Sixers embracing change on court, change in White House

MIAMI - There is change in America.

Bam.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

There is change within the 76ers, some relating to President-elect Barack Obama, some - far less dramatic and certainly not historic - simply relating to the inner workings and development of what promises to be a very good NBA team.

The biggest change, obviously, has been the addition of power forward Elton Brand, who has immediately become the centerpiece, on and off the court.

Asked about the election of Obama, Brand said:

"It's a great feeling, not just because he's an African-American, because I believe in his policies and that he's going to change the country. It's been a tough time because of the recession we've been in; it's hard to find jobs. If he's the man to switch that around, it's definitely an honor. I'm proud. Being an African-American to do it, that makes it extra special. But whatever color could change it, I would have been happy with. But he's the man right now."

Within the team, Brand is suddenly the man, which has had some ramifications: With the significant improvement of Thaddeus Young, Andre Iguodala seems to have moved to a more complementary role, while Andre Miller - who had to shoulder a greater share of the scoring responsibility last season - has been settling into his more traditional point-guard mode.

But Iguodala's adjustment, because he is playing with a post player for the first time in his career, seems to be having at least some degree of difficulty.

Change for Lou Williams has meant he's no longer just instant offense off the bench. Now, there are times when he's being asked to either try and change the pace of a game or to serve as a facilitator, things the fourth-year guard calls "just part of being a basketball player."

There is change off the court, in the White House.

"The country coming together, bringing in Obama, it's definitely a historic event for black people per se," Theo Ratliff said. "It's unthought of. Nobody ever saw it coming, even with him becoming the main candidate of the Democratic Party . . . He wasn't really in the light until he made his speech at the Democratic convention in 2004. That's not a long time, to become president after 4 years. That's huge."

Witness the reaction of Sixers executive adviser Sonny Hill to Obama's election:

"First off, being born in 1936, as I was, there was no way I even thought of, dreamed of, or could conceive that America would put itself in a position to have, of my era, a Negro or colored - in this era, an African-American - who would now be the president of the United States. So from my point of view, it's almost like how we've come so far in reference to building a better country. But the reality is, is it true?

"You want the 'true'? It's one thing to have a black president, but will the country respect him as they respected presidents in the past who were not of his hue? That's one level we've accomplished; we've got to find out, as they would say in sports, if the level of the field is going to be fair in reference to how he is perceived, judged and made aware of the things we have going on in the country and outside the country."

Bam. *