Iverson is a (insert noun) ...

Simply put: You're wrong.

Either that or I must be watching four bad teams then, all of which have no concept of defence. Because in the Raptors/Magic game and Suns/Heat game, EVERYONE is sagging off weak-side. It's what you do. I don't think the first-place Magic, of first-place Suns, who at one point won, what? 12 consecutive games this year?

In man-to-man, you DO NOT a) play your man attached to his hip or b) chase him around the court like a dog does a rabbit.

If a player is quick, as you claim everyone in the NBA to be, you play FURTHER off the man with the ball because he'll go right by you. After all, the man with the ball has the advantage. You play up tight on a man who either a) can shoot or b) is slower.

I'm sorry, I hate playing this card, but I played and coached and cover the sport.

Some of what you say is true (funnelling players to spots, rotation). But it's not all correct.

 

I know for the last 10-plus years, Allen Iverson has been a pretty damn good reason to be a Sixer fan, when prior to his arrival, we were saddled with the likes of Charles Shackleford, Orlando Woolridge, Lloyd "Sweet Pea" Daniels, Trevor Ruffin, and players of that ilk. Like him or not, A.I. helped the Sixers regain their place in the Philadelphia sports landscape.

While no one should excuse him for his aversion to practice, his "9-for-30" nights and other grievances folks seem to have against him, no one can deny that a kid that MIGHT be 5'10 and 155 pounds takes an ass kicking night after night and cares enough to get up and keep going to the hole with reckless abandon. The Sixers are going to have a hard time getting back to a competitive level without him, and I'll be rooting for him whereever he goes (except for Boston. That's just one damn thing I won't do.)

 

...last name

I see both sides of this & don't feel strongly either way, though I agree that whoever gets him will get a Sprewell/Barkley like deal paying 40 cents on the dollar, and reap the benefits.

What bugs me here, is the notion that Eric Snow, Bill Cartwright & Will Perdue were better than Mutumbo when they went to the finals. Iverson was the same guy he always was (despite the kissy-face SI article with Brown) that year, Mutumbo was the difference.

 

There are plenty of guys in sports who have Iverson's attitude off the court/field, and who carry it into the game (Randy Moss, Terrell Owens). Many of these people are often accused of taking plays off, with plenty of video evidence to support it. No one makes that claim about Iverson. Say what you want about the guy's practice habits or locker room appeal (and there's plenty to say), but he busts his ass as much or more than anyone in the league. Maybe that's not everything, but it sure is a lot.

I used to really dislike this guy, until I started paying attention to the way he plays. You can't take that away from him. He leaves everything he has on the court every night, and that's all you can ask from an athlete who plays for the team you cheer for.

 

This is it in a nutshell. To a few, AI is a punk and selfish. To others he's an American success story, coming from nothing to get something. To others he's a talented player. To me, he's one thing, human. And because he's human, he has flaws.
Take him as he is or not at all.

 

... rock-hard trooper to the bone, the bone, the bone
full grown
consider me stone ...

[/Chuck D]

 

special player.

Do I think he'd make a new team better? Unlikely given what will likely be taken from the team.

Would I have wanted him on my team the past 10 years? Yes. The Warriors have been horrible. Even if Iverson was 9-30, seeing his drive would have been a gift. Yes he's supposed to play hard but after watching Sprewell dog it for a few years until he was traded Iverson's effort is amazing.

He's a great, special player. But he will not be that Bird, Magic, MJ type icon because he did not win a championship while making others around him better. Had they finished off the Lakers in '01, he would have been viewed that way.

As for the practice rant, I admit I might have misperceived the root of the rant, maybe it was about the windsprints and not practicing the actual plays. If that was truly the case, I was totally off base. However, I recall he did have a habit of blowing off practices too.

 

... something less than an afterthought.