Brown: 76ers will play 'smash-mouth offense and bully-ball defense'

The Philadelphia 76ers' summer metamorphosis into a bigger-than-average team has evoked questions about the club in an era of small ball, but head coach Brett Brown says his squad is ready to use its size to its advantage.

"We will end up playing smash-mouth offense and bully-ball defense," Brown told a luncheon Wednesday, according to NBC's Paul Hudrick. "We have a team that can do that."

Philly lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick in the offseason, but added Al Horford, Josh Richardson, and re-signed Tobias Harris. The resulting starting five is expected to be a front line of Harris, Horford, and Joel Embiid, and a backcourt of Richardson and Ben Simmons. Richardson would be the shortest of the five at 6-foot-6.

While the additions of Richardson and Horford figure to make the Sixers tougher defensively, Brown says Harris has also pledged to pick it up on that end of the floor.

"Even Tobias promises me, 'I will be better defensively,'" the coach said. "I say, 'I hear you loudly and I look forward to seeing it.' I think any time you have an athlete with character, which he is, he can play defense."

Redick's departure took away Philly's best pure shooter, leaving reserve big man Mike Scott as its best-returning perimeter threat. However, Brown doesn't feel outside shooting stands out as an Achilles' heel given that so many players on his roster can score.

"I feel confident that we're going to score because we have options," he said.

"(A reporter) asked me about the perimeter game and that's always on my mind, but I don't see it as being sort of our pre-mortem - if we're going to die, what's it look like? I don't see that."