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PHILADELPHIA — Elton Brand’s face is plastered around Philadelphia, from print and Web ads to billboards to the side of buses where he smiles at drivers while they’re stuck in rush hour traffic.
It’s hard to travel around the city and not be struck by the welcoming image of the 76ers’ $80 million blockbuster free-agent acquisition.
Much like the ads, Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers won’t sneak up on the NBA this year.
“I think we did sneak up on some teams for a little stretch,” coach Maurice Cheeks said. “But at a certain point, they knew we were coming.”
The team that shook off an abysmal start last season thanks to a fun and fast-breaking style that propelled it into the postseason has a new roster, new star and new attitude. The Sixers expect to win.
Now.
“They want to have that taste again,” Cheeks said Thursday. “They want to get back at it. They want to work a little bit harder to do that.”
Nattily attired in a suit, Cheeks laughed at suggestions the 76ers could make a Boston-type turnaround and contend for a championship in just one season. The NBA champs are still the team to beat, but the Sixers are now a threat to at least become contenders in the East thanks to the acquisition of Brand, and free agents Kareem Rush, Donyell Marshall, and Theo Ratliff.
Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams earned contract extensions and Cheeks was rewarded with his second extension of the year for taking the Sixers from an 18-30 start to a 40-42 finish.
“I think the players that we’ve added, and the reason why some of them elected to come to our team, are the things we did last year,” Cheeks said. “The new players that we have coming on board recognized the way we played.”
Cheeks should be an instant hit with the new additions when training camp opens next week in State College, Pa. The affable fourth-year coach wants the Sixers to scrimmage more with the hope of forging some early chemistry rather than always working on tedious drills.
“Each one of them can get accustomed to each other out on the floor,” he said. “I’m going to try and play a little more and try and get our players on the same page early on and not try and wait until this game or that game.”