Brand for MVP?

by Craig Kwasniewski

Is Elton Brand worthy of MVP consideration?

Back in November, when it looked like the Clippers would be serious playoff contenders, talk in LA was that EB was a strong MVP candidate. I blew this off as blatant homerism. His scoring and rebounding were at career highs, but this was more a result of the veteran leadership and play of Sam Cassell than an MVP effort.

In previous seasons, the Clipper point guards would blow games down the stretch with poor decisions. With Marko Jaric, Rick Brunson and Keyon Dooling playing the point the past two seasons, EB would never see the ball in the last six minutes every the game. I figured that Brand's increase in scoring and rebounds was more a result of Cassell finding EB at the right moments, creating scoring opportunities because of solid decisions.

Friday night, my opinion of Brand's season changed.

The Clippers were coming off a five game losing streak, hosting cross-town rivals the Lakers. Reeling since they made a few midseason acquisitions, it was important to regain some of the confidence and swagger that was lost in the five game slide. Plus any win over the Lakers, especially in a "home" arena that has nine Laker NBA Championship banners hanging form the rafters, would be huge.

Elton Brand played the role of pitching ace. He simply would not allow the Clippers to lose. The biggest stretch of Friday's game came in the third quarter. With the Clippers dominating the entire game, the Lakers rallied back from a two digit deficit to take a one point lead. This game had the look of the last Clipper-Laker game, where Kobe Brant took over and carried the Lakers to victory, scoring 51 points.

Twice, the Lakers took a one point lead, both times Brand responded with buckets. He was asking for the ball and taking the "not in our house" approach. This rallied the Clippers, who put the game away with a 27-9 run. Brand dropped 10 points during that run. He also set the tone defensively, stripping the ball from Kobe on the perimeter for a break-away dunk.

The leadership and stopper/ace mentality that Brand exuded in the third quarter tells me that Brand is much more than points and rebounds this season. He's the Clippers leader and their MVP.

So is Elton Brand worthy of MVP consideration? After Friday, this no longer a ridiculous question.

Comments

[Emmett]

I have to agree....watching Elton and the Clippers completely dismantle the Lakers during that run, offensively and defensively, gave me a lot more respect for the team. Brand is a hard matchup and nobody was up for it.

Don't forget about Cassell drawing some smart fouls, killing the Lakers' momentum.