Scout's Take

On Clippers power forward Elton Brand (right), who at week's end was averaging a career-low 18.0 points:

"The Clippers have become selfish to the point that their big men can't get enough touches. A 37-year-old [ Sam Cassell] coleads the team in scoring and jacks up 17-foot jumpers, and as the game wears on, the big men don't run the floor hard because they know they're not going to get the ball. Defenses are zeroing in on Brand to make sure that he doesn't get the early scores that can get him going, but he also has to be frustrated that he isn't getting fed in the post. As classy as he is, everybody has his limit, and if things don't change soon, he's bound to go off and let everyone know he isn't happy."