The 76ers got the win last night, but their star forward suffered a dislocated shoulder that is going to keep him out a month.
Team officials say the Sixers’ leading scorer has a fracture and tear in his right shoulder but will not need surgery.
Brand is averaging 15.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season.
A playoff team last season, the 76ers struggled to a 9-14 start before firing coach Maurice Cheeks last week. They are 2-0 under interim coach Tony DiLeo.
All right, so the team is currently 11-14. Let’s assume that Brand misses exactly a month and returns Jan. 18. That means he would miss 15 games. The Sixers’ winning percentage was .440 with him, so let’s say they win 34% of their games without him (5-10). That would put them at 16-24 when he gets back. Is there still time to get back into the playoff hunt?
Sure. Considering .500 will probably earn a playoff spot in the East, it shouldn’t be too difficult. But assuming our assumptions are correct, that would mean that the Sixers would have to go 25-17 (.595) over the last half of the season to make the playoffs. And this team hasn’t proved that they can play at that level thus far.
Every win they can get with Brand out will make things easier. It would be a major disappointment if this team misses the playoffs, especially in the East.
It’s time for Andre Iguodala to step up and earn that big contract he signed this offseason.
