Everybody has an opinion on Larry Brown.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

FORT LAUDERDALE _ The situation in Philadelphia grows more and more bizarre by the minute, and we're not even talking about the injuries that have sidelined Allen Iverson and Eric Snow.

If it wasn't strange enough that 76ers coach Larry Brown took a two-day hiatus from practice last week, it was even odder that his players thought it was a good idea.

"It's been weird, but I guess it's a relief for him, maybe a relief for us sometimes, because Coach Brown is very demanding on us," forward George Lynch said. "We're able to go out and try to get some things done without him being so demanding. I just think he needed some time off, and hopefully we took advantage of having a practice without Coach B."

Yet Brown also is viewed as somewhat of a necessary evil.

"If Coach Brown is not around, I'm afraid to say what would happen to the team," Lynch said. "I don't think this team quite understands what it takes to win at a championship level."

We also found it a bit odd when 76ers General Manager Billy King said, "I think it's something more coaches should do It wasn't like he was AWOL, in a bunker somewhere. The pressure of pro sports is a grind."

Fine, but show us the next GM who is as approving when a player requests a few days off because of "a grind."

We do agree with Brown, however, about the absurd nature of this season's schedule, loaded with back-to-back games because of the NBA's reluctance to schedule on Sundays or Mondays against the NFL.

"I've never been through a situation like this, in terms of so many games in such a short period without any time off," Brown said.

Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders also acknowledged the compacted misery for coaches around the league.

"I don't …