Le Basketbawl

Just a couple of weeks ago things did not seem to be going in a positive direction for veteran big man Elton Brand who is now in his second year of a five year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers for a reported sum of $80 million. There was a buzz generating from Philadelphia that the veteran was going to be pulled from the starting lineup and that new Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan was going to insert Rodney Carney in place of Brand.

Whether it was just another Frickin rumor or Jordan made an eleventh hour decision but the move was never made. And Brand has made the city of Philadelphia, his coach and his teammates happy that things were left as is. The former star for the Los Angeles Clippers has displayed why the Sixers brought him to this team in the first place in the last three games. Brand has averaged over 38 minutes a game while scoring a little less than 20 points per game and he averaged double-digits in rebounds during that stretch.

The “Philadelphia Daily News” is reporting that the biggest surprise for the Philadelphia bench boss may be the amount of minutes Brand has played during the last three games. The paper asked both Brand and Jordan last week whether Brand could still effectively play 40 minutes per night. Brand assured reporters that he was still capable of doing it; however Jordan expressed another point of view.

The coach told reporters “No. He’s never had 2 years of injuries so he’s not a 40-minute player now. I mean, you can put him out there for 40 minutes, but I don’t know how effective he’s going to be. I know he won’t be effective in those minutes because it’s a process with his coming back after 2 years.”

Well Brand has proven his coach wrong at least in the short term; whether he can keep this up for an extended period of time remains to be seen. However New York Vinnie is sure that Eddie Jordan is pleased that Brand made his statements inaccurate. Those are the kinds of things that bosses like to be wrong about; underestimating their employees ability.

If the Philadelphia 76ers are to have any success this year Elton Brand has to be a key piece of that team. If Elton Brand keeps playing the way he has over the last three games it will make for a fun season for the Sixers and himself.