Brand given the boot

A tidbit of news came out of the Clippers today. Elton Brand had the cast removed from his left leg and was fitted for a removable walking boot at Christiana Cares Wilmington Hospital in Wilmington, Del.

Brand has been ordered to wear the boot for six weeks, and during this time frame, hell be undergoing physical therapy.

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What this all means is this: Brand is on the proper medical schedule to return from tearing his left Achilles on Aug. 3. There is no timetable for his return, but it is safe to say not in 2007.

Brands injury was a major blow to the Clippers, and theyll have to enact some sort of smoke and mirrors interior offense and defense in his absence. He meant so much to them in terms of rebounding, scoring and shot blocking that, quite frankly, the Clippers cannot replace him.

The Clippers can hope that Chris Kaman becomes an All-Star this year and that Tim Thomas has the best season of his life and thrives playing more power forward, instead of small forward. And even if that happens with Kaman and Thomas, the Clippers still will have a huge hole without Brand.

How this team remains competitive without Brand appears to be some sort of glorious riddle. Hence, please see the previous blog featuring Dunleavy and his moneybags