Sixers' Brand working on balancing act

NEW YORK - As the old saying goes, there is no "I" in team. But there is a "me," and Sixers forward Elton Brand has had to concentrate on the selfish part of the game a little more than usual this preseason.

Besides having to absorb the new offensive and defensive schemes that have been brought in by coach Eddie Jordan, Brand has had to make sure his surgically repaired shoulder and Achilles' tendon are ready to endure what he hopes to be an 82-game regular season.

He also has had to find out whether he still has what it takes to be the 20-point, 10-rebound-a-night player he has been throughout his career.

Sometimes that might take away from what Jordan is trying to accomplish. But for now, the coach is OK with it.

"I like that he's aggressive," Jordan said of the player the Sixers signed in the summer of 2008 to a 5-year, $80 million contract. "He's putting the shoulder down, he's really looking to be assertive in the paint area."

Then came the caveat.

"I want him to execute a little better, as far as spacing for his teammates, his cutting for his teammates, not for himself," Jordan said.

Don't read too much more into it than need be. Jordan knows all his players are overloaded with what he wants them to do at both ends of the floor. He also knows full well that Brand is trying to rediscover himself at the same time. That's where the imbalance comes in.

Brand was assertive again last night, scoring 20 points, including 10 in a row during the third quarter, in an ugly, 93-85 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Before the game, which lifted the Sixers to 4-0 in the preseason, Brand was asked whether he felt the need to be the dominant player he once was, especially in this new, team-oriented Princeton offense.

"Absolutely," he said without hesitation. "I don't know about points-wise, but they definitely need me to be a dominant player."

You can't argue with a player who wants and expects to be dominant. Again, there will just have to be a balance. And, according to Jordan, that will all be worked out before the season opener in Orlando on Oct. 28.

"I'm sure he's trying to get himself going and trying to prove he's worthy of everything that is put upon him, his leadership, his contract situation, the big signing from last summer," Jordan said. "He's trying to be assertive and see if he can get to that level where he's been at all these years. I want him to be patient but aggressive."

The aggressive part is easy for Brand, now that he's feeling like his old self.

"Jumping, running and strengthening, it all feels better.

"My leg and shoulder are good. I'm healthy," he said. "It's still the preseason, and there's still 2 weeks before the regular season to get the kinks out. But I feel good and I feel good about the team."

The Sixers outscored the Knicks, 32-20, in the third quarter, hitting 12 of 21 from the floor. Most of the baskets came by way of the fastbreak, and Elton Brand, who deposited 10.

The lead grew to as much as 10 a few times in the final quarter, as Eddie Jordan played his starters for most of the final 12 minutes.

After gaining a seven-point lead in the first quarter, the Sixers turned the ball over 14 times and scored only 13 points in the second quarter, when a 22-15 lead turned into a 43-35 deficit at the half.

The offense, which is supposed to create open shots and backdoor layups, didn't provide much of either, especially in the first half, as the Sixers shot just 13-for-35 (37.1 percent) and seemed out of rhythm with a lot of "my-turn" jumpers.

Thad Young led the Sixers with 26 points, while Andre Iguodala (15) and Lou Williams (14) also hit double figures. Sam Dalembert grabbed 12 rebounds, eight of them coming in the first quarter, when the Knicks shot 6-for-23.

"It's a learning process," Williams said. "It's not something you can just pick up. It's going to take time to process and to run it and to run it efficiently.

"It got to the point where we we're trying to win the game. So we went to something a little bit different, where our guys can just use their natural abilities, opposed to being in the offense."

Knicks forward Jared Jeffries left the game late in the first half after an elbow from Elton Brand opened a cut over his right eye. The rail-thin Jeffries got into Brand's face after the incident, but nothing came of it as the two were quickly separated. Jeffries returned to start the second half . . . Rodney Carney, who is still nursing a strained left hamstring, did not make the trip . . . Willie Green, who missed Monday's practice with the flu, played 14 minutes . . . The Sixers turned the ball over 28 times . . . Rookie Jrue Holiday did not play . . . The team will practice the next 2 days at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, before leaving tomorrow for a two-game series with the Phoenix Suns. They will play Friday in Phoenix then Sunday in Monterrey, Mexico.