The San Antonio Spurs fell 123-92 to the Los Angeles Lakers at crypto.com Arena Saturday night, but did so without coach Gregg Popovich, who was absent with an illness.
Lead assistant Brett Brown stepped in unexpectedly to command the team from the sidelines. But for a seasoned vet like Brown, Saturday's loss hardly swayed the opinion he has of a young group that - despite going 0-5 on the West Coast road trip - remains "amazing" in his mind.
"Five games in seven nights is always gonna be difficult," Brown said. "The group is amazing. I had some teams that I really loved coaching when I was in Philadelphia ... and this group is every bit of that enjoyable."
Brown, of course, spearheaded the "Trust the Process" tank-a-thon when he was the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013-20. His first four years at the helm saw some major rebuilding pains, as Philly had 28 or fewer wins each season during that span.
But Brown's final three seasons with the Sixers were a real success given the embarrassment that came with trusting the process. Philadelphia made the playoffs in three straight seasons before a first-round exit for the team at the bubble in 2020 signaled the end of his time with the team. The Sixers remain a perennial title contender due to the foundation Brown set.
His ability to power through a rebuilding phase was one of the reasons Pop brought him back to the Spurs. But "powering through" might be the wrong choice of words given the enjoyment he has with this current Spurs team.
"High character, they love coming to a gym," Brown said. "They're better than we played tonight. They have competed at a far greater level than they did tonight. We will respond, they're a prideful group. That's my immediate reaction as the game ends."
Popovich will likely come back to the bench when the Spurs host the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday after Brown deemed his as "fine." But Brown's presense will remain invaluable as the Spurs for answers after losing 10 out of 11.
San Antonio and New Orleans tip-off from AT&T Center Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.
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