Brand Out A Month
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Brand Out A Month
Elton Brand received an MRI after last night's game that revealed a fracture of the humeral head (bone) and a tear of the labrum, the Sixers announced in a press release. Sixers team doc Jack McPhilemy said he doesn't think the injury requires surgery at this time.
The Sixers said Brand will begin rehab immediately and is expected to be out a month. He will not travel with the team this afternoon to Washington, where the Sixers play the Wizards tomorrow night.
In the third quarter of last night's win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Brand left the game clutching his right shoulder. The news coming from the Sixers last night was a "Dislocated Right Shoulder."
Brand was not made available to the media at today's practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Sixers officials said the first opportunity to speak with Brand will come before Saturday's home game against the Indiana Pacers.
The Sixers watched film for about 30 minutes today and then got on the court to shoot around before taking an afternoon train to Washington.
The injury to Brand tosses another wrench into what has been a whirlwind first two months of the season. Of course, on Saturday, President and General Manager Ed Stefanski fired coach Maurice Cheek after the Sixers started 9-14. New coach, Tony DiLeo, has said he was working on tweaking the offensive and defensive sets to better improve the Sixers efficiency. He said before last night's game that he believed this team had the pieces to win.
The injury to Brand comes at an odd time as we've been speaking recently about whether Brand's addition had slowed what was last year an uptempo squad. When Brand left the game last night, the Sixers trailed by seven points. They won by five points. But the consensus among the Sixers players is that Brand is an essential piece for long-term success. The Sixers might seem more effective in the short-term reverting to their run-and-gun style, but they need a reliable half-court player to win the tough games.
--Kate
can we start using donyell marshall again?— CallerNo9- Time for Thad & Speights to step up!— bgdude18
- They'll play better without him.— Matt
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- They're dead until Sam comes off the book. They won't be able to get the all of the pieces they need via a trade for Miller; they did everything backwards (should have traded Miller last year for the cap space for Brand) and kept Korver / Carney. Now, they have no bench, no PG of the future, no shooters, and no cap space. How is it phrased....DONE.— Dean1
- It appears to me that the Sixers run an up tempo game and move the ball around better when Brand is out of the line up.— duke
Oh geez, they let all the talent slip out the door and get this Brand guy... Van Horn, Glen Robinson, Chris Webber... thank the good Lord we have the Phillies and Eagles.— gho_matt- I'm a bit tired of the negative anti-Brand sentiment. "He can't run. He clogs up the floor. They're better without him." I don't blame Brand as much as the coach (Sorry, Mo but it's true) and the other 4 players on the court. Brand can work in a motion type offense, and if he can't do it for 48 minutes then that's what subs are for. In May, this team is going to need someone who can get them a basket in the paint with 2 minutes to go in the 4th. If you've got a better candidate than Mr. Brand, then I'm all ears.— doctorhim
- I will not say they are better off without Brand, no one really knows that, but they certainly will become more athletic and quicker without him and that is a good thing. This franchise reminds me of a dog chasing his tail, every once in a while he gets it but mostly he just gets dizzy going round and round...— lalleva
- lalleva: I don't know if I agree with your analogy, but it was certainly well done. (And funny.)— Kfagan
- with out a doubt he's not jelling with the team the way Moses did when he joined the run and gun sixers of Doc, Tooney, Mo and B. Jones— jeff gross
- kate: just like all predictions, the better w/or w/o brand issue will play out but as discussed on your prior entry, it seems inconceivable they'll be better w/o a healthy brand. almost any gm, not just stefanski would have made a play for brand after creating the cap space. it's amazing the smith and iguodala signings keep coming up-and how brand is viewed as only a low post player when that's not his game. and i can't believe i missed the chat...— 127sixer59
- Does anyone remember Billy Cunningham's methods of substitution, especially when a player misses several games? Saying miller, green, AI, brand and sam are starters and lou, young and evens/sheights super subs, he would start radcliff for brand giving him 8 to 12 minutes. the balance of brands 24-32 minutes would go to sam, young and evans/sheights. Minutes would depend on team match ups. This way each player from the start of the season knows what his role was and would always be. Of course Billy was smart enough to have several assistants he trusted to tell him how to do it! I believe Cheeks should have done the same. I believe Tony D. might do similarly, although in brands case it makes sense to start evans and then expand the others. ps - get off AI's back!— russ4philly
- THANK YOU ALL FOR THE COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF STOP BUSTING ON AI AND BRAND! Last year we were competing and did not have a post player. We now do. IF we had been shooting decent, we would have a much better record. Not just one players fault. And, on the coach, Mo NEVER had a season winning record. Yes, we love him as a player! But, we need to win!— dharner
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.
