Brand victimized by 76ers' struggles

ORLANDO, Fla. - There are a lot of nuances that make basketball a complicated game. Ideally, it should be simple. Find the open guy, get the easiest shot, put ball in hole. Repeat.
Orlando didn't bother with complications in its 98-88 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday night. Stan Van Gundy sent an extra body at Elton Brand almost every time he touched the ball and dared the other Sixers to beat him.
Again, simple. Take the best player away and make the others beat you. Defense 101.
Brand took just eight shots in nearly 35 minutes, trusting teammates and passing out as the defense dictated, but only wound up with one assist. Teammates Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Andre Miller, Lou Williams, Willie Green, Kareem Rush and Royal Ivey, the perimeter contingent, combined to shoot 27-for-78 (34.6 percent), including 5-for-17 from 3-point range.
"You have to make shots. If you're making shots off the double, then you deter the double a little bit more, but we didn't make enough shots to deter them," said Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks. "They doubled every time he touched the ball on the block. So, I thought the second half we did a much better job of passing the ball out of the double and getting some people open shots, but when you shoot 34-37 percent... you've got to make those shots."
After a disappointing pair of games in Florida, the Sixers return home to lick their wounds and won't play again until early next week. We'd suggest significant shooting practice between now and then as a little joke, except it probably wouldn't be funny to the Philadelphia faithful.
This is the Sixers' greatest fear materializing, one that was easily predictable. Cheeks' squad can run, pass, defend and rebound, but shooting isn't their strong suit.
Rush, brought in this offseason to help teams from keying in on Brand, saw a season-high 17:28 against the Magic, finishing with 7 points on 3-for-6 shooting. Cheeks may have to trade defense for someone who can spread the floor more often this season because teams are going to take one look at this Orlando tape and sell out on stopping Brand.
There's no point in getting cute with it.
Cheeks said that Brand hadn't seen as many doubles as he saw on Thursday night this season, but that's going to change unless his guys start knocking down shots. They may still be learning to play with him, but Brand is bound to grow frustrated if teammates don't do their part to keep him from getting handcuffed.

Thursday's +/- report: Jameer Nelson (+20) played his best game since the first round of the 2008 playoffs, finishing with 16 points, nine assists and only three turnovers. He did an especially nice job of running the team, helping keep the Sixers from entertaining serious thoughts of a comeback. Hedo Turkoglu (+20) did a nice job of bouncing back from a rough night against Chicago, playing lively ball for 36 minutes... Miller (-18, 7-for-24) continued his slow start, and he needs to start turning it around fast. He's in a contract year and deserves to get paid given his steady play since arriving in Philly in the original Allen Iverson deal... It's not every day you see three baskets in the final 1.9 seconds of a game. Although Brandon Roy eventually did play hero with a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, his original shot to put Portland up 98-96 with 1.9 was the one I'd want to put on a poster. After a night filled by being suffocated by Ron Artest, Roy left the forward considered the league's best man-to-man defender stumbling all over himself with an abrupt stop-and-start, using his own momentum against him. Artest caught his balance in time to helplessly raise his arms as Roy completed the follow-through in a floating would-be game-winner. His last shot following Yao Ming's go-ahead 3-point play topped it for dramatic purposes, but that initial jumper was as pretty a clutch basket as they come. Roy, despite 6-for-18 shooting, finished at +2 for the contest, battling through a five-turnover night.