elton brand

Elton Brand, one of the players who must shoulder the load when it comes to rebounding, understands the situation. He said the numbers make it clear why they have struggled.

“We play great defense for about 20 seconds,” Brand said Tuesday. “But there are all kinds of stats these days. And the stats say we’re one of the worst teams in the league defensively, 29th, in the last four seconds. So we’re not contesting shots right at the end.

“And the next step is, stopping the offensive rebounds. If you play good defense and don’t get the rebound — that’s cost us games.

“In these last 30 games, we have to take pride in that. We have to get stops and we have to come away with the ball. That’s why Sarge [Bernard James] is out there with his energy and Shawn [Marion], who’s athletic, is there. We got to do it by committee. We have to find a way to get those balls.”

– Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News