Stragi wrote:It isn't working, no one watches anymore.. the finals so far have been the least watched finals in history
Wrong. Xzibit went over most of that.
noel wrote:players like Allen Iverson do nothing for the NBA's bottom line. Sure AI is fun to watch at times, but he doesn't work hard, doesn't like practice, doesn't set a good example for his teammates, isn't a leader, and for those reasons, he'll never have a ring on a team where he's the lone focal point of the offense.
I disagree. To take it point by point:
but he doesn't work hard
I think just about any NBA player or coach he's ever faced will disagree with you.
doesn't like practice
Correct. The legitimate knock that leads to all the rest of the anti Iverson hype.
doesn't set a good example for his teammates
In some ways, certainly. Seeing a player who will feud with a coach, show up late, and skip practice occasionally does set a bad example. On the other hand, watching a 5'11, 160 lb man play through multiple injuries, drive into the giants in the lane, dive all over for loose balls, and expend every last bit of energy in his body is certainly a good example. I don't think that Jason Kidd beating his wife set a good example for his teammates. I don't think Kobe REFUSING TO SHOOT in a critical game in the regular season sets a good example for his teammates. I don't think Michael Jordan crushing Kwame Brown's psyche set a good example for his teammates. But somehow, when it's Allen Iverson, it's a big deal. When Kidd and Kobe and Jordan and anyone else fuck up or act like assholes, everyone looks the other way. I honestly feel that it's thinly veiled social racism, but that's a much longer discussion for another time.
isn't a leader
I disagree entirely. Think back to the '01 playoffs. The sixers were the only team to win a game against the Lakers. Iverson scored something like 45 points in that game. After being held in check through the latter stages of the game, allowing the Lakers to come back and put it into overtime, Iverson came back, nailing a three pointer in transition and then breaking Tyronn Lue's ankles and nailing a jumper to end the game. The series before that, his offense carried the sixers past the bucks, and before that, he won a one-on-one series against Vince Carter at the prime of his career. I'll give you Dikembe Mutombo, George Lynch, Eric Snow, Aaron McKie and Tyrone Hill. You pick any player in the NBA, and I really doubt that they would go farther than Iverson took them. Even in other seasons, Iverson's energy, effort, and passion tend to be infectious. Just like Ben Wallace inspires his teammates, Iverson inspires the sixers.
and for those reasons, he'll never have a ring on a team where he's the lone focal point of the offense.
No. He'll never have a ring on a team where he's the offense because he's FIVE FOOT ELEVEN and he weighs about as much as me. The only player who has taken a team to a championship (modern era) at that size is Isaiah Thomas. I would argue that Isaiah's supporting cast was far superior to Iverson's. I would further argue that, when Isaiah Thomas is really the only player comparable to you, you're doing pretty well.
There's a few things you need with Iverson to make a winning team. You need another guy who can drive to the basket and score. You need an athletic interior player who can block shots and disrupt the flow of a game. And you need a knockdown jumpshooter. Personally, I think the best way to do it would be to combine the first two roles into one person. How about this team:
Point: Chauncey Billups
Shooting: Allen Iverson
Small Forward: Kenny Thomas
Power Forward: Kenyon Martin
Center: Samuel Dalembert
With Eric Snow, Willie Green, Aaron McKie, maybe Josh Childress and some free agent big guy on the bench.
At this point, assembling such a team would be unfeasible. The sixers have way too much money tied up in Glenn Robinson, Derrick Coleman, Todd MaCulloch and others to consider acquiring Martin or Billups, especially after the Pistons won the championship and Billups' value increased drastically. The point isn't that this team could now be made, but that, with some smart management beforehand, it, or one similar to it, could have been made. Those players could all be made to fit together financially. You plug in an up-tempo transition system and you're golden. You have one of the best scorers in the league. You have two ballhawks up front who can create turnovers and transition opportunities. You have two big shot blockers in the back who can cover for the mistakes that will happen in the frontcourt. You have a capable scorer inside that Iverson can dump the ball too. You have a jump shooter who will force defenses to respect the perimeter. And you have a team full of high-energy hustle guys who will wear down opponents. That team would be a certain high-seed playoff team and a likely championship contender.
Sadly, when sixers management surrounds a guy like Iverson with slow, plodding players like Glenn Robinson, Derrick Coleman, Dikembe Mutombo, and even Eric Snow and Aaron McKie these days, you get a clusterfuck. Their talents are supremely unsuited for one another, and that (along with injuries and attrition) are why the team can't win anymore.
Anyway, this is very very long, rambling, and pointless, so I'm just going to end it now, sans conclusion.
