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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Doug Collins and New York Post basketball writer Peter Vescey have been selected to receive the 2009 Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame during Enshrinement festivities scheduled for September 10-11, 2009 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

On Sept. 19, a statue of Collins and his college coach Will Robinson will be unveiled at Illinois State University. Collins averaged 29.1 points per game in his three-year college career before earning a berth on the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team and later becoming a four-time NBA all-star with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Robinson passed away at the age of 96 in April of 2008.

Collins talked to HoopsHype.com about these events and others pertaining to basketball.

Could you give your reaction to your Hall of Fame honor?

Doug Collins: I was shocked. I don’t think a lot of people realize. I’ve been a broadcaster 21 years, if you go back to when I worked for CBS in the 80’s. The great thing for me I have been involved in tremendous companies. It was great being with CBS and doing the NCAA tournament and NBA playoffs of course with Turner. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to play and broadcast the NBA finals, the NBA all-star game and the Olympics. And now Dick Ebersol asked me to do the 2012 Olympics in London (for NBC). I feel very fortunate.

Your broadcasting success seems to stem from being able to explain a complicated game in simple terms. Could you talk about that?

DC: That is my exact goal. One thing I learned a long time ago. It’s one thing to have a mind as a coach or player but so many people watching are casual viewers and you can’t talk coach-speak. You have to be able to articulate in a way it makes it easy for the fan at home. The fan sees what is happening. I like to say what happened and this is why it happened. Many times, it may be action off the ball. We are trained as people to watch the ball and so much of the game in the NBA and my career was played off the ball. But coach-speak is a killer. You can do that in clinics but not on television.

When you do a broadcast, what is your philosophy?

DC: Don Hewitt (the 60 Minutes creator), who recently passed away, said the essence of television was four words – tell me a story. That is my philosophy of broadcasting. Tell me a story. When you sit down to watch, there will be a story, a beginning a middle and an end. I am in charge of telling the story. As much as I might prepare, that story may change every night and you have to be so prepared.

It must be exciting to have a statue of you and your former coach Will Robinson at Illinois State.

DC: Two years ago they named the court after me, which is amazing. I got the first full basketball scholarship at Illinois State. Back then freshmen couldn’t play varsity. As a sophomore Will Robinson came in, the first black man to be a Division I basketball head coach. He was amazing. The first moment I met Will Robinson, he said, “You’ve got it and if you pay attention and trust me, I will take you where you want to go.” That was the beginning of a more than 30-year love affair with the guy.

You will always be remembered for making the two free throws after being almost knocked out in the 1972 Gold Medal game with Russia, giving the U.S. a 50-49 lead with three seconds left. We all know what happened after that, but what are your recollections of that moment?

DC: I was knocked out and was a little shaky but something that happens will resonate forever. One of the coaches was talking about getting a replacement to shoot the free throws and coach (Hank) Iba said, “If he can walk he is shooting them.” It was like an electric surge went through me. He instilled in me that I wasn’t going to miss them and I was able to come through.

This is probably a month you’ll never forget.

DC: Actually, I was going back the last 14 months of my life and it’s been an unbelievable time. Last summer my son Chris was part of the Olympic team in Beijing. Coach K brought his assistants from Duke, and he became part of the scouting and preparation. The Olympics were special for many reasons. I had 36 years of heartache when my gold medal in 1972 was taken away. Coach K and Jerry Colangelo asked me to speak to the team. As soon as the final game was over, LeBron James hugged me and said you are a big part of this and said we consider you part of this gold medal. My son was a part of a gold medal and I had that moment. And a grandson was born in January. Then my son-in-law Paul Romancazuk won a state championship (as coach for Pennsylvania’s Archbishop Carroll) and then we had the wonderful NBA playoff run and now the Curt Gowdy Award and this statue and it’s a lifetime of achievements that happened in 14 months.

How close were you to returning to coaching the Chicago Bulls in 2008?

DC: There has been the perception that I am dying to get back to coaching. What I always have done is say I will listen. It would be silly not to listen to opportunities in life. One of the great things about working for Turner is that they are about family and want what is best for my family. Two years ago John Paxson called me and I was very close to going to Chicago. They were a young team and I really saw a good 6-7 year run. Chicago is a city my wife and I spent 10 years in. Jerry Reinsdorf said he loved me like a son, and said he could always find a coach but didn’t want something to hurt our friendship and that he couldn’t fire me again. I said let’s give a hug and move on.

This past year your name was linked to both Philadelphia and Detroit coaching situations. What was fact and fiction?

DC: All this stuff with Philadelphia, I never spoke with them. I was never part of that equation. Joe Dumars called me about coming to Detroit. We spoke a few times and I don’t think situation was right for me. I didn’t want to go to a team starting over. There is perception I am itching and that isn’t case. I will keep an open mind on things.

It appears as if more teams feel they have a shot at least to get to the NBA finals than in recent years. What are your thoughts on the Eastern Conference?

DC: You have three heavyweights in the East. Cleveland adds Shaq and we’ll see if that will work to bring the Cavaliers a championship. Every day there will be questions asking whether LeBron is coming back. They added pieces, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon are good additions. You saw last year at the three spot in the playoffs they got exposed. They love to slide LeBron to four and play small. They couldn’t do it against Orlando.

Then you have Orlando who lost Turkoglu but added Vince Carter, Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass. They are incredibly deep. I also liked moving Rafer Alston because he wasn’t happy sitting. Orlando tasted it last year and is poised to make another great run. They are very good on the road.

You have Boston, with Kevin Garnett coming back healthy, Rasheed Wallace has added depth to the team. If they are healthy they will be very good. The No. 1 seed could prove so important, because you have to play only one of those other two teams in the playoffs.

To me the next little rung, I feel Chicago is going to be good. They will have Derrick Rose, John Salmons, Luol Deng at the three and have a bigger team. They were undersized. I like that they kept Hinrich and I like Pargo off the bench. The big key for them will be young big guys Noah and Thomas and if they show the improvement they showed in playoffs when they went toe to toe with Boston.

Another team is Washington if they stay healthy. Arenas, Caron Butler, Jamison, Mike Miller, Randy Foye, Flip Saunders. If they can defend and rebound that will be a good team.

Toronto improved with Turkoglu and I like Jarrett Jack with his toughness. The Raptors will want to show they will be in the mix to keep Chris Bosh.

Atlanta is interesting. Jamal Crawford should help. I like Jeff Teague at the point. A question is the play at small forward and can it be consistent.

New Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan runs a lot of that Princeton offense. Last year Philadelphia went with a big lineup and lost its identity. They are an open floor team. When Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert played together with Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala, they had no shooting and spacing.

They lost Andre Miller and you have to wonder if they will have enough shooting.

And then there is Miami. Dwyane Wade is a one-man show and basically carried them to the playoffs. Can he do it again?

What about the Western Conference?

DC:  In the West, the Lakers are still the team to beat. I love what San Antonio has done. The Spurs needed to add speed and quickness with Richard Jefferson. If the Spurs want to bring Ginobili off the bench, they now have the depth and speed and quickness to do it.

Dallas made nice moves, with Shawn Marion, Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden.

Portland is very good. Is Greg Oden able to stay healthy and can he take over. Can the team run more with Andre Miller?

One of the keys last year for Denver’s success was keeping Kenyon Martin healthy. He and Nene must stay healthy. Chauncey Billups had a great year.

Utah has the Carlos Boozer (contract) situation hanging over them . You can’t give him away but you have to watch what contracts you take back due to the luxury tax. If Deron Williams stays healthy, he makes them very tough at home.

I think New Orleans will be in the playoff mix, but so much is on Chris Paul and David West. Now they have Emeka Okafor, but Peja Stojakovic is key and a big part is three point shooting. If he plays like two years ago and Paul and West continue their progress, they are back in the mix. I thought they lost some mojo last year.

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The Portland Trail Blazers won’t be on anybody’s short list of main NBA title contenders, but in signing Andre Miller, they have become a better team.

Possibly a much better one.

The Trail Blazers have added a veteran player who is a much-needed component to a young team.

Can Miller take the Trail Blazers to the next level? That’s a difficult question because he has always been a starting guard on some good but not great teams, so it’s hard to tell.

As one scout said, “He won’t play any defense, but he knows how to run a team.”

And a young team like Portland can greatly use his savvy and unselfish nature.

The skeptics will question the fact that Miller is 33-years-old and isn’t considered among the better athletes playing the point guard position.

That could be true, but he has an old-school game, one that is less likely to deteriorate with age. He has never relied on speed to blow by defenders because he never had much to begin with, yet Miller simply knows how to run an offense and find the open man.

In the last two years he became more of a scorer in Philadelphia because he sensed the 76ers needed his offense. This past season he averaged 16.5 points after averaging a career-high 17.0 in 2007-2008. Not so coincidentally, the 76ers made the playoffs in each of the past two years.

Miller also proved to be one of the top point guards at posting up and it showed the versatility of his game. Miller is proficient shooting off the dribble, and is capable of driving to the basket and drawing fouls. He’s also has a career .802 free throw percentage shooter.

Miller is difficult to get to know personally because he keeps to himself, but that shouldn’t suggest that he doesn’t connect with his teammates.

There was no player who was more respected by his teammates on the 76ers than Miller. He played with a calm confidence, never cared about statistics and always showed up for work.

Miller has played in 530 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA and he has missed just three games in 10 NBA seasons.

Critics also point out that he isn’t much of a three-point shooter and the facts bear that out. Miller is a 21 percent career three-point shooter but he doesn’t take that many shots from beyond the arc.

Last season Miller attempted just 53 three pointers.

He comes to a Portland team that has plenty of young talent. The Trail Blazers need somebody to guide this young group and it says here that the players will truly appreciate what he brings to the team.

Brandon Roy will love playing off the ball, knowing that Miller will find him for quality open shots. If LaMarcus Aldridge posts up, Miller will get him the ball in the most opportune of spots.

Greg Oden, whose offensive game is a work in progress, will get easy baskets as a benefit of playing with Miller.

Miller averaged 6.5 assists last year and likely would have averaged more if the Sixers had a better post-up game.

In addition, Miller will bring a professional attitude to the team, a no-nonsense performer who comes early to practice, leaves late and has a basketball IQ that is off the charts.

Are there negatives?

Well, Miller wouldn’t have been available for this long if there weren’t. As the scout said, Miller will never be a member of the All-Defensive Team. He has trouble guarding quick point guards off the dribble, but then again, who doesn’t?

Portland will need to play good help defense, but Miller’s offensive contributions more than negate this situation.

For those who worry about Miller slowing down and the fact that he will turn 34 in March, it has to be pointed out that he had two of his best seasons over the last two years in Philadelphia. And he’s coming off a playoff series against Orlando where he averaged a career-best 21.2 points in the six-game loss.

It’s true that Miller has never played on a team that advanced past the first round of the playoffs. It can also be argued that he never played on a team that has the type of young talent that Portland possesses.

Nothing against Steve Blake, who did a serviceable job last season at point guard, but Miller is an upgrade.

Portland, which lost to Houston in the first round of the playoffs, is a better team with Miller. How much better remains to be seen, but he can be a difference maker for a Portland team that will greatly benefit from his leadership, his professional attitude and most importantly his play on the court.

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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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