Posts Tagged ‘Elton Brand’

A Wild Block Party

January 22, 2012  ·  9:00AM

by Zettler Clay

The Association has a tendency to use a lull as bait; just when you think the cadence of the season is figured out, something happens to heighten — or floor — the senses. On a 10-game Saturday night, copious highlights are a given. But what made last night unusual was the swat party invites.

Twenty-one players recorded two or more blocks. Twelve players rejected three or more shots, to wit:

Three Blocks
Tayshaun Prince
Timofey Mozgov
Tyson Chandler
Jared Jeffries
Elton Brand
LeBron James
Joel Anthony
Kris Humphries
Tyrus Thomas

Five Blocks
Serge Ibaka

Six Blocks
Marc Gasol
Samuel Dalembert

Without further ado, here are Saturday night’s top five stuffs:

5) Mozgov and ‘Melo




Apparently — maybe — Mozgov reads All-Ball, because a day after being framed as an early candidate for posterdom by yours truly, he posts a season high in points (16), along with a couple of highlights. One is here. Way to go, Tim. Nothing like a quick retort to silence the critics.

4) Serge “Iblocka” and Deron



OK, so Deron Williams‘ hops aren’t Derrick Rose’s. But clean blocks off dunk attempts aren’t as easy as it appears. You get the feeling that Ibaka gets out of bed for these moments.

3) Derrick Favors waits on Nikola Pekovic


Pekovic didn’t have much momentum and Favors had the angle. Plus he was preying on that play as soon as the screen was set. Just mean. And impressive.

2) Yi meets DaJuan Summers at the rim

Talk about full steam. Summers had a good four steps before he took off, but couldn’t avoid the tentacles of the mighty Yi Jianlian. Note the quick sidestep to the left by Yi before launching. Decent degree of difficulty.

1) Dante Cunningham crashes DeMarcus Cousins’ party

My favorite for a couple of reasons. One, it was excellent help-side defense (not to mention footwork) by Cunningham to get to the spot in time. Two, it was a total collaborative effort by the Grizzlies. Gasol shows on the screen, hustles back to Cousins, helps off to cover Francisco Garcia, which leaves Cousins momentarily open. Seventy-five percent (armchair estimate and all) of the time … that’s either a bucket, foul or both. Cunningham, all of 6-foot-8, puts the coup de grace to the Kings’ possession.

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Three for all: Philadelphia 76ers

January 12, 2012  ·  2:38PM

by Micah Hart

As everyone knows by now, the compressed NBA schedule will force every team to play three games in three nights at least one this season (42 times in total). With only 66 games to stake a claim to a playoff spot or seed, how teams perform during these killer slates could have a large impact on how their seasons turn out.

With that in mind, we’re going to keep track of each of the 42 three-plays to see which teams take advantage and which teams fall apart. Up next, the Philadelphia 76ers, who played three straight from Jan 9-11.

The Sixers have been playing some of the best ball in the NBA, and found themselves during their three-play challenge at the top of the Atlantic Division. Could they maintain during this brutal stretch? Let’s find out!

Game 1: Sixers 96, Pacers 86 - The Sixers catch a small break as Pacers All-Star Danny Granger was out with food poisoning (Coincidence? Or was he pushed?), though with the way Philly is playing, it might not have mattered. Andre Iguodala led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds. 2 points (1 for win, 1 for +10 margin)

Game 2: Sixers 112, Kings 85 - So far the Sixers depth is really developing into one of the stories of the NBA season, a big reason for their surprise success so far. Case in point against the Kings, as Evan Turner came off the bench for a near triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Elton Brand turned on the wayback machine and put up 21-10, but he’s a starter, so that’s outside of the narrative. 4 points (3 for win, 1 for +10 margin)

Game 3: Knicks 85, Sixers 79 - This is more what we assumed the third games of these things would be like, as the Knicks got out to a big lead early and the Sixers’ tired legs just didn’t have enough to chase them down, So goes Philly’s six-game win streak, and so goes their chance at perfection. 0 points

All in all a successful stint for the Sixers, who took care of business at home with two double-digit wins before losing a tough game (regardless of rest) at the Garden. 6 total points for Philly.

Up next: The Toronto Raptors also played three straight Jan. 9-11.

Three for all Scoreboard:
– Chicago Bulls (13 points)
– OKC Thunder (12 points)
– Atlanta Hawks (8 points)
– Houston Rockets (7 points)
– Philadelphia 76ers (6 points)
– Denver Nuggets (6 points)
– L.A. Lakers (3 points)
– Sacramento Kings (2 points)
– Minnesota Timberwolves (2 points)

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Bragging Rights Championship: Texas vs. Duke

April 4, 2011  ·  10:58AM

by Micah Hart

In the final of All Ball’s inaugural Bragging Rights challenge, it’s no surprise to see the dominant college basketball program over the last two decades make it thus far. It is a little surprising to see their competition, traditionally known as a football school — but one that has churned out a sizable number of NBA players over the last decade. Who will win? That’s for you to decide. And if you need a refresher on the Bragging Rights rules, read up on them here. For a view of the entire bracket and how both teams got to the finals, check here. Onto the finale: 

VS

Texas Longhorns

Starters (all stats per 48 minutes, through 4/3):

LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers: 26.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals
D.J. Augustin, Bobcats: 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 0.1 blocks, 0.8 steals
Kevin Durant, Thunder: 33.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.4 steals
T.J. Ford, Pacers: 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 0.5 blocks, 2.0 steals
Maurice Evans, Wizards: 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.4 blocks, 1.0 steals

Missed the cut: Damion James, Nets; Daniel Gibson, Cavaliers; Royal Ivey, Thunder; Dexter Pittman, Heat; Avery Bradley, Celtics

How they got here: Talk about March Madness. After easily dispatching Washington, the Horns beat UCLA literally at the buzzer, winning their matchup against the Bruins by a single vote in the Elite Eight. In the Final Four, the Horns edged out UConn in their closest match of the tournament, winning by a 52%-48% margin.

Team synopsis: As expected, the Durant-Aldridge combo has proven too much for any opponent thus far. Augustin is having a breakout season in Charlotte, and makes for a solid third option. Ford is somewhat redundant with Augustin on the floor, but his track record is a little better than rookie Damion James. Mo Evans is no star, but he is a capable defender and rebounder who can hit the corner three when needed.

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Bragging Rights Bracket: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 LSU

March 24, 2011  ·  10:00AM



by Micah Hart

For the complete Bragging Rights rules and to vote for other matchups, click here. We now move to the fourth and final region, the South, with No. 1 seed Duke taking on play-in winner and 4-seed LSU, which won the battle of the bigs against Stanford to reach the Sweet 16.

VS

Duke Blue Devils

Starters (all stats per 48 minutes):

Carlos Boozer, Bulls: 27.1 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.5 blocks, 1.0 steals
Corey Maggette, Bucks: 27.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.7 steals
Elton Brand, Sixers: 20.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, 1.6 steals
Grant Hill, Suns: 20.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.7 blocks, 1.3 steals
Luol Deng, Bulls: 21.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.7 blocks, 1.2 steals

Missed the cut: Shane Battier, Grizzlies; Chris Duhon, Magic; Mike Dunleavy, Pacers; Gerald Henderson, Bobcats; Dahntay Jones, Pacers; Josh McRoberts, Pacers; JJ Redick, Magic; Shelden Williams, Knicks

Team synopsis: People have a tendency to think that Duke players don’t do so well in the pros, but man, look at this lineup. Big and burly, and good luck keeping Brand, Boozer, and Maggette off the offensive glass. The only thing that could pose a problem for the Dookies is a lack of a top-notch outside shooter or true distributor, but Hill and Deng are good enough. Each guy on this team can put the ball in the basket.

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Extend, trade or cut – bad contract edition

November 29, 2010  ·  12:12PM

by Micah Hart

Today is Monday, which means it’s time for another fabulous edition of Extend, Trade or Cut. Today’s scenario examines three players who have all been All-Stars at various times in their careers, who were then paid accordingly because of that level of performance, but now because of their contracts’ size and length (and other considerations) are considered almost untradeable. Step right up, Orlando’s Rashard Lewis, Philly’s Elton Brand, and Washington’s Gilbert Arenas.

Just to refresh you on the rules, picture yourself as the GM of a mythical NBA franchise, and pretend that you have to choose between three players. One player you can extend with a new contract, one player you have to trade for some mythical asset(s), and one player you must cut from your roster for eternity (it’s a harsh world). You may choose each option only once.

Let’s examine the evidence:

Rashard Lewis: I have always thought that people find Lewis disappointing simply because he looks capable of so much more. He may not be capable of more, but based on his size and shooting ability, it just seems like he should be one of the game’s most dominant players. Couple that with the free-agent contract he signed with Orlando that will pay him upwards of $20 million a season through 2012-13, and you have a player that fans expect more from than the 11.8 ppg he’s giving the Magic right now.

Elton Brand: The prize of the free-agent class of 2008, Brand signed a five-year deal with the Sixers and left his boy Baron Davis at the altar in L.A. in the process. Maybe what has happened since is karma (though given that it was the Clippers, I doubt it), but a shoulder injury suffered early in his Philly tenure has left him out of the Sixers’ plans and usually brought up in any conversations of anyone trying to trade for one of the team’s blue-chippers — i.e., we’ll only give you Andre Iguodala or Jrue Holiday if you take back Elton’s contract, too. That said, Brand appears to have gotten back on track, averaging 15.8 points and 7.9 rebounds this season.

Gilbert Arenas: You might think the Wizards regret Arenas’ deal because of his locker-room episode from last season, but injuries alone have made his extension a bitter pill to swallow in D.C. Agent Zero has the Wizards on the hook for close to $20 million through 2013-14. That’s so far away robot basketball players will probably have taken over by then. All kidding aside, Hibachi has been putting up some numbers so far this year, with a season-high 31 coming in Saturday’s last-second loss to the Magic. Forget about his off-court shenanigans – can you count on him to keep up that kind of production going forward?

All right, supper’s on the table. Get to eatin’.

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