There’s Nothing Surprising About Brand’s Comeback

Clipper forward Elton Brand could have sat out for the rest of the season and no one would have blamed him if he said the stress fracture in his lower left leg was too sore to let him play. He could have returned to the court last week and jogged up and down, going through the motions for the season’s final days and nights.

Of course, that wouldn’t be in keeping with his method of operation. Brand was at his best Saturday against the New York Knicks, only his third game since returning to the floor after a five-week layoff. He had 29 points on 13-for-20 shooting and eight rebounds in 41 minutes during the Clippers’ victory.

That was one night after scoring 15 points and taking 19 rebounds in a loss to the SuperSonics at Seattle and three nights after scoring 12 points and taking 13 rebounds in a defeat against Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz.

“It makes a huge difference to have Elton back,” teammate Eric Piatkowski said. “I don’t know what his numbers were [Saturday], but it seemed like he grabbed every rebound and was scoring well. He’s what we need. With him out of the lineup for so long, and with [center] Michael Olowokandi being hurt, you look out there and we don’t really have an inside game.”

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The Clippers are expected to soon make official what everybody around the team has assumed for months: Olowokandi will not play again this season.

Olowokandi has not been cleared to begin basketball workouts, cannot run and, with only six games to play, doesn’t appear ready to return to the court. He has been sidelined since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Feb. 3.

Olowokandi will become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Interest in him from other teams has cooled this season, and he continues to express an interest in re-signing with the Clippers.