| This Brand Suits Clippers Just Fine Authored by Graham Flashner - January 24, 2005 - 10:33 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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If he played for the Lakers, he’d have his own personalized nickname, like the Mailman.
But Elton Brand plays for the Clippers, who share an arena with their famous neighbors and little else-- regional theater competing with Broadway.
And he plays in the Western Conference, where a glut of power forwards named Duncan, Garnett, Stoudemire, and Nowitzki, to name a few, ensure that, barring injury, Elton will most likely not be a Brand name at this year’s All-Star Game. None other than Charles Barkley recently told his TNT audience that “He deserves better – he’s been left off so many times.” Though he did make the All-Star team in 2002, his first year as a Clipper, it’s safe to say he’s not a household name. But while Brand may be toiling in relative anonymity with the Clips, he can take comfort in the following:
- With all due respect to Karl Malone, Brand is the best power forward in Los Angeles.
- He’s the most under-appreciated power forward in the NBA.
- Without him, the only suspense to the Clippers’ season would be whether they or Golden State finish last.
Corey Maggette may be the sizzle in the Clippers’ offense, but Brand is the steak.
After all, how many guys can be counted on, night after night, for 19 points and 10 rebounds a game? (He’s actually averaging just a shade under 10 in 2004-5). Those are Brand’s career numbers since he became the first Duke player selected Number 1 in the NBA draft in 1999—a feat even more impressive when you realize Brand, a native of Peekskill, NY, only played two seasons of college basketball.
Jumping to the NBA for what would’ve been his junior year, he landed in a pressure-cooker: the decimated, post-Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls. Lesser players might’ve cracked under the expectations, but Brand thrived: he was named Rookie of the Year; his 20.1 scoring and 10 rebound average comparing favorably with the rookie seasons of Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Larry Bird, to name a few. More important, he became an instant leader, a calming force on a team rebuilding from the ground up.
After two stellar seasons in Chicago, Brand was traded to the Clippers in 2001. Skeptics wondered if he could maintain his 20/10 numbers in the much bigger Western Conference. All Brand did in his first season as a Clipper was to drop in 18.6 points, and pull down 11.6 rebounds. And while frontcourt mates like Michael Olowakandi, Lamar Odom, and Darius Miles have long since departed, Brand has remained the anchor, the post-up threat the Clips have never had.
With a bruising style under the boards, a deft touch around the glass, and a relentless work ethic, the 6’8, 260 pound Brand is a punishing combination of power and agility, using his bulk and court smarts to compensate for any height deficiencies. His offensive game will never be as smooth as Kevin’s, as graceful as Dirk’s, as potent as Amare’s. But when the Clips aren’t hoisting up shots from beyond the arc, they’re pounding the ball inside to Brand.
And, like the Mailman, he delivers, night in and night out. With six consecutive double-doubles—including a 28 point, 11 rebound performance in Saturday’s loss at New Orleans, Brand has become as dependable as a Treasury bond, even if the Clippers themselves are floundering. And even when he’s having the occasional bad night on the court, it doesn’t affect Brand’s good work off the court: his eponymous charity foundation, partnered with the Giving Back fund, helps children across the country to improve their math skills.
Endorsement deals? Mega-contracts? Elton Brand may never see those. He’d much rather get his team to the championship, or at least, in the Clippers’ case- the playoffs. That’d be one way for fans to stop overlooking him – and start appreciating his Brand of basketball.
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