Written by: John Nguyen - Bio info: John Nguyen is a regular basketball junkie who pays top dollar for NBA League Pass who currently resides in California. John’s goal is to bring some real fan noise and unnecessary PR (...) More
While everyone else in the NBA world is talking about Allen Iverson being possibly banished from the NBA and Stephon Marbury just not caring about anything else except for the weed and converting SUVs, Agent Zero and Elton Brand are working hard with a vengeance to get prominent again. It gets very easy to count these guys out especially from me who has labeled Brand as “not that much of a difference maker.” I still stand by that. The Hibachi is a player I have my eye on, too, just because he has too much swag to let injuries keep him down. Run it back.
What to expect and who will have the better bounce back season?
We haven’t heard much from Philly. The only squeak was that management was not shopping Brand around. Rightfully so, they should not although that has to be regarded as a half truth. Half of them are thinking, “My goodness what did we get ourselves in to?” That type of thinking is fine to explore since many of us once thought we had a sure thing. There are many things that can go wrong, and sometimes, they do. If I was Philly, one more season with the Brand man is the way to go. The past 2 seasons have been disastrous. If the trend continues then it is time to “Penny Hardaway” him out of there. Elton Brand, at best, can play up to 75 games max this upcoming season with that injury prone body of his - that should be good enough. Let’s hope that Brand does not fall into the “Patrick Ewing mode” where the team plays better without him. It’s scary enough that the Sixers proved that last season, but then they had Andre Miller controlling tempo.
Worst case scenario: He gets injured again collecting free money.
Best case scenario: He defies the odds and breaks the stereotype of Duke’s players amounting to nothing in the NBA.
Gilbert Arenas is more intriguing to define. He went into media blackout mode within the past few months. Not a peep from him, oh no, not a peep. The man is working on his game trying to back up his words, “Do NOT drop me in fantasy basketball. Believe!” Word on the streets is that The Hibachi is heating up. No more cheap “Agent Zero” talk on NBA.com. Let’s do something. If the recent stuff about him is true then he is back. Someone recently taped Arenas balling it up in DC at Barry Farms.
I hope this materializes on an NBA court soon because the last two seasons for him have been absolute gutter trash.
Worst Case Scenario: He is injured and speaks his mind on NBA.com while playing NBA 2K10 on the Xbox 360. Again.
Best Case Scenario: He’s a 25+ points per game scorer, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds player earning his way back to the All Star game leading the Wizards back to the playoffs. Which one will have the greater comeback?
23 Comments: Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand: What to Expect?
Posted by J. Nguyen on 09.15.2009
Of course I’m favoring Gilbert Arenas. There’s not much to say about Brand. Think about the past 2 seasons. He hasn’t done much. .
Posted by
on 08.28.2009
this article is boo boo garbage. .
Posted by cheezy on 08.28.2009
yeah. this writer is a gilbert arenas fan and an elton brand hater. lol. didnt make any argument for brand to have a good season only that arenas "is back". good job. lol .
Posted by simon on 08.28.2009
haha. this article seems to favor agent zero more than compare the two. why didn’t you just write an article about gilbert arenas? and how is he more intriguing to define over brand? brand has alot more to prove than arenas. brand was supposed to be phillys key addition that would help them be contenders and the city of philidelphia is not very happy with what happened last year. and i’m sure they let him know. you better believe he wants to prove to that city that he can still be a force and still take them past the first round of the playoffs. on the other hand arenas is out to prove he deserves his massive contract. haha. and as u quoted he said "do not drop me in fantasy basketball" sound like he’s more concerned with stats to me. good topic but poorly written article. .
Posted by cheezy on 08.28.2009
the wizards in the nba finals????? hahahaha. yeah right. sure they have alot of talent. but so do the clippers!!!! i like flip saunders but he’s workin wit a squad that cant d up for shit. they will be the east version of the pheonix suns. all show no go. i’d rather see brand and the sixers in the finals. they got more heart than the damn wizards. .
Posted by bigRob on 08.28.2009
brand all the way. arenas might pt up more pts but at the expense of getting his teammates involved. aka he’s a ball hog!!! not an mvp candidate. he didnt make his teammates better. jordans offense did. now with jordan gone and a new system that is gonna rely on him being a true pg he will fail becuz of his ego. trust me. brand all the way. comeback player of the year garaunteed. .
Posted by J. Nguyen on 08.24.2009
Thanks for responding, guys. I really think Arenas is back in the mix. He looks strong out there regardless. He’s not joking around out there. .
Posted by
on 08.24.2009
i agree. brand will have the better season. as far as stats. he’s supposed to be completely healthy now and supposedly has his legs back. so he should look faster and more explosive than last year. if arenas is healthy he should be doing what hes been doin when healthy. but he has better scorers around him than brand does so his stats will still be good but not mvp like. also both have new coaches which are a factor. but i give the edge to brand just because he’s a key piece to phillys postseason. there is doubt of him fitting in with his teammates but that was when mo cheeks was head coach. lol. eddie jordan might be the answer for philly and brand. plus arenas benifitted from jordans offense. dont kno how his new coach is gonna use him. so big questions on both sides but i give the edge to brand because philly was considered a contender when they signed him. if it wasnt for his health and conditioning it probably might have been given some time. .
Posted by
on 08.24.2009
brand is a beat. those slashers are just gonna give him more opportunites for putbacks and offensive rebounds. they’re not gonna just give him the ball and watch him get doubled everytime like last year hahaha and i’m pretty sure iguodola is working hard on his jumper. he should be able to play wit brand. brand should do better as far as stats. arenas will do his 20+ pts p/g but brand should be back to 20/10/2. .
Posted by
on 08.24.2009
the loss of andre miller is elton brands gain. he should have plenty of opportunities to touch the ball especially when philly isnt running. plus its not like he’s playin wit the suns. philly isnt really a run n gun team like them. thier running comes after good d and turnovers. and their d isnt consistent. so brand should be good. arenas is arenas. he’ll do his thing again. 25+ .
Posted by Jake on 08.24.2009
Its really to hard to tell if either will have a good comeback. When Arenas is healthy he is a deadly player capable of dropping 20+pts in any quarter. Its just hard to say with him simply because he has had such an issue with injuries. Every yr it seems he is getting hurt. IF he can stay healthy the Wizards can easily be the 5th or 6th seed in the East. Elton Brand is a totally different matter however. Everyone knows he can play with the best PF’s in the game when he’s healthy. Hes a 20pt/10reb type of guy. However the issue here has nothing to do with his skill. Its the simple fact that he doesnt fit in a run n gun style. He is a halfcourt player that needs substantial touches in the paint to get going. I dont see that happening with run happy Philly, especially since wing players like Iguodola are slashers, not shooters. They will only get in each others way. Elton Brand is a good talent, but the system in Philly doesnt suit him. If both players are completely healthy you have to give the nod to Arenas. .
Posted by
on 08.23.2009
Ok I like Brand. I still think he is still one of the best PF in the NBA. Before his injury problems he was one of the most constant players. Averiging 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in almost each of his seasons. He also made the clippers in playoff contender. The clippers a franchise that never impressed anyone. So i hope he gets back in shape but i’ll be honest even with miller gone i got some doubts that its a good fit. When Brand signed it looked perfect a young playoff contender adding a guy of Brands caliber. But now I got my doubts. Arenas will be good but probally not spectacular the Wizards best player now is Butler. But someone who else might have a comeback season could be Baron Davis. Randolph slowed the game down he is gone now. Im not saying that I dislike his game. But Davis plays fast and with the young players that the clippers have they can run againg. .
Posted by ronh on 08.21.2009
If agent zero is healthy and the yeam plays better with the trio. Gil can win MVP and the wizards could upset and could get to the nba finals. I’m not sure what elton brand can do. .
Posted by PC on 08.21.2009
I agree with Nguyen. Completely. Gil is going to be back. Plus how is this a lame article? Its about two players coming back, two players who have been near mvp status in their careers, Brand in 05’, Gil in 06’. Whats pointless, is leaving pointless comments. .
Posted by
on 08.21.2009
gilzero should redeem himself this season. but the wiz looks overloaded in the backcourt. they should get more frontcourt guys. nad hope that injury bug doesnt bite him again. elton should also step up this season, given the fact that andre miller wasnt signed. .
Posted by Snika on 08.21.2009
I like what I am seeing from Arenas, or "NOT" seeing I should say. The lack of blogging, attitude, and just exposure in general let’s us know that he means business. I expect him to explode, right off the bat. I will say this, the 76ers are going to have to get used to not having Andre Miller, and Brand has another chance to succeed. I think they will utilize him as long as they can. BUT, I don’t put it past them to move on as soon as he stops producing. They seem to be intrigued with how well Speights has progressed, and I’m sure they could get decent value back from a half court style team. Look for the Hornets and Mavs to come knocking if their new rosters don’t pan out. .
Posted by Nicman on 08.21.2009
You guys are fools, if you dont like the author them plain and simply don’t read it, you obviously take some joy in reading it so shut the hell up. It’s pathetic, we are all entitled to opinions but pointless ones that take no sense in manor are just stupid, leave it out and talk about basketball. After all that is why you were reading it in the first place. .
Posted by Anonymous on 08.21.2009
And you just posted up meaningless article. .
Posted by J. Nguyen on 08.21.2009
So all you guys took the time just to comment about me? I’m flattered but please stick to basketball. None of you answered the question. How disappointing.
You guys just posted up meaningless comments.
I’ll tell you guys what..whoever is reading this..Gilbert Arenas will trump Elton Brand in everything he does this season. Both men are facing huge obstacles, but they have a chance unlike Yao Ming.It’s gonna be Arenas because of the video and what everyone has been saying, "He’s back!"
You know, posters who actually answered the question would be more respected. Besides, its the off season. Not many breaking news concerning the NBA. .
Posted by JC on 08.20.2009
HAHAHAHA I thought i was the only one to hate John Nguyen .
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