Elton Brand is not the only Sixer
October 19, 2008 by James Edwards
Filed under Elton Brand, NBA Basketball, Philadelphia 76ers
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Elton Brand will give the 76ers a player down on the blocks
Last year the Philadelphia 76ers went to the playoffs to take on the Detroit Pistons. A tall order for a team that had not been to the playoffs in quite a while and for a team that was not loaded with established stars.
The Pistons had a simple strategy for victory. There was no inside game for the 76ers. No dominant player on the box to force a double team. The strategy was to stop Andre Iguodala and make someone else beat them.
Andre Miller tried and at times succeeded, but eventually there were too many Pistons and too few 76ers.
The 76ers decided to find that person down low first and did they ever. Elton Brand, a sure double double guy, signed with the 76ers in the off season. It was a blockbuster deal for a team that was already a young improving playoff team.
Everyone was excited.
Coach Mo Cheeks wanted more. What good was drawing a double team down low if there were no outside shooters to take advantage of that?
Andre Miller liked to drive. Andre Iquodala is more of a slasher. Mo wanted some shooters.
Hello, Kareem Rush. Hello, Donyell Marshall. We haven’t seen them unload through the first three preseason games, but the intimation is that we eventually will. Marshall, who grew up in Reading, has said he came, in large part, to play for his hometown team. Rush said he came because the Sixers needed what he could bring.
Rush drained a career-high 102 threes with the Indiana Pacers last season, profiting from coach Jim O’Brien’s green-light offense. Despite that, he saw a brighter opportunity with the Sixers.
Now if Philly faces a strong team in the playoffs they will have the full assortment of weapons to throw at them.
Photo source Newscom
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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