Heard in the Cheap Seats

It has been discussed by Sixers fans for weeks. Well, tomorrow it will actually take place on the court when the Sixers face the Knicks –Elton Brand will be back in the lineup. I have stated many times here that I believe that the Sixers will improve with Brand back on the floor. But, that doesn’t change the fact that there is definitely plenty of skepticism out there on whether or not Brand fits in with this team.

It’s pretty obvious to anyone who understands the game of basketball, that the Sixers had a much better offensive flow after Brand’s injury. They were flat out playing better basketball and I am not going to deny that. I have said it before so I will not continue to harp on it, but I think a lot of the better play can be attributed to the system Tony DiLeo has put into place. I also think that they have been much better defensively, and when you are getting stops and forcing turnovers, your offense becomes a lot more efficient. With an athletic, fast team like the Sixers, their defense is really the key to their offense. Elton Brand is an excellent interior defender, and he can certainly contribute on that end of the floor. The way DiLeo like his defense to play is to be aggressive out top and play passing lanes, and then allow the interior defenders to block shots. Brand is a great shot blocker. Obviously, none of this addresses the true problem.

At the beginning of the season the Sixers offense was dreadful and stagnant. When Brand was injured, many fans attributed the offensive success the team was having to his not being on the floor. I feel it had more to do with the team simply trying to fit their offense to Brand. I have been reading some very interesting and telling quotes from Sixers players recently regarding the return of Brand. To a man, they are insisting that Brand’s return will only make the team better, and he will fit in perfectly. But, that isn’t the interesting part. The words they have been using are. They have been saying things such as Brand will “fit in”, and he will “adjust”, and that he has been able to “watch and see how they play”. To me, that suggests that at the beginning of the year Mo Cheeks had the team trying to fit to Elton, but at this point it will be the other way around, and I like hearing that. At first DiLeo has said Brand will be coming off the bench for 4-6 minute stints until he gets his “game legs” back. Once that happens, we all know that Brand will be back in the starting lineup. The question then becomes, who comes off the bench? My guess would be Thaddeus Young. I want Young in the starting lineup, but the truth is he will probably finish most games and that’s what matters. Willie Green, in my opinion, should not be a starter, but I am fine with it as long as he is not finishing games. It is hard to deny that Iguodala excels at the “3”, and that is why with Brand starting at power forward it will probably be Young that goes to the bench. I really do think the signing of Elton Brand was a great thing for the Sixers, and as the season progresses, we will see the play of the Sixers elevate. Let’s hope that’s the case, because if it isn’t, then the Sixers have made a huge error in personnel judgement.