FanHouse EltonBrand

Let's take our attention for a moment off the NBA playoffs and look ahead to the 2009-10 season. It was a tough year for several players around the league. So tough, in fact, that they'll have some bouncing back to do next year.

Here are five players – and a sixth man -- who should have the most to prove in 2009-10:

--Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets. Technically, a team with McGrady on the roster – this year's Rockets – advanced to the second round of the playoffs. That would be a first. Except we all know McGrady didn't play in the postseason and wasn't around down the stretch for Houston.

FanHouse previews the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Is there a series in the 2009 Playoffs -- outside of Lakers v. FearMongers Jazz, that seems less likely to end in an upset? Because I'm pretty sure the answer is "no." (See our predictions, if you don't believe me.) I'll justify the other sweeps like this: Detroit is still Detroit, Boston doesn't have Kevin Garnett and we're all to scared to pick against Dwyane Wade. Of course, a certain post-powered, caped-crusader is the same reason that I'm not even contemplating a Philadelphia win, so maybe it evens out.

Elton Brand has been back for three games now, two of them Philadelphia wins. Brand's Wednesday triumph in Houston was the sort of game Philadelphia dreamed about last July: 14 points, seven rebounds and six blocks in just 27 minutes, a +6 in the ledger. While the incumbent 76er starting five from most of 2007-08 fell behind Houston's front five, Brand helped pick them up and get Philly a nice road win.

That's how it was supposed to work ... but it didn't, not in November or December. So if it works when Brand comes off the bench, is there any reason to put the $14 million man back in the starting line-up? Coach Tony DiLeo doesn't seem to think so.

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

HEADLINER
Philadelphia at New Orleans, 8PM ET

Quietly, the 76ers are back in your picture. The folks that called third place in the East (or better) ... well, the team's still outside your picture. But if you thought it'd be a solid playoff team, an improved version of the pre-Elton 2007-08 version, then this is about right.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Brandon Roy brought a thief class for Saturday's game in Paul Allen's basement, and Washington's mages Wizards just couldn't hang. Roy rolled 20 after 20 on his pickpocket attempts, and ended up with a whopping 10 steals in a fairly low-possession game.

Caron Butler, despite good scoring output (31 points), had almost as many turnovers (nine) as the entire Blazers roster (10). To go with his steals, Roy offered 22 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. Roy, you are overpowered. When will the Dungeon Master take control of this thing?!

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

A full weekend of pro basketball doubles as ABC's entry back into Sunday afternoon double-headers. Sunday's slate is great, but Saturday night has a few intriguing match-ups as well.

The 76ers welcomed Elton Brand back to practice yesterday, the first time he's taken part in contact drills since dislocating his shoulder Dec. 17. He was limited to half-court drills his first day back, but he was expected to cleared for full-court scrimmage today, according to Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Assuming all goes well, he could be back in the lineup by the end of the week.

That's a good thing, right? On paper, without a doubt. But in real life? Only time will tell. The Sixers struggled to find their identity with Brand in the lineup earlier in the season, and Andre Iguodala in particular chaffed in the role of second banana.

The 76ers announced yesterday that Elton Brand will be sidelined for the next month. After leaving Wednesday's game with a dislocated shoulder, an MRI revealed that Brand suffered a fractured humeral head (the part of his arm bone that connects to his shoulder) as well as a torn labrum. As bad as it sounds, his injury doesn't appear to need surgery, which means he can begin rehabilitation immediately.

It'll be interesting to see how the Sixers respond to Brand's injury. He's been the team's leading scorer this year, but his presence in the lineup is also a big reason why the team hasn't been able to play at a faster pace, which in turn was one of the biggest reasons why Mo Cheeks was let go.

But with Brand on the sideline, this roster will look an awful lot like last year's squad, which got up and down the court in a hurry. Andre Iguodala will resume his role as the team's primary offensive threat, which can only help him snap out of his early-season funk. This team still needs another perimeter shooter, but if they're able to get easy buckets in transition and spend less time setting up half-court sets, that need is somewhat diminished for the moment.

Eventually this team will need to figure out a way to win with Brand, whether it's adjusting their style of play or adding another shooter to the lineup, but they have several weeks before they need to cross that bridge.

Perhaps surprisingly, Philadelphia has won both games under Tony DiLeo, the front office chap who took over for Mo Cheeks on Saturday. The competition, of course, matters -- the marks were Washington and on Wednesday night, the Bucks. But it's one step forward, two steps back for the Sixers, as Elton Brand left Wednesday's game with a dislocated shoulder.

Brand will have an MRI today, so there's word yet on how long the Sixers will miss E.B. For what it's worth, Dwyane Wade suffered a dislocated shoulder in he 2006-07 season, and missed about six weeks. Unlike Wade, Brand did not require a wheelchair to get off the court.

Brand has been average to date in Philly, but average still makes him the best Sixer. Considering the biggest adjustment DiLeo will be trying to make over the next months is implementing Brand into the oddly talented mix of old Sixers -- the hurdle just going to be delayed until February or whenever. That puts off the date we can hope to see a jelling Philadelphia team even further.

Big things were expected from Andre Iguodala after he signed a six-year, $80 million contract this summer. Unfortunately, he's been slow out of the gate, averaging just 13 points on 39% shooting in October/November while fading into the background as Elton Brand carved out his niche, Thaddeus Young asserted himself and Andre Miller picked up the slack.

But finally, with a quarter of the season in the books, the old Iguodala is starting to shine through. The 76ers lost the game on Saturday, but for the first time in the team's 22 games this year, Iguodala led the team in scoring.

Sure, it's a minor victory in the face of a loss (and it wasn't wholly unexpected given Brand's absence), but there's no denying that Iggy has seemed to turn the corner: in four games this month, he's averaging 19.5 points and 8.3 boards on 49.2% shooting.

What was behind Iggy's slow start? Speaking to the press before Friday's game, Mo Cheeks dismissed the notion that Iguodala struggled to adjust from the three to the two, pointing out that in Philly's system the two positions are quite similar.