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Brand irked at coming off Sixers' bench

CHARLOTTE - When Allen Iverson joins the 76ers for Monday's game against the Denver Nuggets, he may or may not be in the starting lineup.

Elton Brand will continue to come off the bench, something he isn't too happy about. (Associated Press)
Elton Brand will continue to come off the bench, something he isn't too happy about. (Associated Press)Read more

CHARLOTTE - When Allen Iverson joins the 76ers for Monday's game against the Denver Nuggets, he may or may not be in the starting lineup.

"I don't want to commit to that, yet," coach Eddie Jordan said about the possibility of Iverson starting.

The coach, for now, is set on having forward Elton Brand come off the bench, something Brand has done the past two games after returning from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss three contests.

The move is a curious one, and Brand is none too pleased about it. Before the Nov. 18 home game against Charlotte, Jordan contemplated removing Brand from the starting lineup, with Brand averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds. But that night, Brand started a streak of three games in which he averaged 19.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, had 11 blocks and shot 52.2 percent from the floor in 38 minutes per.

Then he hurt his hamstring during a loss in Washington, sat three games before returning Monday at Dallas. In 25 minutes in that game, Brand had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Two nights later against the Thunder in Oklahoma City, Brand played 28 minutes and had 13 points and five boards.

And after yesterday's 2-hour practice at the Time Warner Cable Arena, Jordan said the bench is where Brand would be again at the start of tonight's game with the Bobcats.

Brand did not welcome that news.

"Of course, he wants me to play 20 minutes, that's what I'm playing, like 25 minutes the last two games," said Brand of Jordan. "That's what he wants.

"I was going 38 to 40 minutes and doing well. That's just what it is."

Jordan has been experimenting with lineups and rotations pretty much since the beginning of the season. He lost sub Marresse Speights to a knee injury 10 games into the season. At the time, Speights was the Sixers' best offensive player off the bench. Then Lou Williams broke his jaw 11 days ago in Washington in the same game Brand tweaked his hamstring, and Jordan had to shuffle more.

Since Speights' injury, the team hasn't had that scoring spark off the bench. Perhaps Jordan's looking for that from Brand.

"I'm trying to get him his minutes any way, and I want him in crucial parts of the game," Jordan said.

To Brand, as fiery a competitor as there is, it's not an ideal solution.

"No, of course not," he said, about accepting his new role. "You never want to come off the bench, a demotion, whatever, after an injury. But you have to do what's best for the team. We're not winning either way, so I'd rather be out there to give us the best chance. You don't accept it. What it is, is that I don't feel like I've done anything to merit [not starting]."

Asked whether he had talked to Jordan about his displeasure, Brand said:

"No, not at all. He knows that I feel good. Maybe if I keep coming off the bench playing my 20 minutes, maybe I'll crack the lineup or not. Winning is more important. That's why I'm staying positive, and we'll do whatever we need to do."

Holiday upon us

Rookie Jrue Holiday has started five straight games, and his coach is giving him high marks. "He's done great to me," Eddie Jordan said. "He had a marvelous practice today, an awesome practice today. His confidence, he's feeling a lot more comfortable on the floor as a starter and having some [games] under his belt. He's just going to get better and better."

Holiday had the best of his five starts on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, when he posted 15 points, including three three-pointers. During his starting stint, the UCLA product is averaging 8.2 points and 3.6 assists. His 35.4 shooting percentage is really a sign of his occasional reluctance to shoot the ball, turning easier shots into more difficult ones.

Thinking of A.I.

Andre Iguodala said he saw some of Allen Iverson's emotional news conference, and when asked about it, he said: "It was a regular press conference."

When pressed on what he really thought, Iguodala offered this: "He just wants to play ball, it's pretty simple. When you're accustomed to something so long and you go through a different scene and it changes so much for you, it humbles you. Just being in a different environment that he wasn't used to, he had to adjust to it. He's never had to adjust; everyone has had to adjust to him. I think he's just glad to be back in a place that he felt most comfortable."