theonlyclutch wrote:Brand, meanwhile, was a 20/10 big man from the get go, always quietly effective, and peaked at the right time to lead a rather untalented Clippers team (36 yr old Cassell was your 2nd best player) to a stone's throw from the WCF, in a playoff performance that is much better than any of Webber's...
Call me crazy, but I don't think Brand was that much worse than LeBron or Kobe in '06. He had comparable advanced metrics, didn't have any real flaws in his game (and 24.7/ 10.0/ 2.6 with 2.5 blocks on 58% TS is a pretty impressive raw statline, too), and also had very comparable team success with a comparable supporting cast. Played very well in the postseason, too. I really think he could've been a top 5 player that year.
Dude was an absolute beast. He's arguably the best peak PF after Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Malone, Barkley and Pettit. I see him as only a little worse than '15 Davis (but arguably more valuable because Brand played 10 more games in the RS), easily comparable with '87 McHale.