The starting lineup included Allen Iverson,  Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, and Samuel Dalembert instead.

As a result, the Sixers walloped the Warriors 117-101 in an impressive win.

Could Brand have been the reason for the Sixers 12-game slump? I don’t know, but the chemistry was obviously a lot better between Iverson, Holiday, Iguodala, Young and Dalembert. Young totaled 26 points and grabbed 14 boards, while Iverson tossed in 20 points.  In fact, all five starters were in double digits.

Elton Brand has been benched by Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan.

Maybe Eddie Jordan is on to something here?

As for Brand, he isn’t thrilled about being a bench player after only the second year of his $80-million, five-year contract.

“When you look around at other teams, yeah,” Brand said, according to ESPN. “It’s like, no disrespect, but Mikki Moore (for Golden State) gets the start and I don’t. Not that he’s not a good player, but, definitely.”

If the Sixers keep winning, Brand is going to have to get used to his humble new role whether he likes it or not.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Elton Brand Rides The Pine

DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs
When the draft process first began, DeJuan Blair was regarded as a lottery pick. But then a look at his knees scared off a number of teams and tumble down all the way to the Spurs at pick number 37. He should be a fantastic fit in San Antonio.

DeJuan Blair - San Antonio Spurs (Image: Zuma Press)

Danny Green, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers need some help out on the perimeter and they got exactly that with Danny Green in the middle of the second round. He’s a very sound player who has great fundamentals. If he can prove to be good enough athletically, he should become an NBA player.

BJ Mullens, Oklahoma City Thunder
Mullens is another potential lottery pick who dropped. He was eventually secured by the Thunder at 24. He’s a raw prospect but he has enough natural athleticism and skill to become a good player.

Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers need a point guard for the future and were able to land Jrue Holiday at 17. He’s a couple of years away from being able to help on a nightly basis but his potential is high.

Post from: EveryJoe

Biggest Steals in the 2009 NBA Draft

It would be refreshing for the sports fans in the state of Washington to have a legitimate team to root on this year. I’m getting the feeling not many casual college hoops fans are even aware of Washington right now.

Oh, and yeah, Washington better be ranked come Monday.

Post from: EveryJoe

Husky Fever

Just the other day a question was posed on Yahoo! Answers asking the following,

“Rate the following College Players in terms of their “pro-potential”, you can even compare 2 current NBA plyrs?

*Luke Harangody
*Stephon Curry
*Tyler Hansborough
*Drue Holiday
*Blake Griffin”

Alright I say, fair enough. Sure the dweeb can’t spell T-Rex’s name correctly and has not yet been corrected for referring to Jrue Holiday as ‘Drue’, but he has managed to correctly identify 5 of the best players in college hoops right now.

Let’s check out a particular response,

From Nick C.,

Luke Harangody: Matt Harpering. Both are built tough and like to bang, but because of height both are tweeners… at one point Matt Harpering was 6′9. He sure has shrunk since being in the NBA as he’s now 6′7″. I think 6′8″ Luke will shrink some too. That being said if Luke gets drafted by a team that could utilize his talents namely rebounding and hustle play, he could have a long career. Especially if he continue to develop his outside shot.

How have I not been aware of this shrinking phenomenon Nick C. is talking about?

What shall we call it?

Post from: EveryJoe

The players are shrinking the players are shrinking

The fourth ranked Bruins were shown up by the Michigan Wolverines 55-52 in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden in New York City a few minutes ago.

Junior forward DeShawn Sims led all scorers with 18 points for Michigan and teammate Manny Harris was held to just 15.

Darren Collison and freshman Jrue Holiday had 13 points each for UCLA. Collison missed a three-pointer with five seconds to go that sealed the win for the Wolverines.

Michigan will play Duke for the championship game tomorrow night. UCLA faces Southern Illinois, an 83-58 loser to Duke in the other semifinal, in the third place game.

That means Ryan Pravato gets to write the preview for those games. I’m going to bed.

Post from: EveryJoe

We Now Have Our Second Upset Of The Season

The Bruins are ranked fourth in the nation in both the ESPN/Coaches and Associated Press polls, while Michigan is unranked.

UCLA is being touted for having the best recruiting class in the nation, lead by McDonald’s All-American Jrue Holiday.

But don’t let the youth fool you. The Bruins are also a solid veteran team led by Preseason All-American Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, James Keefe and Alfred Aboya.

UCLA reached the semis by defeating Prairie View A&M 82-58 and Miami (Ohio) 64-59.

So far the Wolverines and second year coach John Beillein are doing a pretty good job in rebuilding a program that longs for its glory days of being one of the elite in the nations. Michigan Tech 77-55 and in a 76-56 win against Northeastern.

Sophomore guard Manny Harris has All-American, or at least All-Big 10 (plus one) written all over him. In the two wins he has averaged 28 points a game.

But two good games does not make a season. This will be the first real test of the season for the Wolverines against a UCLA team that is favored by 12 points.

The winner will play the winner of 10th ranked Duke/Southern Illinois game in the other semifinal tonight. The championship and consolation games are scheduled for Friday night.

All games will be shown on ESPN2.

Post from: EveryJoe

Game of the Day: UCLA vs. Michigan

First off, future Buckeye B.J. Mullens. B.J. is a legitimate 7 footer. Just think if Koufus comes back to Columbus? Though it’s not likely to happen.

scout.com had this to say about Mullens

Big kid with room to grow. The challenge for him will be going from “prospect” to “player.” By that we mean getting into the mix and beginning to accumulate dominating performances. Mullens has the size and talent to make himself into a force. He can step out and play facing the bucket while possessing the ability to dive inside. Putting the pieces together is the final step in high school.

Next up is 6′3 Jrue Holiday, a future UCLA Bruin. Will probably play the shooting guard position his freshman year, but will need to play the point sometime during his basketball career. Playing time will depend on the decisions of Westbrook and Shipp, but Jrue should certainly get his share of minutes in any case.

scout.com had this to say about Holiday

There are so many to like him: character kid, gets better but most importantly there might not be a kid in the class who places a greater value on winning than him. Can score, pass, defend and basically do it all. Adding some PG in his game for the long term. Coachable.

6′9 Devin Ebanks, the nation’s top unsigned player, finally made a decision (May 18th). He went with West Virginia (does Bob Huggins do good work or what). Devin should be a good replacement for Alexander. Or will it be sidekick?

Ebanks reminds me of Rudy Gay a little. Mullens reminds me of Brad Miller/Memo Okur. As for Jrue, I’m not so sure. Maybe Baron Davis.

Post from: EveryJoe

YouTube Highlights of the future stars…