Brand out with thumb injury, Nocioni to start
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Brand out with thumb injury, Nocioni to start
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
MEMPHIS – Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand will miss Tuesday’s game with Memphis and Wednesday’s game at Houston after reinjuring his sprained right thumb in the late stages of the team’s loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
In Brand’s place the Sixers will start Andres Nocioni. Nocioni has seen limited playing time this season and has not played more than 10 minutes in any single game this season.
“[Brand] re-injured that thumb in the late stages of the game on Sunday,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said at the team’s shootaround on Tuesday morning. “He’s not going to play the next two. Hopefully it will calm down over the all-star break and he’ll be able to get back out there next week. But he’s definitely going to miss the next two.”
Collins hopes that the Nocioni will help the Sixers, already playing without center Spencer Hawes (Achilles’ tendon), in the quickness department on Tuesday against Memphis.
“We’ll see if he can give us some good energy and some spacing on the floor,” Collins said of Nocioni. “He’s worked very hard and he’s been a real professional for us. We’re obviously going to be giving up some size because Memphis does a good job on the offensive backboards. But I want to start this game with a lot of energy.”
Nocioni?...I guess DC is looking for his own "No Mas" story.— bearsfriend- I just hope everyone is healthy and strong for the playoffs, no matter where we are in the conference, looks like Miami is the team to beat.— Lesj
- Nocioni? He does add toughness, but, surely cannot go more than 10-15 minutes. Guess Young will get 30+ minutes tonight.— chuckw
- Interesting Speights-Nocioni matchup to start.— tudorcity
- Maybe Collins is going to let Brand get an extended rest going into the All Star break. Like it or not, a healthy and rested Brand will go a long way to winning a playoff series this year.— gopherkiddd
- Nocioni makes zero sense, Mr. Collins. I am really starting to question DC's sanity. Why not try this lineup. 1) LouWill 2) Holliday 3) Iggy 4) Thad Young 5) Vucevich. Bench-Allen, Turner, Meeks, Battie, Nocioni. I think a change is needed due to Hawes being out forever and this team not being able to break 100.— Bobby V
- I like this starting lineup Bobby V, but, who is creating offense on your second team?— gopherkiddd
Nocioni starting? Wow, I'm speechless. I think Doug makes his starting lineup as weak as possible in order to surprise the opposition when the actual starters come in off the bench halfway into the first.- @Bobby v there is no scorer on that lineup you suggested.
My suggestion is start Turner over holiday for one game and see how that goes.— teebone40 - Noc over Thad? Really? Starting to look like DC is favoring gameplan over the talent he has on the team. Sure Thad is part of the 2nd team and has synergy with that group, but with all these injuries you start your best players. That's right Meeks is in the starting lineup so throw that out.— Manok
- Bobby V: tend to agree with your starting lineup with bench players rotating in one or two at a time, not the so-called multiple "Night-Shift" substitutions as there is little creating with your second unit, as gopherkiddd notes. Nocioni is a pest, all arms and elbows, and on the odd occasion can hit the three, adding some spacing, but certainly an odd choice to cover Speights. Lou Will has the potential to get the Memphis bigs in foul trouble; I wish Holiday would emulate him in initiating contact when he drives. He cannot have another 20 point on 20 shots game with NO foul shots.— chuckw
Comment removed.- PostMoreThan10Comments: thought crossed my mind as well, as Sixers need to get help underneath or a real shooting guard and Nocioni has that expiring contract. Not sure Thorn is really above Collins; more like a joint venture.— chuckw
- Excellent comments by all. Agree my bench looks weak, but Williams, Iggy, Holliday and Iggy can all score.— Bobby V
- Thinking outside the box compared to the other comments here but what about this lineup- jrue, meeks, turner, iggy and vuc? seeing as speights gets his points from outside anyways why not keep an athlete on him that creates problems when speights is trying to shoot over him (iggy's listed at 6'6 with a much better vertical than noc who's at 6'7)? plus think of the offensive mismatch w/speights on iggy. it also allows dc to keep his key bench players (lou and thad) coming off the bench. as far as reality goes, unless this is just a showcase to get noc traded, this is a ridiculous decision in a series of ridiculous decisions dc has been making for most of the year.— 76ers in 2076
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
