First, Philadelphia was hit with the news that Lou Williams was going to miss the rest of the regular season with a strained hamstring. Now, the New York Times is reporting that perhaps their best player, Elton Brand, the man who turned around his Sixer career this season, has been playing for the past month with a fractured hand.
“It still bothers him,” Philadelphia’s President Rod Thorn told NYTimes.com. “He’s had trouble for the last month trying to catch balls. There’s no complaints about it from him. He keeps playing. His confidence, his leadership, have been invaluable to our team.”
Brand, averaging 14.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this season, first fractured the left hand in a five-point loss to the Thunder during the second week in March. The full extent of the injury, however, was never disclosed by the team because of a fear that other players would go at the hand with slaps and hacks.
Now, the questions move to the playoffs. If the hand continues to get worse, how will the team’s lone interior offensive player be able to score, especially if they end up facing Boston and Kevin Garnett in the first round?
How dangerous is Philly in the playoffs if Brand is not 100 percent healthy?
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