Sixers' forward Elton Brand has altered his approach at the free throw line recently.

Instead of standing in the middle of the foul line, like most players do, Brand stands about one foot to the left of center.

Brand admitted that he started the practice roughly 18 months ago.

"It's from a lot of repetition," Brand said. "I'm right-handed, but I aim with my left eye. (Where I stand) looks more in the middle to me because I'm aiming with that eye. It's like a bow and arrow from an archer."

76ers' forward Elton Brand wants a majority of the blame for the team's rough start placed on his shoulders.

"A lot is on me," said Brand. "We started off pretty bad, and it was all on me. Other guys got deals and stuff. But I don't look at it that way. I look at it as it's all on me.

"I might not have the biggest contract. But I just felt that's what my job was, to come to this team and stabilize it and definitely make it a high-level contender."

Philadelphia was 7-6 after Sunday's action, with Brand averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.

Elton Brand had a dream ending after facing his former team, the L.A. Clippers, for the first time on Friday night.

According to the Associated Press, Brand hit a 15-footer with 57 seconds left and finished with 17 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-88 victory.

Allen Iverson's contract expires at the end of the season, but the future Hall of Famer still plans to play six more seasons in the NBA.

Iverson, who has taken a beating throughout his entire career, will be 39 in 2014.

"I know you guys have put me in a rocking chair already," Iverson said. "When the time comes and we have a game and you put that scouting report up and my name isn't one of the first or second names on that scouting report and I can't dominate like I used to, then I don't want to play no more. I won't do anything to tarnish my legacy."

76ers' forward Elton Brand claims that Friday night's battle with the Clippers won't be a grudge match against his former club.

"There's nothing really to talk about," Brand said.

There have been reports that Brand and Los Angeles Coach Mike Dunleavy have yet to speak following his surprising departure from the team via free agency.

"I do want to have a good game, and I do want to win," Brand said. "We have to protect our home floor. That's where my focus is."

On Friday, the Sixers and Clippers will meet for the first time since Elton Brand defected back to the East Coast.

Brand still occasionally chats with Clippers assistants and keeps in contact "quite often" with former teammates Cuttino Mobley and Chris Kaman, but the forward hasn't reached out to Mike Dunleavy.

"There's nothing really to talk about," said Brand after 76ers practice Thursday.

"We had a great relationship the whole time he was here," Dunleavy said. "It's surprising, some things you can't figure out. I don't know why he left. All the e-mails we exchanged were positive. All of a sudden, it just fell off a cliff."

When the Sixers needed just a little more cap space to sign Elton Brand, they traded Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to the Minnesota Timberwolves, essentially for a second-round draft choice. The club even agreed to continue to pay Booth's salary and about two-thirds of Carney's salary.

"It was kind of weird," Carney said. "I was sitting at home when [the Sixers] called and said I had been traded. I asked who I got traded for and they said they couldn't tell me. The way I look at it is, I got traded for them to get Brand. I got traded for money.

"It's still a business. I had to pick up and move. I couldn't do much about it. They had to make some moves in order to get a better team, and they did that. Hopefully, it's a good opportunity for me, but it's still a learning experience."

76ers' center Samuel Dalembert is continuing to learn how to play alongside new teammate Elton Brand.

The arrival of Brand in Philadelphia has changed Dalembert's role more than anyone else so far this season.

Their recent victory over Oklahoma City was one of Dalembert's best performances of the season.

"Sam was a beast, on the boards and blocking shots, and offensively our spacing was great," Brand said of how they played together Saturday. "We're both picking it up. He's been the leading shot-blocker on the team for years; now, I block shots, too. We don't need us both down there. Our communication has been better. [You'll hear us yell], 'Cut. Roll. Pick up your man.' "

Dalembert averaged career highs of 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 33.2 minutes last season, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor.

"I'm just trying to contribute," Dalembert said. "The priority is for the team to win. As long as that can happen, I can't complain about anything . . . It's hard; sometimes we [Brand and Dalembert] have to share. Sometimes, if we both go for the block, the rebound is not there. It's been a little hard; I'm not going to lie. We didn't have enough time [together on the court in the preseason]. When the season started, things were upside down."

The 76ers trailed the Pacers by 26 points in the first half but rallied to win 94-92 in Indiana on Friday night.

"I told them to keep fighting," Coach Maurice Cheeks said following a dismal first quarter, which ended with the Pacers ahead 38-13. "We just hung in there; we didn't stop."

Philadelphia tied the game on a free throw by Andre Iguodala with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter. They gained their first lead on a layup by Andre Miller soon after.

"It's hard to hold a lead like that because a team is going to fight," said Miller.

Marquis Daniels missed a wide open three-pointer that would have won the game for Indiana.

"It was a great comeback by Philadelphia," Indiana Coach Jim O'Brien said. "Sometimes you get too big a lead early in the game -- and the NBA is a game of momentum shifts."

The Rush brothers, Kareem and Brandon, could take the court on Friday night when the 76ers battle the Pacers.

Kareem, who played for the Pacers last season, signed with the 76ers this summer. Brandon was drafted by Indiana this past June and is five years younger than his older brother.

Brandon admitted that it wasn't until "about 3 years ago, out in Los Angeles," that he was able to defeat Kareem one-on-one.

"I beat him a couple of times, back-to-back," Brandon recalled. "I was talking big stuff to him when I did it. He took it pretty good. After the two games I won, he came back and beat me the rest of the day. I guess it got to my head pretty quick."

"It's exciting," said Kareem. "My whole family is going to be there. It's going to be a moment."