Young studs have branded Clippers with new image

? Despite what you may read here and elsewhere, there are a lot of good guys playing in the NBA. But there’s only one whose walk from the locker room to the court every game is like a parade with greetings to every usher and ballboy and autographs and high fives for the fans. And who finally may be in the playoffs for the world to see.

“I’ve never been on a team with veterans you can hold accountable,” said Elton Brand, drafted by the Bulls in 1999, traded to the Clippers in the 2001 draft-day deal for Tyson Chandler and re-signed by Los Angeles in 2003. “I had Rusty LaRue at point guard (with the Bulls). Last year, guys were so young again, but now (Cuttino) Mobley is here with a contract, Sam (Cassell), my contract. It manifests itself in a swagger. There’s a confidence that’s never been here before, a feeling we can compete and win.”

There is no reason the Clippers can’t continue their early surprise start in leading the Pacific Division given the continuing shift in the NBA’s continental divide.

The Clippers' Elton Brand, left, blocks a shot by 76ers' Allen Iverson Sunday in Philadelphia.

This season at least five of the top six teams in the league (Detroit, Indiana, Miami, Cleveland and Milwaukee) are playing in the East.

The Clippers, with a legitimate NBA starter at every position and top coach in Mike Dunleavy, are poised to move into the Western elite, which means every team after the Spurs. That would be a relief for Brand, entering his seventh season with an All-Star appearance, a USA Basketball invite and zero playoff games.

“There always was the feeling because of the team’s I’ve been on, no pun intended, I’ve been branded a loser,” Brand said.

Brand has done some work of his own. Injury-free for the first time in two years, he has lost weight and refined his jump shot. He ranks in the league’s top 20 in scoring, rebounding, shooting and blocks.

“We get the long three-point threat in Cuttino, a point guard like Sam, depth,” Brand said. “I now see an organization that is about winning.”