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After Milwaukee and Washington's early starts fizzled out, there was just one team poised to be Cinderella this year: The Los Angeles Clippers. And the Clip Show has not disappointed, winning 14 of their first 20 games, and sitting on top of the Pacific Divison.

There are plenty of reasons for the Clips resurgence (well, maybe surgence, since they never actually have been good before). Youngsters Daniel Ewing and Quinton Ross are playing exceptionally well, and newly-acquired veterans Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley are doing a great job too.

But nobody has turned it on more than Elton Brand, the career double-double workhorse that hasn't always gotten his fair props and so far is an MVP candidate for the season.

The biggest addition to Elton Brand's game has been a better mid-range jump-shot. Brand has, for the first time in his career, stepped outside the paint on a regular basis; he's hitting the 14-17 foot jumpers with consistency, and his field goal percentage is up nearly six percent.

This may not seem like a lot, but for Brand, and the Clippers, it really opens up the floor.

Now that Brand is hitting the mid-ranger, the lane is open for the Clippers' many slashers, like Mobley, Ross, plus Corey Maggette (yes, he is still a Clipper) and Daniel Ewing. With that lane open and defenders having to step out to play Brand, the Clippers are getting plenty of open lanes to the basket, and converting layups.

Overplay against the slashers, and you leave Sam Cassell, Mobley, McCarty and Ross open on the perimeter, shots they are sure to knock down.

Brand has combined his mid-range game with the newfound quickness he has acquired with his work ethic over the offseason. Brand was always in good shape, but he toned down just a bit, adding an extra quick first step to his game, something that has proven to help him on the perimeter with a pump and go, forcing defenders to bite on his up-fake. The combo of the midrange jumper, and the quick first step is almost Tim Duncan-like from Brand this year.

Brand's quickness has also helped him on the other end of the floor, as he has used his speed along with his extra inch or two of jumping ability, and of course the long arms he was blessed with, to strike a bit of fear into opposing lane drivers. The 6-8 Brand is rejecting 2.85 blocks per game this season, up from 2.09 last year, and forcing errant efforts when he doesn't get his hand on the ball.

Brand's intimidation has sparked the Clippers on the defensive end this year, and has made them a multi-dimensional threat.

But as Ruben Patterson will surely tell you, if you don't have the ball, you can't score. And that's where the combination of Sam Cassell and head coach Mike Dunleavy comes into play. It seemed from the outset that Dunleavy wanted the ball to go to Brand on nearly every play, and when he's in the game, it has been close to that.

The key this year for the rock getting to Elton is the acquisition of veteran point guard Sam Cassell, who understands the importance of getting it down low often. Cassell won two titles with the Houston Rockets by dumping the ball into the post to Hakeem Olajuwon, and helped the Wolves to a Western Finals appearance two years ago by dropping it into the paint to Kevin Garnett.

Cassell knows you need to have an inside presence to win, and he has solicited that by delivering the ball to Brand, which is much to Mike Dunleavy's liking.

But can the Clippers contend? As long as they continue to go to Brand this year, though, they can certainly win the Pacific division, and maybe go deep into the Playoffs.

I love feedback. E-Mail me at gurt14@comcast.net with your questions and comments.

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