Is Elton the Right Brand for Philly?

[Erick Blasco]

In his heyday, Elton Brand was a dominant scorer from the high and low post, a voracious rebounder, and as his career progressed, a solid defender both on the ball and from the weakside.

 

However, injuries and age have left Brand a shell of his former self, leaving the Philadelphia 76ers on the hook for Brand's gargantuan contract he signed during the 2008 offseason.

 

Let’s use Philadelphia’s latest game against the Knicks, a 92-88 loss, to see if Elton is still the right brand, or if the Sixers will need to go with another product at power forward.

 

 

Offense

 

 

Elton’s main task was to set up at either high post—usually the left—and set high screens for Philadelphia’s high screen/rolls or Princeton action before making a target of himself at the elbow.

 

At times, if the resulting action led to Brand’s side of the court clearing out, he’d drop into the mid-post and post up, and he usually fanned to the baseline on wing screens.

 

Surprisingly, Brand’s screens were rather flimsy, even against the pint-sized Knicks, but he’s being paid to do more than just set screens.

From the elbow, Brand was lethal against the smaller Knicks defending him, usually Al Harrington or Bill Walker.

 

Brand had no troubles either shooting over the Knicks on high post jumpers—4-7 FG—but he was always able to back his defender down, take his right hand into the middle of the paint, and hit short jumpers to his heart’s content.

 

Brand even displayed his veteran’s guile when, after lazily dribbling right to left across the free throw line and lulling Harrington to street, he pivoted, and sprinted as hard as he could to the bucket for a layup and foul with Harrington caught completely by surprise.

 

Indeed, Brand always went to his right hand from the high post, and was never overplayed to his left.

 

Not surprisingly then with him being featured in Philadelphia’s offense, he scored a cool 17 points in the first half.

 

However, when Brand worked in the low post, his habit of unilaterally going to his right hand resulted in a travel and a badly missed layup with the Knicks overplaying that side.

 

Brand grabbed an offensive rebound but had no lift on his putback follow, finding his shot blocked below the rim.

 

He also displayed no agility whatsoever, often lumbering his way down the court well after his other four teammates had taken their spots in Philly’s offense. Even his aforementioned drive and layup was more a matter of the Knicks being completely astonished than of Brand making an elite basketball move.

 

Still, Brand drew double teams in the high post, and made appropriate out passes to shooters who rarely knocked down their shots—2 AST.

 

For some reason, Eddie Jordan only played Brand roughly 12 minutes in the second half and Brand was hardly involved despite a stellar first half. Instead, underwhelming youngster Jason Smith picked up 12 minutes of mostly ineffective playing time.

 

 

Defense

 

 

Brand labored enough on the defensive end to at least be adequate but he doesn’t move well enough to be an impact defensive player.

 

Mostly matched up against Harrington, Brand maintained enough distance to New York’s shooters to not get burned from deep, though he did give too much room to Bill Walker, allowing a first half corner three.

 

Brand lurched his body enough to not let Harrington get more than a half step past him, and used his long arms to contest his shots, even blocking one first-half drive.

 

Brand was also much to long, strong, and wide to allow Harrington any damage from the post.

 

In this regard, Brand can still hold his own as a straight up defender.

 

Brand tried to show on high screens with some success, and was able to get back to his assigned man in time to prevent radical defensive rotations.

 

His help defense was smart. He closed out hard on Walker outside the three-point line with the shot clock running down, forcing Walker to take an extra dribble before failing to beat the clock, and was almost always in the right place at the right time.

 

Also, Brand finished off playing defense by ALWAYS boxing out when a shot went up in the air.

 

However, if Brand were defending the perimeter, he’d make little effort to chase down a rebound from the outside. This led to a number of Knicks offensive rebounds.

 

Brand was also slow to react in transition, and dragged himself getting up and down the court.

 

On numerous Knicks attacks on the basket, Brand wasn’t around to provide weak side help.

 

Indeed, Brand has gone from being one of the most explosive frontcourt players in basketball to dragging himself like a paperweight. His strength, guile, and soft touch still allow him to produce, but he’ll never come close to putting up the production to justify his contract.

 

At first glance, the Sixers have what they need to mitigate Brand’s weaknesses. They have an athletic frontline to challenge attacks on the rim, and an abundance of team speed.

 

However, the Sixers don’t have the shooters to compliment Brand’s ability to draw doubles, and don’t have coordinated halfcourt offensive players. Philadelphia’s best bet is to run opponents out in transition, yet having Brand on the court just mucks the Sixers up.

 

There’s no easy solution to what to do with Brand, but as long as he, Samuel Dalembert, and Andre Iguodala are making the most money on the team, the Sixers will never have enough firepower to be relevant at the end of seasons.

[His Greatness]

Very insightful, and the analysis is accurate. Not much to add, although I will say that while Elton is not the right "brand", he isn't the wrong one either.

[Erick Blasco]

Very insightful, and the analysis is accurate. Not much to add, although I will say that while Elton is not the right "brand", he isn't the wrong one either.

 

One thing I have seen about the Sixers though, I now understand that Jordan's rotations are done completely at a whim, his offense is generic (though with better shooters could work), and he doesn't pay enough attention on the defensive end.

 

Philly needs a can't-miss player in the draft though. Their contracts are too messy for them to be players in trades or free agency, and they need a star.

 

Brand may be able to work, but he'll need more dynamic shooters than Iggy and Willie Green/Rodney Carney. Even Kapono isn't a factor since he can only shoot.

[His Greatness]

One thing I have seen about the Sixers though, I now understand that Jordan's rotations are done completely at a whim, his offense is generic (though with better shooters could work), and he doesn't pay enough attention on the defensive end.

 

Philly needs a can't-miss player in the draft though. Their contracts are too messy for them to be players in trades or free agency, and they need a star.

 

Brand may be able to work, but he'll need more dynamic shooters than Iggy and Willie Green/Rodney Carney. Even Kapono isn't a factor since he can only shoot.

Too bad you missed out on him operating in crunch time. That's truly a sight to behold.

 

The front office is clueless, the coaching is counterproductive, the personnel is unbalanced and being paid franchise money, and we're stuck in no-man's land — not qualifying for a championship (or the postseason even) or a lottery pick. At least New Jersey has the offseason to look forward to.

 

Any observations on Jrue Holiday?

[Erick Blasco]

Too bad you missed out on him operating in crunch time. That's truly a sight to behold.

 

The front office is clueless, the coaching is counterproductive, the personnel is unbalanced and being paid franchise money, and we're stuck in no-man's land — not qualifying for a championship (or the postseason even) or a lottery pick. At least New Jersey has the offseason to look forward to.

 

Any observations on Jrue Holiday?

 

He's athletic, he can shoot a little bit, and he's a playmaker. I don't see him running an offense though. He looks like an energetic sixth man type, at least right now. I didn't pay too much attention to him though.

[HipHopHead]

Very bad pick up, they were trying to make impact and got the wrong guy for their needs.

[His Greatness]

Very bad pick up, they were trying to make impact and got the wrong guy for their needs.

Certainly seems that way in hindsight, but keep in mind the logic behind signing Brand at the time: he was a 20-10 inside beast that could create from high and low, and was a top defender and rebounder at his position. For a young, athletic team, it was theoretically a step in the right direction. Brand was supposed to be the perfect counterbalance that would add another dynamic to an otherwise crude offense. He wasn't, and the poorly constructed personnel exacerbated things.

[HipHopHead]

Certainly seems that way in hindsight, but keep in mind the logic behind signing Brand at the time: he was a 20-10 inside beast that could create from high and low, and was a top defender and rebounder at his position. For a young, athletic team, it was theoretically a step in the right direction. Brand was supposed to be the perfect counterbalance that would add another dynamic to an otherwise crude offense. He wasn't, and the poorly constructed personnel exacerbated things.

 

I think a guy like Josh Smith would have fit the bill better, although it was likely he wasn't going to leave Atlanta. To be honest, getting nothing would have been better to have Brand's contract right now. They could have saved it for last offseason and grabbed a guy that would have better fit their team, such as David Lee.

[His Greatness]

I think a guy like Josh Smith would have fit the bill better, although it was likely he wasn't going to leave Atlanta. To be honest, getting nothing would have been better to have Brand's contract right now. They could have saved it for last offseason and grabbed a guy that would have better fit their team, such as David Lee.

The idea was to sign an impact player that could add another dynamic to the offense. What kind of player was Smith? An athlete that could run and jump high. What kind of players did Philly have? Athletes that could run and jump high. Where is the headway in that signing? How was Smith supposed to take them to that next level? You can't run your offense through him, he can't shoot, he wasn't special enough at anything, and he had a bad attitude. Plus, he was restricted. Smith's improved heaps, but I wouldn't be alone in saying that it was unforeseen.

 

Remember that Brand was seen as a player that could've taken Philly to that next level — of course they were going to leap at that opportunity. Years of purgatory can make you overeager.

 

The prospect of Lee is entertaining, but I don't know if it would be any more than that. Also, keep in mind this was two years ago; no one was eying David Lee in the offseason.

Edited April 3, 2010 by His Greatness

[HipHopHead]

The idea was to sign an impact player that could add another dynamic to the offense. What kind of player was Smith? An athlete that could run and jump high. What kind of players did Philly have? Athletes that could run and jump high. Where is the headway in that signing? How was Smith supposed to take them to that next level? You can't run your offense through him, he can't shoot, he wasn't special enough at anything, and he had a bad attitude. Plus, he was restricted. Smith's improved heaps, but I wouldn't be alone in saying that it was unforeseen.

 

Remember that Brand was seen as a player that could've taken Philly to that next level — of course they were going to leap at that opportunity. Years of purgatory can make you overeager.

 

The prospect of Lee is entertaining, but I don't know if it would be any more than that. Also, keep in mind this was two years ago; no one was eying David Lee in the offseason.

 

Smith is one of the best defensive players in the league. He's very versatile and can play the three or four. Remember Thadeous Young wasn't the player that he is now (or should be) and obviously Iggy is Iggy. The season before they got Brand they were a decent playoff team that could run with anybody, Brand just slows them down (which is saying a lot because Sammy already does a good job at doing that) and Speights has underachieved this year too.

 

I get they need an impact player but there were many other great scorers in that FA class.I'm not just saying this, but I knew this was a bad pickup from the day they signed him.

[His Greatness]

Smith is one of the best defensive players in the league. He's very versatile and can play the three or four. Remember Thadeous Young wasn't the player that he is now (or should be) and obviously Iggy is Iggy. The season before they got Brand they were a decent playoff team that could run with anybody, Brand just slows them down (which is saying a lot because Sammy already does a good job at doing that) and Speights has underachieved this year too.

 

I get they need an impact player but there were many other great scorers in that FA class.I'm not just saying this, but I knew this was a bad pickup from the day they signed him.

I'll reiterate two things: his improvement was unforeseen, and at a time where they were looking to make an immediate splash, Brand was, by far, the better choice. But the essential question is still unanswered: how was Smith supposed to take them to the next level? How was he any different from their crop of players? Yeah, he's a good defender—though one of the best is an embellishment, and he wasn't this good two years ago—and yeah he's versatile, but none of that changes their fate as a first-round exit. They only gave the illusion of a "decent playoff team" because Detroit was sleeping the first three games, but we saw what happened when they decided to clamp down: the transition game was effectively neutralized, and Philly had no way to counter that.

 

What FAs in that class could've made a similar impact the way Brand was theoretically supposed to? Josh Smith is a utility player that would've been redundant; J.R. Smith is erratic; and Gordon was a decent choice that would've solved shooting problems, but just wasn't good enough at the right things to be a difference-maker.

[Phightins]

Hindsight is 20/20.