Philadelphia 76ers Tickets

The Philadelphia 76ers were expected to be one of the NBA's rising teams after landing forward Elton Brand in one of the biggest offseason signings.

Instead, Brand struggled the first month and then missed significant time with a hand injury. Meanwhile, the team played terrible out of the gate and head coach Mo Cheeks was quickly fired.

The Sixers actually started playing significantly better without Brand in the lineup, which was both a good and bad sign.

It was good that the Sixers had picked up their level of play and were making a push back into the playoff picture, but worrisome that Brand's presence was apparently dragging the team down.

Brand has since returned and was making more of an impact, but injuries have yet again caught up with him.

The power forward is expected to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, putting to end a terribly disappointing first year with the Sixers. Brand managed to play in just 29 games this year.

He said that it is the most disappointed he has been in his entire career and that his move to Philadelphia was supposed to be fun. However, he vowed that he still wouldn't let anyone down.

It might be a little too late for that, and the rest of this season isn't like to be fun for the floundering Sixers. They believe they are still a playoff team without Brand, but that remains to be seen.

As much as he struggled through 29 games this year, I still think he made them a better team.

Look for Thaddeus Young and Marreese Speights, two young power forwards, to see an increase in minutes the rest of the season. Both are capable of being effective, particularly Young.