Brand thinks Sixers can start NBA's next big trend
THIS IS THE 17th year in the NBA for Elton Brand, and to say he's seen his share of different styles of basketball is like saying LeBron James is a one-dimensional player.
THIS IS THE 17th year in the NBA for Elton Brand, and to say he's seen his share of different styles of basketball is like saying LeBron James is a one-dimensional player.
When Brand won the rookie of the year trophy in 2000, Shaquille O'Neal was dominating the league at both ends of the floor and was pairing with Kobe Bryant to win three consecutive championships. It was a pretty easy style of play back then for the Lakers - getting the ball to O'Neal in the post when he was there and taking advantage of Bryant's scoring abilities all the times he wasn't.
The San Antonio Spurs gobbled up some titles over the next few years, first with the combination of David Robinson and Tim Duncan dominating the low post, then with a more versatile Duncan surrounded by some shooters and great playmakers in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Detroit grabbed the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2004 with a total team style of play, orchestrated by coach Larry Brown. Dwyane Wade and Shaq took one for the Heat in 2006 and the Big Three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce propelled Boston two years later. Bryant got three more with the Lakers while Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum ruled the middle in the late 2000s and Dirk Nowitzki got one, almost single-handedly, with the Mavericks in 2011.
The other Big Three (James, Wade and Chris Bosh) got back-to-backs in Miami in 2012 and '13.
If you think about those teams, there wasn't too much of a difference. For the most part those teams had a powerful low-post presence. If not, then there was an abundance of superstars to overcome that, for the most part.
In 2014, the Spurs implemented a style of passing game the NBA hadn't seen before, with aging players knowing the importance of having a ball move all over the floor to make good shots become great ones.
Then came the Golden State Warriors and the dizzying small-ball style that carried them to the title and has the rest of the NBA looking to duplicate their style of play.
Basketball has always been about change, from the running style of the '80s to the isolation kind of game that later followed and now to the spread-the-floor game. While the Warriors are the current hot model, who's to say there isn't a style that will trump it in the near future? Could it be that is what the 76ers are thinking with their current abundance of big men, with more coming in the near future?
"Asthetically, I like (today's spread style)," Brand said. "Fans like it; it's easier on the eye instead of just giving it to one guy and wrestling down low in the post all the time. Spreading and pass, pass, pass is an exciting game and a fun way to play. So I don't see it changing much, unless the bigs just start dominating again to the point the spread ball can't compete. That's the only way I can see it changing again. I think it's going to stay like this for a while."
But what if the Sixers somehow could find a way to mesh Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid? What if 6-10 Dario Saric comes over and is able to be a serious contributor? What if the Sixers get the first pick and take LSU 6-10 forward Ben Simmons?
In a couple of years, is it possible that the new style of the NBA is formed here in Philadelphia with big after big after big being thrown onto the court and attacking the basket?
Brand thinks so.
"I think big could pound spread ball, in my opinion," he said. "Now you have those stretch fours and those stretch fives, like they did in the Finals last year. But if you have a dominant big guy, that means getting fouled and getting into the penalty. Or it's easier twos, easy buckets. If you have some real dominant scorers down there, it's just bucket after bucket, foul after foul, getting it into the paint. If you can go big and find a way to have some semblance of defense to get out on the stretch fours and fives, it'd be fine.
"I think that's the way some teams are going to try to attack that small ball. Because if you play too much small ball, you can't rebound. If you can't rebound, then you can't get out on the break and you can't shoot those threes as easily."
It was a fun topic of conversation with a cerebral player who has seen the evolution of the professional game for almost as long as some of his teammates have been alive. He wasn't throwing out a company line, just saying that the way the Sixers could be built is the way to go. Brand always thinks out an answer, reflects upon what he has seen and learned from his years and is truthful. Perhaps the Sixers could may be on to something here.
"A lot of guys now are hybrids," Brand said. "Kevin Durant is 6-11. He's kind of a big man, but he's a point guard, shooting guard big man. That's how the game is different. But you still have to protect the rim. It's still basketball. Closest to the rim wins."
Should the roster of plentiful big men stay intact for the near future, the Sixers certainly hope Brand is right.
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