Coach Jordan Hopes to Reprogram Brand
New Sixers coach Eddie Jordan has brought his Princeton offense to Philadelphia – now the question remains, how will Philly’s $80 million man fit in?
Philly signed F Elton Brand to a five-year, $80 million deal last season, envisioning him as the go-to low post option they’d been sorely lacking. However, in Jordan’s Princeton offense, Brand is taking on a role that’s entirely new to him, as Jordan’s offense is predicated on backdoor cuts, spacing, and making the smart basketball play – not going one-on-one against someone.
“I think he was a 20-10 guy with a team that really catered to him and didn’t have enough scoring in other positions,” Jordan said. “Right now we have other guys who can score, we have guys coming off the bench; we have a deep bench. I just want him to be efficient, and execute for his teammates and for himself.”
Brand said that his stat line in the preseason – where he was fifth in scoring on the Sixers, with an average of 9.5 points a game – shouldn’t be taken as a sign of things to come this season.
“You’re playing different minutes, you’re playing with different players, you play six minutes in the first quarter, you don’t play the second quarter, you know what I mean?” Brand said. “Talking to Coach it’s like, ‘Here’s where you need to be on offense.’ We’re working through it.”
The Sixers hope that Brand can stay on the court this year, as he dislocated his shoulder in December of last season, shutting himself down after only playing 29 games. Brand has only played 37 of a possible 164 games in the past two seasons.
Coach Jordan remains undeterred, noting that Brand has appeared more comfortable with the offense in practice as his familiarity with the system rises.
“I see improvement from him,” Jordan said. “I see him understanding what the spacing is about. I read where he tells you guys that he needs to understand that spacing is important.”
“We’re trying to reprogram him in a way.”
