Brand Powers Sixers to 4-0 Preseason Record
PF Elton Brand wants to prove to Philadelphia that his five-year, $80 million deal wasn’t the mistake that Sixers fans already seem it was.
While Brand has his work cut out for him in his return from season-ending shoulder surgery, he started looking like his old self last night, as the 76ers beat the New York Knicks 93-85 to move to 4-0 in the preseason so far.
Brand scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked a shot in 33 minutes of action for the 76ers. The Sixers had been easing Brand back into the rotation, seeing how he would fit in new coach Eddie Jordan’s offense.
“He’s making himself available in the box, off the elbow, in the middle of the floor [and] at the free-throw line,” Jordan said. “He’s teaching me, too, how to coach him. It’s a good thing. I want him to be aggressive so I know what’s good for him.”
Brand also found himself immersed in a bit of controversy, as an errant elbow he threw landed squarely in the eye of NY’s Jared Jeffries, who didn’t seem too pleased about the whole incident. The cut on Jeffries’ eye required four stitches, but he returned for the start of the second half.
“I just wanted to clear some space,” Brand said. “I got stripped once or twice and it’s like all right, I’m going to make sure I hold onto this rebound. Wasn’t malicious, I didn’t want to give anybody stitches, but I definitely wanted to get them off me.”
“That’s the way I played when I’m healthy, and I’m healthy, so that’s the way I’m going to play,” Brand said. “Aggressive, get to the line, hit free throws and cause double-teams, and once the double-teams come, we’ve got some prolific scorers, guys that can put up points.”
The Sixers hope he can keep up this kind of dominance all year, so they get the 20/10 player they thought they were paying for last year.
