Brand's Name Mentioned in MVP Talk

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Elton Brand knows what's up.

The Los Angeles Clippers' 6-foot-8, 254-pound wide body is being mentioned as an MVP candidate this season and he knows the reason.
"Winning," he said.

"You win ballgames and the individual accolades come."

That's how Brand, one of the classiest players in the NBA, has come to grips with his plight of being a fantastic talent on bad teams.

In Brand's rookie season of 1999-2000, he was averaging about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for Chicago at the All-Star break.

Indiana's Dale Davis was averaging about nine points and nine rebounds per game. Davis, whose team ended up advancing to the NBA Finals, made the All-Star team. Brand, whose team finished 17-55, stayed home.

"He was with the Pacers and they were winning, so he got the nod," Brand said. "And that's the way it should be."

But that's also the way high-quality players such as Brand wile away in relative anonymity.

Brand credits off-season training

Brand had a chance at a higher profile three years ago when Miami signed him to a six-year, $84 million offer sheet. After the Clippers matched the offer, it became apparent that Heat President Pat Riley really wanted to force the Clippers to tie up money so the Heat could slip through the back door to sign Brand's teammate, Lamar Odom.

But make no mistake, Miami would have loved to have Brand.

Off the court, Brand has scored points by being a nice guy.

He's won the Pacific Division's Sportsmanship Award. He's one of the few players in the league who makes an effort to learn reporters' names. He's also one of the few players in the league who makes it a point to speak with ushers, ball boys and other arena workers as well as sign autographs for fans.

On the court, however, Brand has found a new way to score points. He always has been a bull on the blocks, but now Brand has become effective facing the basket and shooting mid-range jumpers.

He's almost unstoppable.

Ask Miami's Udonis Haslem. Brand torched him for 37 points and 12 rebounds last week. And just for grins, Brand added six blocks.

Many credit the change to Brand's off-season weight loss. He entered this season with career averages of 19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting.496 from the field. So far this season, he's averaging 24.8 points and 10.7 rebounds and shooting.562.

Brand calls the weight-loss theory "a farce." He said finally being healthy for an entire off-season allowed him to work out harder.

"You have an entire summer to work on your game, work on your conditioning, it helps a lot," he said.</div>

Source