Why anyone thinks we should trade Elton Brand needs to explain themselves. He's a 20 and 10 guy and they aren't common. Just because this coach is an idiot and doesn't know how to use him, is irrelevant to this man's talent and ability.
With the right coach this team can compete for a championship this season. There isn't a team out there with two better front court players than Speights and Brand. Or at least none that can outscore them.
Don't kid yourself about what it takes to win in the NBA playoffs. It takes a half court offense with Big men who can post up and score and draw fouls. All the competing teams have this. Lakers have Gasol and Bynum. Celtics have Garnett and Perkins. The Cavaliers have Shaq. Orlando has Dwight and Lewis. Are any of those combo's so much better than Brand and Speights that we would lose based on that match-up? These are the players the team has been missing, the components that allow them to play well and execute in the half-court, an offense that is difficult to stop or disrupt.
Dalembert is a good back-up in the NBA, an above average shot-blocker. Jason Smith needs to play more, to give us more big man depth. The biggest problem I have with Eddie Jordan is his determination to play Thad Young as a 4. If Thad was used as a three, that would give Jason the opportunity to develop. This team has more than enough guards, and enough big men if they were all used. But at the small forward spot all we have is Andre and Carney and Kapono. Carney doesn't get any PT(I don't understand why, and Kapono does which I understand even less.)
It gives us such a size advantage when Thad plays 3 that it is really stupid not to take advantage of. And it also makes sense to play Elton or Marreese or even Jason Smith at the 4 instead.
You may not believe this, but there is actually less of a difference between being a winning and losing team than you might imagine. There has to be sufficient talent, and there has to be a working strategy on offense and defense using the right combination of players. And while the Sixers have appeared to be a losing team, injuries and a bad coach are the reason they have such a poor record. Not having Brand and Speights hurt this team, as did losing a 20 pt. scorer in Lou Williams.
This team has yet to have a night when Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala, Thad Young, Elton Brand and Marreese Speights were all playing together, healthy and clicking on all 5 cylinders. They were on the floor together in the Clipper game, but Lou wasn't himself. (They did get the Sixer back into the game with that group, however. If they weren't down so far to begin with thanks to Jordan's idiocy, this game would have been a win. If Lou was making his shots it would have been a win.
Eddie is the only thing standing between this team and a long winning streak. Even Utah is winnable.
