Brand is fast becoming the Sixers' rock

The book on how to prevent Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic from beating you is not a lengthy work. Sixers coach Doug Collins summarized it for his team before Wednesday's game at the Wells Fargo Center.

When Howard gets the ball - all 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds of him - it is best not to let him shoot, since he usually does so while in contact with the rim. Putting him on the free-throw line is usually a better idea.

The Sixers took the advice to heart, especially Spencer Hawes and Tony Battie, who bore the brunt of the effort, and Howard was given the opportunity to try 19 free throws against the Sixers. Unfortunately for them, Howard, who entered the game as a 58 percent shooter from the line, made 14 of those 19 tries and, well, so much for strategy.

The Sixers lost, 99-95, just one short night after one of their most impressive wins of the season, a 34-point road win against Atlanta. They had climbed within three games of a .500 record and the Orlando loss knocked them down a step. If the season so far is any indication, they will resume the climb quickly.

"Orlando showed tonight they're a better team than we are," Collins said. "But I told our guys that's nothing to get discouraged about."

Orlando is better largely, no pun intended, because of Howard, who is the kind of superstar a team can ride at both ends of the court. The Magic, knowing that other teams have to collapse their defenses on Howard, have surrounded him with a nice cast of outside shooters. If the big man doesn't beat you with dunks, then the other guys can riddle you with three-pointers.

The Sixers took all those arrows on Wednesday, but they'll live to fight another day. They'll do the fighting without a superstar of their own, however, and until that changes the Sixers will have to settle for being overachievers who play better as a team than their individual talents would suggest.

For Elton Brand, who is finally healthy and finally happy after a dreadful two-year introduction in Philadelphia, it is too much to ask that he carry the team by himself. Perhaps he was signed as a number one option, a career 20-and-10 player, but he is a marked man here, the only inside presence whom opponents have to consider.

With Howard lurking around the basket on Wednesday, not bothering to chase Hawes or Battie when they tried to lure him away, there wasn't much for Brand to do, and he understood that. He scored 12 points, concentrated on the defensive end, and hoped the Sixers could shoot well enough from the perimeter to keep pace. That wasn't what happened, however.

On other nights, the story turns out differently, and Brand is having a very good season after suffering through a difficult one under coach Eddie Jordan.

"I just kept doing what I do to prepare, even when I was coming off the bench. I had to be prepared. Pregame preparation, early shooting," Brand said. "I had to do it."

Collins got Brand to buy into putting defense first, which he successfully sold to the rest of the team, too.

"He lets me hold him accountable," Collins said. "He'll come to me before a game and say, 'What do you have for me tonight. What do you see, more me?' He wants to get his mind ready. He's the ultimate professional."

Against the Magic, Collins told Brand to forget about working in the low post. He wanted him to move from side to side to get Howard moving around, to set picks and then pop out for little 10-12 foot jump shots. And, of course, defense.

"We can win with Elton scoring 12 points a game. We can't win if he doesn't play defense and rebound," Collins said. "He's having fun playing again. He's feeding off this team's energy."

It is difficult to say what this season's team can really accomplish. It is a watchable team for the first time in a while, and the Sixers will make the playoffs, heading for a first-round matchup against either Boston or Miami. But if nothing else, it will accomplish the refurbishing of Brand's reputation, which is overdue.

"He's an incredibly proud man. I'm sure the last couple of years stung him deeply because Elton's not about taking the money and running. Elton's about earning his paycheck," Collins said, "and I know it hurt him deeply. It's great to see him back and you could make an argument that he's the comeback player of the year."

"You never know how it's going to work out with a new coach until you get in the gym. He might not like your style of play. It happens," Brand said. "But this worked out. Coach calls my plays and we're winning some ballgames."

He can't be for his team what Dwight Howard is for the Magic, but the same can be said about approximately 350 other players in the league. Instead, he goes to work and hopes the game plan holds up that night.

That wasn't the case on Wednesday. Orlando made its three-pointers and Howard made his free throws. Sometimes, luck doesn't come your way.

Even on this night, however, Elton Brand could turn his head and look back over the shoulders of the last two seasons, and still feel pretty lucky.