Brown Has Small Plan for Lakers

If you want to get a sneak preview of what the NBA is going to look like next season, when zone defenses will no longer be violations, watch some of the lineups Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown is using to defend against the Lakers.

“Because certain guys are struggling . . . I’ve had to go with that,” Brown said about his decision to sometimes use four guards together. “We haven’t been hurt when we’ve had to go that way. We’ve been behind and that’s our best pressing team. It’s been a combination of all those things.

“It’s going to be like that next season, when you are not going to see the same game every night. You’re going to see crazy lineups. You’ll see two tiny guards together and small forwards. You are going to see all kind of defenses and people are going to be forced to do crazy things like this.”

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For the first time in almost four weeks, Philadelphia forward George Lynch participated in drills with his teammates Monday. Lynch has been sidelined since May 13 because of a broken bone in his left foot and he’s hoping to return for a limited role in Game 4 on Wednesday.

“I’ve shot around and did some running, but it is much different than playing in a game,” Lynch said. “I’m trying to stay off of it as much as I can so I can save it for the game. . . . To me, the decision has already been made. I’m going to try and play. It’s just a situation of how much can I do.”

With Brown searching for matchups against the Lakers, he did not dismiss using Lynch on Wednesday.

“If he does play, I won’t start him,” Brown said. “He’ll either spell [small forward] Jumaine [Jones] or [power forward] Tyrone Hill.

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Hill is listed as the 76ers’ starting power forward but he hasn’t shown much power against the Lakers. Over the first three games, he has scored only eight points and also hasn’t done much rebounding, grabbing only two in Sunday’s Game 3 loss and 13 in the series.

“I don’t know what to tell him,” Brown said. “I think he’s defending very well but he’s not getting a lot done right now. And we need him. I’ve had to go with Matt [Geiger], who hasn’t played a lot, and Todd MacCulloch, who also hasn’t played much power forward, and when I do, they immediately go with [Robert] Horry. Neither Matt or Todd have the quickness to play Robert. That’s why I’ve been forced to go small so much.”

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Starting guard Aaron McKie did not run much on Monday and he plans to take it easy again today.

“I’m just going to relax because I’ve had my hands full [in the playoffs],” said McKie, who has had to play against Jalen Rose, Reggie Miller, Vince Carter, Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen and now Kobe Bryant in the playoffs.

“Most of these guys are probably in the top 50 [players in the league] that I’ve played against,” McKie said. “But it’s fun. I’m loving the experience.”