Brand hoping to rekindle Sixers-Celtics rivalry

AMHERST, Mass. -- He was so young the last time these teams hated each other, all Elton Brand knew was that his loyalties in the Boston-Philadelphia rivalry were with the 76ers because the blanket on his boyhood bed carried the likeness of Dr. J -- Julius Erving.

So many Eastern Conference rivalries have come and gone in the intervening 25 or so years, but the bitter feelings have lingered in the hearts and minds of Philly fans.

Brand knows this because he has already run into a bunch of them in his brief time with Philly -- an era that got off to a positive start Wednesday night on the campus of UMass as Philadelphia rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Boston 98-92.

Each of those fans had the same type of issue: lingering animosity, Brand said.

"Absolutely, absolutely. And not just basketball, but baseball, football. And we haven't won one in 25 years, while Boston got them in football, baseball, basketball. So our fans, they're starving for it. And a legit [Celtics-76ers rivalry] would be great for the league, kind of like Lakers-Boston, but it's the East Coast fighting again, because there's still a lot of carryover among the fans. I see fans now, OK, it's 20 years ago, but they're still coming out to the games, talking about how they remember Mo, and Dr. J, and this guy. But we've got to step it up. They're already the champions, and we've got to step it up and get to that elite level, and that would make it legit."

Philadelphia's signing of Brand over the summer was the big move the Sixers felt they needed to make to get to the elite level, giving them the low-post scoring threat they lacked -- and which, along with abysmal 3-point shooting -- proved to be their demise after they took a 2-1 lead on the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs last season before dropping the final three games.

The Sixers have their eye on becoming an inside-out team with its offense focused around Brand -- although their debut appearance with him anchoring the frontcourt left plenty to be desired.

Brand finished 2-for-6 from the field for 11 points and four rebounds, but he turned the ball over four times and was locked down by Kevin Garnett, who brought a taste of midseason defensive intensity to this matchup of two teams playing their first exhibition games of the fall.

Credit for the victory belonged to Louis Williams, who scored 27 points in just under 27 minutes -- dominating his matchup with Eddie House in the decisive fourth quarter -- and Thaddeus Young, who added 21 points and five steals.

Low-post scoring wasn't the only bugaboo for the Sixers last season, and they addressed their other primary weakness -- outside shooting -- by signing Donyell Marshall and Kareem Rush while also sending Williams to Mark Price's shooting camp in Atlanta, where he estimated he knocked down 500 3-pointers a day during the four days a week when he was conducting workouts, learning to keep his shoulder square and his arm extended after releasing the ball.

The Sixers locked Williams up with a five-year $25 million contract that could end up being much more cost effective than the five-year, $84 million deal Brand inked to leave the Los Angeles Clippers and resettle in Philly -- especially if Williams continues to outshine the big man in the same manner he did Wednesday night.

But Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks was in no mood to pick apart Brand's somewhat shaky performance -- he had two of his first four shots blocked and missed his one and only open look -- when he was matched head-up against Garnett.

"C'mon, this is his first game actually playing after being someplace else for a long time, it's going to be a little different, it's going to take him a minute," Cheeks said. "In the first half I thought he still did well, the second half he got a little better, and I would expect each game he's going to get a little bit better. He's going to score and he's going to rebound the ball no matter what, and he's going to get more comfortable the more games he plays."

Heading into the season, a strong argument can be made that the Celtics will run away from the rest of the East, and the second-tier teams will spend their 82 games trying to see which of them -- Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando, Toronto and Philadelphia would seem to be the five favorites -- can be the runner-up. Four of those teams will be working in key new pieces -- Mo Williams with the Cavs, Mickael Pietrus with the Magic, Jermaine O'Neal with the Raptors and Brand with the Sixers -- while the Celtics have merely fine-tuned a lineup that didn't have all that many holes to begin with.

Cheeks would love to see the rivalry renewed, too, since he was one of the guys along with Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney, Moses Malone and a young Charles Barkley, who were banging and testing each other back in the day when the Boston-Philadelphia rivalry had a 20-plus year history and was the strongest in the league -- not just the East.

"It was as good as it got in terms of rivalries, and I think rivalries were good for the NBA -- we had a healthy rivalry, and neither of us wanted to lose. When you were playing the Celtics, you were playing," Cheeks said. "We'd like to renew it, but they won the NBA title last year, and we're just trying to put ourselves in the position to get to where they are.

"So if there is a rivalry, that'll be good -- because that means we're contending with a team that won the NBA championship."

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Season Preview: Stefanski Gets His Man

Oct. 3, 2008 -- Ed Stefanski may have pulled off the move of the summer when he signed free agent Elton Brand, giving his Sixers exactly what they needed: a power forward who can rebound and score inside.

Stefanski took over as President and General Manager of the Sixers last December and quickly cleared some cap space by sending Kyle Korver to Utah later that month. That allowed the Sixers to become a major free agent buyer this summer. And with the team coming on strong as the 2007-08 season came to a close, they knew that a big acquisition could take them a long way.

How far? Time will tell. It may depend on Brand's health, of course. After having surgery last August to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, he came back to play the final eight games of the season for the Clippers, but it remains to be seen if the Sixers are getting Brand at his best.

Stefanski spoke with NBA.com a few days before training camp opened.

NBA.com: I assume that you're pretty anxious to get things started this season.
Ed Stefanski: Yeah, we want to see the changes and additions we made and if they work or not.

NBA.com: How closely did you watch the eight games that Elton Brand played at the end of last season for the Clippers?
Stefanski: We watched all eight games. That was definitely a positive factor when he decided he was going to opt out. We had interest.

We were surprised that Elton opted out. We didn't know until July 1st that that was going to happen. We knew he could do that and he was in our plans, but he was more on the back burner, because we didn't think he'd opt out.

But we did watch all eight games, and as I said, that he came back was a positive factor. He did look a little rusty, but he still was a factor in those games.

NBA.com: How much did his Achilles concern you?
Stefanski: You're always concerned. Our doctors looked at the MRI, saw that it had healed properly and that the operation was well done. With anything like this, there's no doubt you take some risk, but it's a risk-reward type of thing.

NBA.com: Assuming that he's healthy and looking at what your team was missing last year, is there a better fit for the Sixers than Brand?
Stefanski: No. We knew going into the offseason, from all of the exit meetings we had with the players, and what the coaches, management and fans felt, that we needed a low-post scorer. But those guys are not very easy to obtain. And we were going to go in various directions not knowing that Elton was going to opt out.

To us, he's the prototype power forward and we took advantage of the opportunity when he opted out.

NBA.com: Looking at your numbers last year, you were a solid rebounding team overall, but that was because you were No. 1 on the offensive boards.
Stefanski: Right, we were a bad defensive rebounding team.

NBA.com: So, obviously, Elton helps you there.
Stefanski: He helps us in so many different facets: rebounding the ball, low-post scoring, obviously. He's an excellent 16- to 17-foot shooter. He gives us so many intangibles off the court, taking a leadership role. He's an extremely hard worker every day in the gym. So, all those things are real positives, because when you look at our roster, we do have some veterans on the team, but we also have some young players. And these young guys are going to have to step up and get better for us to be the team that we want to be.

NBA.com: How do you rate Elton as a defender?
Stefanski: I think he's a fair-to-good defender. I think he'll benefit by having Samuel Dalembert with him. He can block a shot, too. That's another thing that he brings. His defense isn't an issue and like I said, with Sammy behind him, that makes him that much better.

He was very intrigued and interested in playing with Sam.

NBA.com: Of course, there are some people who say that he will slow down your running game, which was obviously a key to your late-season success last year.
Stefanski: We'll see what happens, but we're gonna try to balance running with getting into the half-court when we need to.

NBA.com: What or who would be an X-factor for your team this season?
Stefanski: We have some givens. Elton Brand is a high-level player. You know what Sammy gave us in the second half of the season; he was one of the top centers in the league the way he rebounded and blocked shots for us. Andre Miller had a big-time year; he's proven. And Andre Iguodala is only 24, but he's a very good basketball player.

Even though it's early in their careers and maybe not fair to put this on them, it's Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young to me. They're two young kids that have big upside. I'm not saying that they're going to reach that upside this year, but if they grow the way they've been growing, I think they'll make us a better basketball team.

NBA.com: What is that you'd like to see Williams do better?
Stefanski: The one thing that everyone talks about is what position he is, and I can't answer if he's a typical one or a true two. All I know is that he's an excellent basketball player. He just plays and gets things done. What Mo [Cheeks] asked of him last year was to do a better job on the defensive end. I think he has improved and has room to keep improving there. And then, when it's time to get other guys in the game, I think that's a growing experience that he keeps working on, and is getting better and better at it.

NBA.com: How much of an issue is perimeter shooting on this team? Can you stick with this roster and have the shooters that you need?
Stefanski: I guess we were last in three-point shooting last year. I think we'll improve internally with the guys that were here. And then we brought in Kareem Rush, who's a good three-point shooter. And we hope that Donyell Marshall helps us too. They were the pickups from the outside that we expect to help us in that area.

NBA.com: Do you expect Royal Ivey to play?
Stefanski: Yes. Ivey's a good basketball player. He's a tough kid, he defends you, and there's another guy whose shooting has gotten better since he's come into the league. He's not a pure three-point shooter, but his outside shot has improved. I see him coming in and giving us some minutes, because he's a good, hard-nosed defender.

When you play our style, you need pressure on the basketball, so I think Royal Ivey will get a shot.

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