Brand out? Who's in?

by Jordan Sams on Nov 16, 2009 4:26 PM PST

Earlier today Kate Fagan speculated that there might be a change in the Sixers lineup on Wednesday night. What change? No one is quite sure, especially head coach Eddie Jordan.

Then we asked if that might mean a change to the starting lineup. Here's where it gets interesting. Jordan said, "Ummm," then there was a long pause and he smiled and said, "Who knows? Nothing is going to change until Wednesday, if there is a change."

No surprise there. All we know is, if there is a change, it will most likely involve Elton Brand moving to the bench. This comes after super-sophomore Marreese Speights went down with a partially torn MCL, who some fans wanted to see take Brand's spot anyway. Now that he's hurt, EJ is left with Jason Smith, Bill Green or Rodney Carney as potential replacements.

In the meantime, there are some differing opinions on how much Elton can contribute.

Brand, for what it's worth, said he still thought he was a 40 minute a night player.

Yeah, if he were playing for the LA Sparks.

[Eddie Jordan] was asked if he felt Brand was a 40-minute a night player. His response, without hesitation, was "No."

For what it's worth, I don't Elton thinks you're a 40-minute a night coach, so there.

Here's what I would do:

Bench Elton, start Carney and Iguodala at the two and the three (order doesn't matter), slide Thad to the four and start Jason Smith at center. It sounds crazy, but hear me out.

Carney and Iguodala give the starting lineup two solid wing defenders and insane athleticism to do the whole run and gun thing that has worked for them in year's past (F the Princeton Offense). Jason Smith is an okay defender, and unlike Sam won't commit stupid fouls, turn the ball over on outlet passes, or play outside of his comfort level. In other words, we won't see him attempting to cross-over his man, fight through a double team and throw up a left-handed hook shot while doing a complete 360 in mid-air. (I may have exaggerated a little, but that's exactly how Sam imagines it when he catches the pass.) Smith also stretches the floor with his three-point range. Throw in Lou and Thad (who defends fours better than threes, <--- numbers tell me I'm wrong, my mind tells me I'm right), and the starting lineup is full of:

Athleticism - Fast breaks galore.
3-point range - Everyone on the floor is capable of hitting a three.
No defense - Eddie Jordan will have his opponents right where he wants 'em.

Then, the ever-problematic bench can slow the pace down, rebound well, play solid defense and keep games close. Here's the first five off the bench in my scenario:

PG - Jrue Holiday

SG - Bill Green

SF - Jason Kapono

PF - Elton Brand

C - Samuel Dalembert

Four out of those five guys are average/above average defenders. In theory, Elton and Sam would provide solid rebounding and interior defense, Jrue and Green would stop penetration, and Kapono would stand around like the skinny white guy at the park, wearing matching warm-ups and a head band, hoping the ball doesn't get passed to his man. (Yes, I just described myself.) That's on defense.

On offense, they could rotate between Brand and Green as the focal points and hope Jason Kapono gets open for a couple of threes.

If you have a problem with my suggestion and your argument include the words "de" or "fense", save it, because you know better than that.

That's what I would do, but here's what Eddie Jordan will do: Bench Brand, start Carney at the two, slide Iguodala to the three and Thaddeus to the four. And don't worry, he'll convince Stefanski he's making the right move by conducting a 9-hour "chalk session" before the game.

Tweet Comment 21 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Nice

I like the theory. Our bench is what kills us, and since Jordan is intent on having all 5 starters off the court for extended periods of time, why not move some of the starters to the bench anyway? The whole situation is muddled anyway, I dig the idea of trying something different. But different must include getting Holiday minutes, otherwise the rest of the season will be like trying to fit a raccoon up my butthole (so to speak).

by Michael Levin on Nov 16, 2009 4:48 PM PST reply actions

Here's what I would do

Trade Willie Green to the Grizz for Alleeeeen Iiiivvvverson.

I’m just kidding, but it would 1) put people in the seats (which, as you might have heard, has been a problem) and 2) get the fuck rid of Willie Green, so everybody wins! : )

by philiafan14364 on Nov 16, 2009 8:18 PM PST reply actions

Plus AI doesnt play defense, so he’d fit right in.

by philiafan14364 on Nov 16, 2009 8:20 PM PST up reply actions

Plus ALlen Iverson IS NO LONGER ON THE GRIZZLIES

by jemagee on Nov 16, 2009 9:16 PM PST reply actions

They waived him, so they can still TRADE him

by philiafan14364 on Nov 17, 2009 5:01 AM PST via mobile up reply actions

Elton Brand - Give the Guy a CHANCE

You know, it’s not fair to say Brand can’t deliver or perform in the 4th quarter UNTIL YOU PUT BRAND IN during the 4th quarter.

Eddie Jordan, do you realize the hypocrisy of your own statement? If you give Brand a CHANCE and he let’s you down…that’s one thing. But to say he can’t deliver in the 4th quarter WITHOUT GIVING HIM A CHANCE, is plain unfair and unjustified criticism.

As a coach, you need to give your players a chance. If they fail to deliver, then you sit them. But if you don’t even give them a chance, you can’t say that. Especially an All-Star and class-act like Elton Brand, who has not said anything negative about his coach though he is clearly frustrated.

Give Brand a chance, he deserves at least that much before you criticize his conditioning or say he can’t deliver. He’s been in the league a long time, has proven himself over and over again, and deserves at least that much respect.

Sixer’s owner…you paid top dollar for Brand…now give him a chance to prove his worth!

by KennethKy on Nov 16, 2009 9:59 PM PST reply actions

You just broke rule number 1 when discussing Eddie Jordan. No logic allowed!

Liberty Ballers.com.

by Jordan Sams on Nov 16, 2009 10:09 PM PST up reply actions

Jordan,
I like your idea, as they would be offensively better with Smith instead of Sam, but as we all know, for everything wrong with Sam`s game, his shot-blocking and rebounding are needed. Smith and Thad won`t be able to provide that. And EJ saying, `Thad needs to step it up and rebound` isn`t exactly going to make him a 7,8 rpg player.

So, sadly, I think they will need to keep Sam as a starter and pair Smith with Brand in reserves. I`m still expecting Carney to play better, but it gives me a headache when saying, “Carney is a starter on the 76ers.”

Also, I think Brand and Kapono can (should) work well together as an inside/outside threat.
The problem with this team, among many, is each player doesn`t exactly know his role, and within this offense, I`m not sure how well EJ is going to define it for each player.

by jefu on Nov 16, 2009 10:22 PM PST reply actions

It will end up being Lou, Carney, Andre, Thad, Sam like you said. I still like Sam coming off the bench. Let him take his stupid shots while Green, Holiday, Kapono, Brand are on the floor instead of taking shots away from Andre, Lou and Thad. Plus, the second units defense would be nice with him coming off the bench, and the first unit would still be able to hold their own. It gives us more balance in my opinion.

Liberty Ballers.com.

by Jordan Sams on Nov 16, 2009 10:28 PM PST up reply actions

again, the second unit would be much improved defensively….if Sam doesn’t whine about not starting. The last thing this team needs in the midst of having no identity is for that theme to recur. But that’s besides the point…
I’m not convinced Smith can hold his own against a starting center, yet.

by jefu on Nov 17, 2009 6:33 AM PST up reply actions

My advice

Watch the individual players and hope they develop.

Try and ignore the whole team/coach thing if you want to remain a fan and keep your sanity.

http://www.phillyarena.com - Philly sports forum/blog

by tk76 on Nov 17, 2009 5:23 AM PST reply actions

I don’t like this idea, especially with Speights going down.
I don’t claim to be a basketball expert but the sixers have been doing the fastbreak thing, and the fans are looking for them to continue this “live and die” by the fast break, but this has done NOTHING except keep them in the bad end of the lottery and out of the playoffs in a mostly non-competitive series.

We need to play to Brand’s strengths and that is a half court style, we can’t expect him to do well in an up and down system which isn’t that effective anyway.

Sure it’s exciting for us to watch, but besides the Suns (and they haven’t been sucessful getting deeper into the playoffs, although the west is tougher than the east.) Keeping Brand in there will let him get his confidence and legs back underneath him because he hasn’t played much in the last 2.5 years.

Keep Dalembert out cause he’s a bum, but let’s give Brand a real chance, example – a few months before we bench him.

by ajr142 on Nov 17, 2009 5:49 AM PST reply actions

I’ll have you know, Sam only looks like a bum. He plays more like a gangly clown.

by jefu on Nov 17, 2009 6:29 AM PST up reply actions

agreed.

I had other adjectives for Sam also, but figured we might as well keep it PG or PG-13.

by ajr142 on Nov 17, 2009 6:40 AM PST up reply actions

Fagan reports that 50/50 tomorrows startting line up swaps brand for carney and plays thad out of position

by jemagee on Nov 17, 2009 11:36 AM PST reply actions

God, this team is terrible . . . urgh

by Mitchell Green on Nov 17, 2009 12:01 PM PST reply actions

i heard jason smith was taking reps as the pf/c with the first team

eff you we winning anyway

by eagleswin on Nov 17, 2009 12:33 PM PST reply actions

So did the rest of us

by jemagee on Nov 17, 2009 12:55 PM PST up reply actions

I like the idea of your lineup Jemagee. This help with foul trouble/360 lay up, hook shot jumper dalembert lol by placing him on a unit that he can get as many fouls as he wants. And placing brand with him helps gets brand confidence back by scoring on 2nd unit opposing defenses. This cat Brand need confidence to play effectively and due to these injuries he has not yet reach that fools gold (trade bait) we need him to be. Hopefully this trade with sacramento and the celtics go threw….

by KamauFox3000 on Nov 17, 2009 9:06 PM PST reply actions

Play Smith?

I’ve been saying all along I wanted to see Brand play above 35 mins before doing anything rash, and I think the game against Charlotte proved that tonight. He was solid offensively (6 off boards, 19 points) and defensively (5 boards, 6 blocks) and looked good throughout. Dalembert on the other hand had a shocker, with carney playing a lot of minutes moving Brand to centre where he proved he can match up well (played better 1st half against chandler than against diaw in second). Why not experiment with moving Smith into the starting roster and make sammy first man off the bench followed by carney. Brand and 7ft smith could provide interesting match-up problems with the 7 footer that hits 3-pointers (smith) and the smaller, quicker interior man on the post (brand). Sammy D is good at what he does, rebound/block shots, and I personally think coming off the bench for 28 minutes per against 2nd unit big men would help his game and he’d still play pretty similar minutes to what he is now. When speights is back though i’d wanna see him starting and sammy getting minutes over smith, after all we are paying him ridiculous cash, should be seeing how well he can play with the 2nd tier.

by Liam T on Nov 19, 2009 6:59 AM PST reply actions