott did not, giving LaVine a clear lane at the basket, which resulted in an AND-1 layup to take the lead.

Zach LaVine iced the Sixers -- pic.twitter.com/MHImZ61Jwh

Scott was supposed to switch. It's the second time in three games he committed a late game gaffe, with the previous being fouling the Warriors Kevin Durant with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter this past Saturday down three.

While it's on the players to execute what they're instructed, and Scott certainly deserves blame, it's also on coaching to make sure players don't repeat elementary mistakes down the stretch, and if they do, find someone else to put in that position. Brown has brought up before how this is a new team, thus certain philosophies the Sixers hold may be different than other clubs. That's fair, but Butler switching the screen and Scott sticking with Lopez can't happen, especially in the guts of the game. That's basics, and championship level teams execute basics.

Meantime, while Scott was at fault, Butler took blame, saying he should've fought through the screen. Simply speculating, maybe he didn't like the strategy? He appeared rather upset on the bench after that play.

Jimmy Butler not happy after defensive mixup on Zach LaVine layupWhat is Jimmy saying here?#Sixers --pic.twitter.com/L5zp19iKfr

Now, the full context of this unhappiness isn't clear at all. Is Butler upset about the coaching decision to switch? Is he mad at Scott (probably not since he took blame for the miscue)? Or is he frustrated with the play that Brown is about to draw up with 0.5 seconds left? It's too hard to tell, especially because it looks like a teammate is sitting down next to Butler at the beginning of the clip, which would imply it was right after the defensive miscue and before he sees any play design. We might never know. He could be angry about none of the above. Quite frankly, the specifics of the frustration don't matter. He's clearly mad. So are Sixers fans. Their team lost to the Bulls.

Head Scratching Final Play (First Attempt)

Executing anything successfully in 0.5 seconds is really hard. Without knowing the odds, common sense says they weren't in the Sixers favor to survive losing to the lowly Bulls after LaVine's EZ-Pass drive to the hoop. While that's common sense, the play Brown drew up made no sense.

There's nothing wrong with trying to get a play at the rim for Butler, which is what Brown wanted. However, the design was flat out head scratching because nothing was done to free up Butler.

The players on the floor were Butler, Scott, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and JJ Redick. Simmons inbounded the ball. Harris was standing at the left corner of the foul line. Scott was in between Harris and Butler inside the three-point line. Butler was in the left corner and Redick was on the other end of the floor, beyond the right wing.

Harris screened for Scott, who goes to the right wing. Harris went to the corner. As that happened, Butler simply runs to the rim with LaVine, who can jump through the roof, on him the whole way. The Sixers did absolutely nothing to free Butler up for that split second attempt at the rim.

The pass from Simmons was brutal anyway, so Butler never stood a chance as it was, especially with LaVine there, but the play call lacked creativity and logic. What was already a long shot to pull off based on the lack of time became impossible.

Now, the clock started too soon, so the Sixers got a second attempt about seven minutes later after everyone went to the locker room and fans left the building. But, according to 670 The Score in Chicago, Butler was so upset that he was apparently heard yelling, "We better draw up a better (expletive) play if we do."

After the presumed loss before the teams had to comeback out Jimmy Butler could be heard yelling "We better draw up a better f****** play if we do". Brett Brown was close enough to hear it

The Sixers tried to get Butler to catch and shoot from beyond three-point range on their second try, but Butler bobbled the ball, and the game was officially over.

The doomed play at the rim Wednesday night wasn't the first head scratcher from Brown this season. In the second loss to the Celtics on Christmas Day, Redick attempted the last second shot before overtime instead of Butler, who was relatively fresh off drilling two game winners earlier that month and in November. In the third loss to the Celtics in February, Brown drew up a play which had the option of Tobias Harris trying for a late game tying three, even though Harris was colder than the weather outside.

Summing Things Up

Brown is a good coach, who deserves just as much credit, if not more than Sam Hinkie, for developing this program into the contender it is present day. He lived through the dark days of "The Process," and is rightfully rewarded with a relevant, fun and legitimate NBA team that he manages very well. The players clearly like him, with a prime example being the amount of times he's gotten to ring their celebratory liberty bell in the locker room for momentous victories. Not to mention, their overall style of basketball and defensive mindset is a result of his vision. It works and a 41-24 record is evident of that.

Brown deserves to see this thing through, even if the Sixers suffer an early playoff exit.

Yes, expectations are extremely high, especially after moves to acquire Butler and Harris. Elton Brand went "star hunting," and delivered Brown some stars. But, it's extremely inconvenient that Joel Embiid missed the last seven games, cutting into valuable chemistry building. Unfortunately for Brown, most fans won't recognize that if the Sixers get bounced before May, and especially if that's a result of "what in the world" play calls like we witnessed Wednesday night.