Elton Brand has returned. That is all Philadelphia needed to know. The Sixers thought they were going to climb the mountain last year and be a true threat for the NBA title. After all they had made the playoffs the year before without Elton Brand and now they had a 20/10 guy on their team. How could they miss on improving and at least making the Conference finals?

They still don’t have the depth that might be needed and now that Andre Miller has bolted, Lou Williams will be at the point. Andre Iguodala will provide some firepower, along with Elton Brand. Thaddeus Young thrived without Elton around and averaged over 15 points per game in only his second year. He should continue to score in the motion offense.

As to playing under new coach Eddie Jordan’s motion offense, Brand can’t wait.

“Now we’re going to have spacing where everybody can use their talents,” he said. “Andre Iguodala can do everything out there. Lou Williams is gonna be able to slash and score. I’ll be able to cut into the post and not just be standing there on the block where the defense can get you with a double-team.”

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Yes, the 76ers are excited about their chances again and a lot of it has to do with Elton Brand and how he healed up from two different injuries. Talk about being off kilter, Elton had to have surgery on his right shoulder and was still trying to rehab a torn Achilles tendon on his left leg. Now Elton is fully recovered and can feel it.

Elton has healed and wants to win

Elton Brand is ready for a big year and so should the Sixers. Look out NBA!

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So far only a New Jersey Nets fan has entered the contest for a free NBA ‘09 XBOX game.

Check for the rules

Flip Saunders

Rumor has Flip Saunders, almost wrote Flip Wilson, coaching the 76ers. Remember he was coaching my Pistons last year. Flip Saunders was an amazing regular season coach, but just could not harness it for the playoffs. No word on how good of a coach Flip Wilson would be.

Saunders most recently coached the Detroit Pistons, and was the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars in 2006 – a team that had four Pistons starters on the roster and arguably could have had five. Saunders was fired at the end of last year’s playoffs and replaced by current head coach Michael Curry.

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Not only does Mo Cheeks get fired from the 76ers, but EB dislocated his shoulder. The dream season to be, is not.

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Man, today there was this crazy thought rolling through my head. What if the Pistons had kept Chauncey Billups and Iverson had stayed on the Nuggets?

Nowhere to go with that thought, so how about taking a look at how some of this player movement and coaching movement is working out?

Chauncey Billups from Detroit to Denver
Denver is 7 – 3 in their last 10 games and in 1st place

Allen Iverson from Denver to Detroit
Detroit is 4 – 6 and in second place.

Ron Artest from everywhere to Houston
Houston is 7 – 3 and in 1st place

Jermaine O’Neal from Indiana to Toronto
Toronto is 3 – 7 and dead last in the Atlantic Division

Rick Carlisle to coach Dallas
Dallas is 8 – 2 but only in 4th place in the Southwest

Terry Porter to coach Phoenix
Phoenix is 5 -5 and in second place behind the Lakers

Mike D’Antoni to coach the Knicks
3 – 7 and 4th place in the same division as the Celtics

Mo Williams to Cleveland
9 – 1 in the last 10 and first place over the Pistons

This is a fun one
Elton Brand from L.A. Clippers to Philadelphia
Baron Davis from Golden State to L.A. Clippers
Corey Maggette from L.A. Clippers to Golden State

76er’s 4 -6 3rd place
Clip’s 2 – 8 5th place
Warriors 1 – 9 but still in 3rd place

Which just begs the question, what if Chauncey Billups had never left the Pistons?
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Elton Brand dunking

Philadelphia was down 38 – 13.

Past 76er teams would have quit. We are going to lose, so let’s go home.

But they did not quit and came back to win the game 94 – 92 over the Indiana Pacers. Elton Brand had 15 rebounds and Thaddeus Young had 25 points.

“It was a great comeback by Philadelphia,” Indiana coach Jim O’Brien said. “Sometimes you get too big a lead early in the game — and the NBA is a game of momentum shifts.”
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There is no quit with Mo Cheeks as coach. You noticed last year in the playoffs as this Philly team eventually lost to the Detroit Pistons that they just keep coming at you. There is no quit in these 76ers.

Now the Philadelphia team added prize 20 -10 guy, Elton Brand. Now the 76ers have some power on the blocks and who knows how far this team can go.
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Dwyane Wade helps put a whole new spin on which NBA Conference is dominant

This year will finally be the year where balance is restored. The Eastern Conference of the NBA will be dominant. It is time to crush the West!

Let’s start with Elton Brand and Dwyane Wade.

Elton Brand went from west to east, making one potentially decent team subpar out West and making one average Eastern team suddenly look very, very good. Meanwhile, Miami essentially adds a superstar in Dwyane Wade because he’s fully healed, and the Heat should improve from league doormat to something in the general vicinity of average.
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Lesson two would involve the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons.

At the very top and very bottom, the East rules. Boston, obviously, is the reigning champ, and Detroit had the league’s second-best record last season. Meanwhile, I’m projecting every Eastern team to win at least 27 games; rebuilding Western teams in Memphis, Oklahoma City and Sacramento all figure to do worse.

There are wild cards in the new way Dallas and Phoenix will play under new coaches Rick Carlisle and Terry Porter.

On the flip side the Knicks will have a real coach in Mike D’Antoni and Scott Skiles will head up Milwaukee.

All in all, it looks like a great year in the East!

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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.

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Now if Philly faces a strong team in the playoffs they will have the full assortment of weapons to throw at them.

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