It's just the first game.

It's just the first game, and it's a preseason game on top of that.

I had to keep reminding myself of that because I've been looking forward to this ever since Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski pulled that rabbit out of his hat and brought marquee free agent Elton Brand to Philadelphia.

I've watched this franchise go through slow erosion since the pinnacle of the Allen Iverson era, its appearance in the 2001 NBA Finals.

I've seen disappointing supposed superstars come and go as the Sixers tried to recreate magic around Iverson.

I've seen a Hall of Fame coach bail out on the process and a revolving door of coaches follow.

I've seen the Sixers finally cut the strings to Iverson and embark on a rebuilding plan only to have the head architect dismissed a few short months into the process.

I saw hope that the Sixers weren't locked into a 5-year rebuilding project as Stefanski, by genius or by hook and crook, energized a young core to make a surprise run to the playoffs last season.

And now with Stefanski signing "The PhillyMax," locking up key components like Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams and strengthening the bench with players like Kareem Rush, Donyell Marshall, Theo Ratliff and Royal Ivey, I see genuine excitement for a team that could make a quantum leap up the ladder of power in the Eastern Conference.

I've been waiting to see what it was going to look like together.

Not bad - not jaw-dropping overwhelming, but definitely not bad, either.

"It was a preseason game, and I think we got a lot out of it because we played a lot of guys," coach Maurice Cheeks said, after the Sixers' 98-92 victory last night over the Boston Celtics at the University of Massachusetts. Williams led the Sixers with 27 points, and Thaddeus Young had 21.

First off, the opponent was the defending NBA champion with a potential Hall of Fame trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

The new-look Sixers were only going to look so good against them.

More important, as Stefanski astutely reminded me a few minutes before tipoff, "It's going to take some time."

This is the start of a work in progress.

The Sixers have been together for just a little more than a week.

No matter how the game turned out, it was unrealistic to think we'd know what the Sixers are or what they can potentially be.

After 4 minutes, Boston's starting five had rattled the Sixers' starting unit of Brand, Iguodala, point guard Andre Miller, center Samuel Dalembert and small forward Young to the tune of a 16-4 advantage.

Brand's Sixers career started with him committing a turnover, having a shot blocked and missing another.

His first basket as a Sixer came with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first quarter when he made a turnaround fadeaway jumper over Garnett.

In just under 10 minutes of action in the first, Brand had four points, two rebounds and a blocked shot.

The Celtics led, 22-17, with Pierce, Allen and Garnett combining for 18 points before they were sat down with just over 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

But things were much better for the Sixers when the starters squared off in the third quarter.

This time the Sixers outscored the Celtics, 23-13, during the time the starters were primarily on the court against each other.

"We played them straight up," Cheeks said. "They missed some shots, but I think our defense got better, our pressure got better. I think that was one of the things we talked about at halftime."

Brand was more productive, with seven points and three rebounds.

For the game, Brand shot just 2-for-6 from the floor but finished with 11 points, four rebounds, a blocked shot and four turnovers in just under 22 minutes.

He is a career 73.8 percent free throw shooter, which is nice because he gets around 500 free throws a season.

So for a first assessment, I'll say that Brand doesn't have a style that will make the Wachovia Center stand up and scream, "Wow!" the way Iverson did, but at the end of the night, he's going to have numbers that will leave fans smiling.

"This is his first game playing," Cheeks said of Brand, who came from the Los Angeles Clippers. "To actually go out and play with a different team after being another place is going to be a little different.

"It's going to take him a minute. I thought he did well in the first half, and in the second half he got better. I would expect each game that he'll get a little bit better, little bit better. He's going to score and rebound no matter what. I think he'll get more comfortable the more games he plays."

For the first game, not bad. *

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