Good Bye Allen Iverson
April 4, 2009 by James Edwards
Filed under Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Allen Iverson is out for the season with an injured back. Some think the back thing is an excuse, but let’s give the player his due. Allen wants to win.
If you look out onto the hardwood court while Allen Iverson is playing, you will see a player that gives his all and does it all the time. That cannot be said for all NBA players. Years ago, Kelly Tripucka used to say that most pro players cruised through the season and then amped it up for the playoffs. Since Kelly had no cruise mode, this was how he explained his ability to outplay better players all year long.
Allen has no cruise mode.
Can Allen be a backup
Unfortunately for the Pistons, Allen could not fit in with the starters. Larry Brown was on some sport talk station the other day saying how Allen needed to score the ball and that is what he does. When Allen was in Philly with Larry, he would be set up to score the ball while his teammates set him up and played the defense. It does not work that way in Detroit. Everyone shares the load.
Now, mysteriously, Allen is out for the season. When this season ends, the experiment with the Pistons will end as well. Allen will be released to free up salary cap, plain and simple.
Iverson, 33, will be a free agent after this season and after the disaster of 2008-09 there is almost no chance the Pistons would want him back next season.
“After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time,” Dumars said in a release. “While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this time.”
Iverson, who missed 16 games because of his back injury, practiced Friday morning on a limited basis. He was unavailable for comment. Dumars declined additional comment.
Will Allen be able to return to the NBA and adapt to being a backup player? Stay tuned.
Photo source Newscom
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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