HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Marc Narducci

Elton Brand arrived a year ago in Philadelphia with a big contract, and even larger expectations. After signing a five-year $80 million contract, Brand could be seen on billboard all around the city. The 76ers were touting a Brand New Era and for the first time in a while, there was a palpable buzz around the team.

The Sixers were seemingly taking a gamble in Brand who returned to play just eight late-season games with the Los Angeles Clippers after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.

Brand’s debut with the Sixers never came close to matching the considerable buidup. He suffered a right shoulder dislocation on Dec. 17 against Milwaukee, missed 16 games, played in six more before announcing that he would undergo season-ending surgery.

Brand played just 29 games, averaging career lows in points per game (13.8) and minutes (31.7). He also averaged 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots.

For somebody who has career averages of 20.0 points. 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots, it was quite a departure.

“I have something to prove, absolutely, but it’s more to my teammates to (president an general manager) Ed Stefanski and the organization,” Brand said after modeling the Sixers’ new uniforms during a team promotion at the Wachovia Center.

Now a new season has arrived and Brand and the Sixers have taken a much lower profile, especially in a sports-crazed town such as Philadelphia, with the Phillies as the reigning World Series champions, the Eagles a contender for the Super Bowl and the Flyers being touted as a Stanley Cup candidate.

The Sixers?

This is a team that didn’t make any shattering offseason moves as they did the previous season when they signed Brand and re-signed Andre Iguodala, spending about $160 million in the two deals.

So the Sixers are looking at Brand as something new, a much more effective and healthier version from a year ago.

Even without Brand for the majority of the season, the Sixers earned a second straight playoff berth. The Sixers exited in the first round last season, losing in six games to the Orlando Magic, the eventual NBA finalist.

The Sixers were highly competitive with Orlando, until Hedo Turkoglu hit a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in an 84-81 win in Philadelphia that tied the series at two games apiece.

While many Eastern Conference teams made significant upgrades, the Sixers’ best addition could be a healthy Brand.

“I’m excited to be healthy, to add what I can to the team,” Brand said. “Two first-round losses for a young team that’s OK, but I was brought here to get further than that and that is my goal and what I have been thinking about the offseason.”

The 6-foot-9 Brand is a two-time All-Star, but now entering his 11^th season, he has to prove that he is durable an capable of reviving his career.

At 30, he is sort of a greybeard on this young Sixers team, that certainly has the ability to return to the postseason.

Lou Williams will step in at point guard for the departed Andre Miller, who signed with Portland as a free agent.

Iguodala, now entering his sixth season, could be a potential All-Star after averaging 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in an NBA-high 39.9 minutes.

Forward Thaddeus Young, who just turned 21 in June, enters his third season as one of the bright young players in the game after averaging 15.3 points last season.

“When you roll out Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young, you have three nice core players and then the others have to step up,” Stefanski said.

That is true, but in a strange way, Brand at this point is more of an unknown than Iguodala and Young due to his recent injury history.

Brand has worked diligently in the offseason and fully expects to resume his role as a highly productive NBA player.

“I expect to be healthy throughout the season. Stats wise in this system, I expect to do what I have done most of my career,” he said. “If it’s not 20 (points), it’s close to that. If it’s not 10 rebounds, it’s close to that and if not 2-3 blocks it will be close to that, but overall winning is the most important factor.”

At least Brand has passed the eye test this summer while working out with his teammates. He has spent countless hours in the gym, refining his game

“He’s been killing everybody out there on the court,” Young said of Brand. “Some days I don’t even want to guard him. It’s hard to guard him he’s so big and strong, makes all type of hook shots and turnaround jumpers.”

Stefanski, whose first major move as team president and general manager was signing Brand, says that Brand will enter this season 100 percent healthy.

“He looks absolutely terrific,” Stefanski said. “His body fat, body weight is probably as good as it’s ever been and as a doctor said to me, Elton looks like a prize fighter who is cut so well.”

So Brand is ready to make the fight and attempt to regain his status as one of the elite power forwards in the game.

For him, he hopes it truly is a new era in Sixers basketball, one that matches the hype from a year ago.

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Few teams received more accolades during the offseason than the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming off a late-season run, earning a playoff berth, extending the heavily favored Detroit Pistons to six games and then enjoying what appeared to be a wildly successful offseason makeover, the bar was raised considerably.

President and general manager Ed Stefanski spent approximately $160 million, signing Elton Brand as a free agent and re-signing Andre Iguodala.

The team also spent another $25 million to re-sign Lou Williams and added veterans Royal Ivey, Donyell Marshall, Kareem Rush and Theo Ratliff, while drafting forward Marreese Speights.

So the Sixers definitely felt they upgraded the talent pool and there was talk about possibly being among the top four in the Eastern Conference.

As most know, the expectations and team spirit became deflated by a 9-14 start that eventually cost coach Maurice Cheeks his job.

Cheeks was replaced by long-time Sixer employee Tony DiLeo, who will guide the team for the rest of the season, according to Stefanski. DiLeo hopes to change the culture while adding a few more W’s. His biggest goal is to get the Sixers back to their fast-breaking ways.

Was Cheeks made the scapegoat for the Sixers’ poor start?

Sure, but as the old saying goes, you can’t fire the entire team, although several Sixers players are certainly worthy of receiving termination notices.

Cheeks was known as a players’ coach. He never put one of his players under the bus, always taking the blame.

And the fact that the Sixers started slow continued a pattern under Cheeks, so he did indeed receive blame.

In 2006-2007 the Sixers began 6-19. While much of the turmoil centered around Allen Iverson, who was traded in December of 2006, the Sixers rebounded to go 29-28 in the final 57 games.

Last season the Sixers started out 18-30 and eventually righted the ship, going 22-12 after that and earning the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

This year Cheeks wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt with the Sixers languishing through the first quarter of the season.

“It’s not just the coach’s fault,” Stefanski said. “It’s a change of direction and we felt we had to do it and go in a different direction and felt progress wasn’t there.”

The question now is, what type of team has DiLeo inherited?

Both Stefanski and DiLeo said how they hoped to make the Sixers more of a transition team, something that helped them claim that postseason berth last year.

Yet as they showed in the playoffs, teams can rarely win in the postseason with this style.

The running masks the Sixers deficient perimeter game. Without better shooting one wonders how much better the Sixers will become.

There could be natural improvement if the players actually live up to expectations.

Brand has been a disappointment even though he’s averaging a double-double (16.4 ppg., 10.0 rebounds).

He missed all but eight games last season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon and has played like somebody still attempting to shake off the rust.

The other thing about Brand that one has to wonder is whether the expectations were out of control, despite his big contract.

This is his 10th NBA campaign and he has played eight full seasons, with only one playoff appearance. Granted Brand played on some horrid teams with Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers, but it’s still a less than impressive postseason resume.

Iguodala has also played below his standards until recently. He was switched from shooting guard to small forward and that has seemed to help.

The biggest disappointment has been center Samuel Dalembert, averaging 5.8 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Dalembert has been known for his inconsistency, but last season he played well, averaging 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in a career-high 33.2 minutes per game.

“We have to get Sam playing at a high level,” DiLeo said in the season’s biggest understatement.

Andre Miller has been solid at point guard, but he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season and if the team doesn’t show significant progress, it won’t be a good selling point to keep him.

Williams, who has the ability to create instant offense off he bench, has been inconsistent. Actually the Sixers’ best player has been second-year forward Thaddeus Young (13.1 ppg.).

Besides Brand, the Sixers other off-season acquisitions have given minimal contributions.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, Brand and Dalembert played well in DiLeo’s first game, a 104-89 win over the visiting Washington Wizards. Brand had 27 points (12 for 19 from the field) while Dalembert added five points and 17 rebounds.

Those two must be able to mesh together on the court both offensively and defensively for the Sixers to improve.

With the woeful shape of the Eastern Conference, the Sixers should still contend for a playoff spot.

Yet just contending for one of the back-tier positions wouldn’t be a sign of progress. The Sixers are looking for major improvement.

Changing coaches won’t do much unless the players who are expected to produce, can considerably step up their game on a consistent basis.

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