The Sixerfan1976 Off-Season Thread (Update: Page 61)

[bebopdeluxe]

And just to add to that, I don't think anyone is expecting or even hoping for a 20/10 or 20/9 season this year but I do think and hope he can bring a 16/9 at best and I'm really hoping for a 15/8ish sort of year at this point.

Would ANYBODY be unhappy with 16/8 in 30-32 mpg with credible low-post defense?

I sure as hell wouldn't.

[Bring Back 1983]

Not trying to make an Elton Brand thread here, but to me almost everything we do this offseason is to make up for what we are not getting from him that we expected to get (well, ok, minus the need for 3 point shooting and defense of the 3). Two things though - First, I am a fan of Elton Brand the person and after being with the Clips in his prime, the guy deserves another solid playoff run. But I am in agreement with Eddie Jordan, as dumb as Eddie was, in his assessment of Brand warranting a more limited run in minutes in the course of a season.

The second thing is, just because a guy gives a nice box score does not mean they are necessarily right for the system. If you look at the good 4s in our league - Amare, Boozer, Bosh, Nowitzki, Garnett, Aldridge, Gasol, Griffin, A. Jefferson, Randolph, T. Murphy, R. Lewis - there is almost no one on that list, except MAYBE Boozer and Randolph, that Elton can defend. That would be acceptable if he were returning the favor on the offensive end, but that's not him anymore. So it would seem that you are better off having more height (Speights) or more athleticsm to exploit mismatches on the offensive end (Thad). Problem is, the Sixers direct deposit payroll program will dictate player minutes. I don't see how that thinking helps an extremely young team.

[51X3RF4N]

I just don't see him being a good low post defender. I really don't. And we have no shot-blocking presence which is scary. Sammy D may have been a black hole but he sure as shoot affected a ton of shots that players put up. When he exited the games, teams had layup fests all over the Sixers.

[ZzAzZ]

Hawes isn't too bad of a shot blocker himself.

[bebopdeluxe]

I just don't see him being a good low post defender. I really don't. And we have no shot-blocking presence which is scary. Sammy D may have been a black hole but he sure as shoot affected a ton of shots that players put up. When he exited the games, teams had layup fests all over the Sixers.

Ummm...you do know that - of active NBA players - Brand is 9th in both total blocks and blocks/game in his career (ahead of Dalembert in both catagories), and has been in the top-10 in that catagory in 5 seasons.

Right?

And the reason why he has been good at blocks has nothing to do with jumping out of the gym...it is his freakishly long arms and his lower-body girth...and last I looked, those things are still in place.

[ZzAzZ]

Pretty sure he still needs to jump to block.

[51X3RF4N]

I just don't see him being a good low post defender. I really don't. And we have no shot-blocking presence which is scary. Sammy D may have been a black hole but he sure as shoot affected a ton of shots that players put up. When he exited the games, teams had layup fests all over the Sixers.

Ummm...you do know that - of active NBA players - Brand is 9th in both total blocks and blocks/game in his career (ahead of Dalembert in both catagories), and has been in the top-10 in that catagory in 5 seasons.

Right?

And the reason why he has been good at blocks has nothing to do with jumping out of the gym...it is his freakishly long arms and his lower-body girth...and last I looked, those things are still in place.

Well, he averaged 1.1 blocks per game last season in 30 minutes per game while playing 76 games. That is quite a good sample size. And Dalembert, if anything, should have helped increase Brand's numbers in that category since guys would rather drive to Brand's side than Sammy's.

Yet, he only seemed capable of blocking just over 1 shot per game, well off his career numbers. Could there be another reason for that dropoff other than the fact that he lost his ability?

I suppose this year will tell us the answer to what we are debating; however, I just don't see it in Brand anymore. I don't think he's capable of blocking/altering/defending well enough in the post to help us win games.

[Sandalf42]

I think this year Elton Brand is going to at least quiet some of the talk about how horrible his contract is. I think with the changes in the coaching staff, Evan Turner replacing WG in the starting lineup, the experience for Holiday last year, and a full year of (mostly) injury free basketball, I think we're going to see an improvement in his game this year.

No doubt he struggled last year as we tried to make him the focal point. But now with more competent players and coaches surrounding him, he now just has to do his job. And I think he has more than enough skills and experience to just do his job (score off some pick and pop, post ups, and putbacks, rebound the ball, box out his man, block a few shots, play tough D).

I think if you really expect Brand to not contribute this year I think you're mistaken. His contract still looks bad, but he can still be an above average starting PF.

[Point-God]

Brand's blocks per minute and blocks per game have decreased both seasons he's been in a Sixers uniform. He averaged 1.1 bpg last season in 30.2 mpg. That's not getting it done. He's no longer a noteworthy shot blocker. Joel Anthony is a better shot blocker at this point...

[bebopdeluxe]

Joel Anthony? Really?

Ummm....OK

*ignore*

[bballin76]

Joel Anthony? Really?

Ummm....OK

*ignore*

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/p ... yerId=3247

kinda messed up, huh?

[KrazySixersD]

i see no reason brand at minimum cant be a 14 and 8 guy in 30 minutes.. we just need him to be able to play solid D, which i think he still can, rebound, and knock down a few jumpers.. i think he will be fine this year.. never a 20 and 10 guy again, but still easily our best PF

[dbodner]

To be fair, he only said Joel Anthony is a better shotblocker.

[bebopdeluxe]

I just don't see him being a good low post defender. I really don't. And we have no shot-blocking presence which is scary. Sammy D may have been a black hole but he sure as shoot affected a ton of shots that players put up. When he exited the games, teams had layup fests all over the Sixers.

Ummm...you do know that - of active NBA players - Brand is 9th in both total blocks and blocks/game in his career (ahead of Dalembert in both catagories), and has been in the top-10 in that catagory in 5 seasons.

Right?

And the reason why he has been good at blocks has nothing to do with jumping out of the gym...it is his freakishly long arms and his lower-body girth...and last I looked, those things are still in place.

Well, he averaged 1.1 blocks per game last season in 30 minutes per game while playing 76 games. That is quite a good sample size. And Dalembert, if anything, should have helped increase Brand's numbers in that category since guys would rather drive to Brand's side than Sammy's.

Yet, he only seemed capable of blocking just over 1 shot per game, well off his career numbers. Could there be another reason for that dropoff other than the fact that he lost his ability?

I suppose this year will tell us the answer to what we are debating; however, I just don't see it in Brand anymore. I don't think he's capable of blocking/altering/defending well enough in the post to help us win games.

I think that everything that happened during the EFJ era needs to have a BIG Sharpie pulled out and crossed out.

EVERYTHING.

How can we possibly assess Brand's defensive impact on the floor, playing for a coach whose defensive concepts and execution set new standards for ineptitude? For me, I will wait until a guy whose ability to coach defense has been established on multiple teams gets a hold of this roster and starts implementing CORRECT defensive principles on the floor...a coach who will drill those defensive principles into the players through REPETITION and EXECUTION...a coach who will withhold that most precious of currencies - playing time - from those players who do not get with the program (can you imagine how Brand felt watching guys like Lou, Iverson, Thad and others get minutes over him with absolutely ZERO accountability for stopping their man?).

So, Brand only had a block a game last season, right? His career average is 2 blocks a game. The midpoint is 1.5 bpg - you want the over or the under?

I'll take the over.

[ZzAzZ]

What's so bad about a shot blocking center having more blocks per game than an undersized PF who plays next to a shot blocking center?

[ZarcMumoff]

I'll take 16/8 from Brand and be ecstatic. Hopefully the Pick 'N Pop with Jrue is working to perfection. He'll finally be coming off a season where he wasn't injured. Really hoping Brand can come back strong.

[bebopdeluxe]

To be fair, he only said Joel Anthony is a better shotblocker.

Joel Anthony has 233 career blocks. Brand has over 1400 career blocks. Joel Anthony has a career bpg average of 1.4. Brand is at 2.0. You want to go blocks per 36 or 48? Fine...but think about what Joel Anthony will give you on the floor for 36 minutes versus Elton Brand. There is a REASON why Anthony is a 16 mpg player...and he gets his blocks agaiknst bench players in the 2nd and 3rd quarter....not in the guts of the game.

In this particular case, this is one where statistics do not tell the whole story, IMO.

For me, the comment by the poster (and the attitude that has been attached to some of his recwent posts) deserved the response that it got.

[bebopdeluxe]

What's so bad about a shot blocking center having more blocks per game than an undersized PF who plays next to a shot blocking center?

I don't understand your point.

[ZzAzZ]

Unless I misundterstood what someone was saying, it seemed like people were implying it's a bad thing Joel Anthony averaged more blocks than Brand.

[bebopdeluxe]

I think that there is a difference between saying that Brand underperformed (in virtually every aspect of his game) under the SuperFund site that was the Sixers under EFJ - and he would have not been alone in that catagory, BTW - and saying that Brand is such a poor defensive player that you would take a one-dimensional career backup C over him.

Does that make sense?

As with all of the projections about what kind of player Turner is going to be based on a few summer league games (where he was understandably out of shape and he was playing against guys who had been working out for MONTHS in an effort to save their basketball lives), making projections on Elton Brand's defensive abilities (or any other part of his game) based on his play under the absolute ABORTION that was the Eddie Jordan era makes no sense, IMO.