The lights were dim and the crowd was wild. It was a fantastic NBA moment and a fantastic time to be a Philadelphia 76er fan. In spite of losing and having no future, for just one small moment, you had it all. Allen Iverson’s name went over the loudspeaker and the fans roared their approval.

Ahh, it reminds me of my Detroit Lions on draft day. All things are possible, but few things are probable.

Can Allen Iverson lead the 76ers to victory in the NBA? Not tonight and most likely not on many nights. We are still waiting to see if the tank is full or half empty. Age is always a factor in sports, well, except for Brett Favre, but didn’t he retire?

Allen felt at home and seemed for a while to bring out the best in a star free lineup, until they eventually wore down and lost to that all time great team the Bobcats.

Philadelphia 76ers 83 Charlotte Bobcats 93

The NBA is thankful as one of its former proud franchises now has a legitimate fan draw. How powerful a celebrity is Allen Iverson?

Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Leonard Weaver, LeSean McCoy, and Todd Herremans were courtside. So was boxer Bernard Hopkins. Reporters from Italy, Japan, China, and Yahoo overflowed the press tables.

A day after watching Atlanta make its peace with fallen hero Michael Vick, it was just plain cool to witness Iverson running out to midcourt and kissing the Sixers logo after being introduced. Say this about him: Iverson knows how to create an unforgettable moment.

“It was a million percent the best,” Iverson said. “I had chill bumps running all through my body the whole game. It just felt good to be back. . . . I feel like the fans here appreciate me. They appreciate my effort and how I come to play every night. That’s all you want as a basketball player. That was the best part of the night, hearing these people’s voices all over again. It’s kind of bittersweet, because I wanted to win so bad regardless of whether I played well or not.”
source

Ok, so his math is not so good. The 76ers certainly do not pay Allen Iverson to do mathematics. What do the 76ers pay him for anyway? The Electricity!

Allen Iverson showed his loyalty to the Pistons by doing one hand pushups while dribbling a basketball

NBAObsessed will always be an Allen Iverson fan come heck or high water, even though he put the final nails in my Pistons coffin last year, it did not matter, because it was Allen Iverson the little guy that always plays big.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

The Philadelphia 76ers have turned to Allen Iverson and asked him to bring back the screaming throngs of crazy fans that once walked the aisles. Allen can do it too, but at what cost you may ask. Yes, there is always a cost with the taking on of one of the most mercurial stars to walk the planet.

Coach Eddie Jordan calls Allen Iverson charming and uses his ears to hear what his mind would love to hear. Allen is the master at delivering what you want to hear, just ask the venerable Joe Dumars. He was fooled by Allen, thinking Allen had grown up and would fit into the Pistons defensive based system and add speed and life that was sorely needed. Ok, even NBAObsessed wanted him to succeed as a Piston.

Allen Iverson goes back to Philadelphia

Memphis grew tired of his act much sooner than the Pistons. The Pistons grew tired of his act much sooner than the Nuggets. Now he goes back to the City of Brotherly love looking for some NBA love.

Iverson comes back to Philly believing he’s the player who left there still a franchise star. He can’t see himself the way the rest of basketball does, because fading legends seldom do. They’re always the last to know, and that’s Allen Iverson now. Nevertheless, he’s smart enough to play along with the process, to tell Stefanski and Jordan that he gets it now, that he had his epiphany, and he just wants to come home, just wants to fit in, just wants to win.

source

Allen will still believe in himself even if his play does not show it and frankly if he can occasionally light it up it will go a long ways in endearing himself to the starving NBA basketball fans in Philly.

The 76ers sport a NBA lineup that two years ago seemed on the upswing when Andre Iguodala was emerging as a star player. Since then Andre Miller has left and Elton Brand has been constantly hurt.

Now the lineup is filled with nobodies: Thaddeus Young, an under developed Samuel Dalembert, and point guard Jrue Holiday.

The only thing good about the 76ers is they find themselves in a division of losers including two of the worst teams in the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.

Good Luck Allen Iverson, but don’t try to fool us. Good Luck 76ers, but you have already been fooled.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Maybe if you have been following the events surrounding Allen Iverson for the past few years then his impending retirement would not leave you stunned, just the same, it does. And why should the retirement of Allen Iverson leave you stunned? Because Allen will be back. Mark my words, Allen Iverson will play in the NBA again this year.

Iverson was in his 11th season with the Sixers when they traded him to the Denver Nuggets in December 2006. Denver dealt him to the Detroit Pistons last November.

He averaged 27.0 points per game in his career.
source

Stephen A. Smith broke the story Wednesday on his web site. You can watch the interview of Smith on the following YouTube.

As for my thoughts about Allen Iverson being back, turns out in the video, that Stephen A. Smith came to the same conclusion.

Can you imagine the Cleveland Cavaliers dialing up Allen in time for the playoffs? You are talking Shaq, LeBron, and AI. That would be one of the top 3 little guys to play the game, one of the top 5 big guys to play the game, and a player that may end up being one of the top 3 players of all time! You can debate those levels, but cannot debate the fact that it would be a very interesting team.

What if Orlando signed him? Could you have both Vince Carter and Allen Iverson on the same floor on the same team at the same time? Would Dwight Howard ever see the ball?

Allen Iverson has a fan

Maybe the biggest supporter of Allen Iverson is his old coach George Karl.

“I think he still has something left to give some team out there. If that’s his decision, he’ll go down in history, I think, as the greatest little guard ever to play the game of basketball,” Karl said.

“I was happy to have him for a couple years and hopefully our paths will cross. But I have a sneaky feeling that somewhere along the way an injury or a circumstance with a team will open that window back up.”

source

So will Allen be back or are teams afraid of the baggage he brings with him? You think about it and let me know!

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

And now for the untold story of what happened and what may happen to the New York Knicks. It appears that the New York Knicks in their infinite wisdom, oops, make that finite wisdom, passed on Brandon Jennings after several workouts, even though they could see the obvious talent of a young point guard that could shoot from the outside.

Recently NBAObsessed wrote about the 55 point effort by Brandon Jennings.

The Knicks wasted their pick on Jordan Hill, who in spite of the Jordan in his name, is spending most of his time on the bench instead of playing on the court.

These are the same Knicks that have tried to get rid of every player on their team in order to clear salary cap for the great LeBron sweepstakes. Now personally NBAObsessed would love to see LeBron playing for the Knicks, because then he would not be torturing the division where my favorite team, the Detroit Pistons, happen to reside.

What has happened to the once proud New York Knicks franchise? You would think the Garden would be a fabulous place to show off the talents of LeBron James and maybe, just maybe, having a young hot guard like Brandon Jennings would have went a long ways in getting James.

Allen Iverson courted by the Knicks

Allen Iverson

So what are the Knicks attempting to do? They are going to plan B or more like plan D or E and attempting to pick up Allen Iverson. But he is a Grizzlie you say?

Now the Knicks are considering signing Allen Iverson after he cleared waivers on Thursday. It’s the surest sign of desperation in the NBA. There’s nothing left with Iverson, just fading hype and a sure-bet soap opera to come.

Yet, that’s what Donnie Walsh’s front office has become – potentially picking through the Memphis Grizzlies’ scrap heap in search of a pulse of excitement to fool the fans.

So this is how you show LeBron you’re a viable destination? This is how you demonstrate you have the shrewd basketball minds capable of building a winner around him?

Contemplating Allen Iverson?

source

NBAObsessed recently wrote about the troubles of Allen Iverson.

New York “the city” and New York “the team that has such importance to the NBA” has so many intangibles to be used to recruit LeBron James, but New York “the team” seems to be working to drive LeBron away.
Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Wait, shouldn’t the title read “Stephen Jackson brings sanity to the Bobcats”?

You have obviously not been paying attention to the Stephen Jackson story. Golden State was more than happy to get rid of a team chemistry problem. Why Larry Brown at his age would want to take on Stephen Jackson is beyond me, but you know the NBA, if you can put the ball in the hoop with any regularity then some team owner will pay you millions of dollars no matter how you act in public.

So it is time for a quick review. Why would Charlotte take a chance on Stephen Jackson after the owner publically stated he would not embarrass Charlotteans which are not to be confused with Alanteans or any other Teans?

Jackson brings two qualities the Bobcats need – proven scoring ability and the versatility to play multiple positions. But he also brings a history of bad behavior that seems to conflict with majority owner Bob Johnson’s promise at the franchise’s outset.
source

Why the Bobcats took Stephen Jackson

Now for the pop quiz. Why did they do it? We just went over this, because Stephen Jackson can put the ball in the hole and the Bobcats suffer from a disease called “can’t put the ball in the hole”. It is that simple.

Stephen Jackson wanted out of Golden State

You would think the Malice in the Palace and the gun shooting thing and various other sundry items would make Stephen Jackson untouchable, but such is not the case.

Now here is the reply you have all been waiting for, why do it, for real? You are the Bobcats! Look in the mirror and realize that the playoffs are a long ways off and there is no reason to rush into a contract with a player that is going to cause problems. Why do it? You had an expiring contract with Bell, the survivor to play in Golden State, and now you have a long term contract with problems.

Ahh, but they never learn. Gotta go, that is Allen Iverson on the phone and he is looking for another team.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

The Memphis Grizzlies are soon going to be faced with admitting to a mistake about signing the enigmatic Allen Iverson as the unfolding saga of a Superstar with no gas in the tank is unfolding in front of their eyes. The appeal of having Allen Iverson on your team is understandable to anyone. Allen can take his small NBA body and light up the scoreboard at times with so little effort that you have to just stare with awe.

The problem with taking on Allen Iverson is Allen Iverson. He has never understood the concept of team or even coach and let’s not even talk about practice. That was a joke, of course, alluding to Allen’s famous quip when he played for Larry Brown in Philadelphia. Larry the Master is probably the coach that came closest to harnessing the power of the Iverson.

The NBA has seemed to get tougher for Allen Iverson and anyone that signs him and one has to wonder why? One has to wonder if this is the end of the line.

It was impossible to watch the Grizzlies’ 114-98 loss to the Lakers last night and not come away with the impression that this was one of the low points of Iverson’s career. In his third game since injuring his left hamstring during the preseason, Iverson once again came off the bench and scored just eight points in 22 minutes.

There he was, a glorified bench-warmer wilting amid the bright lights of the Staples Center. And there stood the transcendent Kobe Bryant, a fellow future Hall of Famer who scored 41 points and looked electric in the process – in other words, resembling the sort of player Iverson once was and believes he still can be.
source

Allen Iverson struggling with the NBA

Even though we don’t know what the Truth is about the Truth (Iverson’s early nickname), we do know that he is troubled and has asked for a leave of absence.

The Allen Iverson saga has taken another turn as the veteran guard asked for and was granted permission to leave the Grizzlies to deal with a personal matter, according to an NBA source.

Iverson, 34, met with Griz owner Michael Heisley Friday night following the team’s 114-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The pair met again this morning, and Iverson was expected to depart for Atlanta this afternoon.
source

So why do we talk about Allen?

Because he is interesting, eclectic, a difference maker when he is on, and a major problem when he is not.

Will Allen return from Atlanta or will the Grizzlies cut their losses and move on? Will Allen regain his All Star form or just look longingly at Kobe Bryant? We don’t know the answers to these questions and that is why we still talk about him.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

The NBA is a paradise of pampered ultra elite athletes that have failed to realize how special their lives truly are compared to the rest of us average people that slog it out every day just to get a check that won’t quite last until the next check.

Allen Iverson NBA superstar

Allen Iverson is a case in point causing disruption everywhere he goes, in spite of talent that just oozes out of his pores. Speaking of pours, not pores, Allen refuses to pour his heart into his team as in what is good for the team and rather prefers to play to what is good for Allen. If that happens to mesh with Team, then the age old saying of there is no I in Team becomes nothing more than a restated euphemism. Problem is that in most cases there is no I in Team and Allen becomes a problem to be dealt with on a team level and a PR level. That is what the Memphis Grizzlies are dealing with right now.

NBA superstar Allen Iverson is grumbling as a Grizzlie

Iverson missed all of the Memphis Grizzlies preseason NBA games and the first 3 regular season NBA games and now expects to be automatically a starter. The Coach has a big time problem with that attitude.

“My frustration is that I have to talk about Allen Iverson at every press setting,” Hollins said. “I want to talk about the Memphis Grizzlies and us as a team. And even when Allen was out, I was happy to talk about Allen. So, that’s my frustration. I just want to talk about the Memphis Grizzlies. If Allen plays well and you guys want to ask me about Allen, that’s great. Or if he plays poorly and you want to ask me how poorly he played, that’s great, too.
“But what he says and what he’s thinking? My job is to coach the team as a unit. I have to make decisions and all the players in that locker room are not going to be happy about it. But it’s my job to do the best that I can and if they don’t feel like I’m doing it than ownership is going to get rid of me and that’s the way it’s always been through history.”

source

Allen Iverson on defense

In an odd statement after the Grizzlies lost another NBA game, this time to the Warriors, it was Allen Iverson speaking up about defense, a subject it was suspected that he knew very little about.

“It’s been rough,” Iverson said after logging 28 minutes in his second game back from a hamstring injury. “You have to take on an individual challenge to guard the guy you have in front of you. It starts with having the heart to guard your man. … Not a lot of players like to play defense. Winning teams play defense.”

It was difficult to find anyone in the Grizzlies’ locker room who didn’t share Hollins’ mood or who disagreed with Iverson’s answer.
source

Defense? Why are we talking about defense?

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

You have heard it by now. Allan Iverson is claiming the Detroit Pistons lied to him about his role with the team. Allan claims the Coach Michael Curry, now fired, said to Allan Iverson, now a Grizzlie, that he would start Allan and would never disrespect Allan by bringing him off the bench.

Allen Iverson claims Detroit lied

Hmm, not sure about you, but how many coaches go around guaranteeing a player a starting job, especially when he has a former All Star and current team leading scorer in Rip Hamilton already at that position? Did you say zero? Thought so.

“They told me, straight up, ‘Allen we would never disrespect you or your career like that’ by making me come off the bench,” Iverson said in an interview with ESPN.com. “That’s what they told me to my face. And after that, I never thought about it again. I just went back to playing. Then, they came to me saying that they felt it would be in the ‘best interest of the team’ if I came off of the bench behind Rip (Richard Hamilton).

“… After that, they told me that if I didn’t come off the bench — the team was going to lie down [not play] on me. … When he told me that, that’s when I felt that this was the worst career move I’d ever made and it was the worst year of my career.”
source

Geez, the story gets more credible all the time. Now the team, as in the Detroit Pistons, are going to lay down when Allen is on the court, because the only thing on the line is their jobs and the playoffs. This makes no sense at all. What we are most likely getting is the Allen Iverson version of what happened to a player that never fit in with the crumbling Pistons. Allen will remain one of my favorite players, but this just sounds like an excuse for it just didn’t work out.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Believe it or not, George Karl the Nuggets coach is a big fan of Allen Iverson and thinks that Allen will thrive in Memphis if he is prepared to move to a new part in his career. George Karl refers to this as being a mentor to the younger guys and a bench player. Memphis has a number of younger guys like O.J. Mayo and could use a strong mentor, but Allen Iverson? That is going to be tough.

“Now that he’s getting in whatever you want to call it, the twilight of his career, I hope he gives the sixth man, come off the bench; be a scorer off the bench, be a mentor to young players in Memphis, give it an opportunity.”

“Sometimes ego gets in the way of all of us – we all have at times trouble to realize, you know, we gotta do it this way. I think if AI realizes that he can be a mentor, he can be a great sixth man; Memphis has an interesting basketball team with Randolph, and AI, and some of the changes they made this season. I think they have an opportunity to kinda be a surprise in the western conference.”
source

George joked that he teases Chauncey Billups all the time that he replaced talent with brains. He assesses that Allen was not the problem with the defense; it was poor shot selection that led to easy plays for the other team. George really believes he can make the transition to the bench.

Allen Iverson with the ball in his hands, big surprise

My money is on Allen disrupting a team that already has a problem in Zach Randolph and causing the team to implode and disappear from the face of the Earth. Allen will then move on to another team. After a few years we all will realize the Grizzlies are gone.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

For all you old fogeys out there, twitter is where it is at and where you are at or should be. Hold on; have to update my twitter, “typing my blog”. You see, somewhere, someone wanted to know that. It is the days of instant communication and twitter is the latest fad.

Allen Iverson will Twitter in Memphis

Allen Iverson has been shopping his services after the disaster in Detroit and was about to give up when lo and behold the Memphis Grizzlies, a sort of NBA team, have agreed to sign him.

Iverson’s decision came following a Monday night meeting in Atlanta with Griz owner Michael Heisley, general manager Chris Wallace and head coach Lionel Hollins. Iverson, a 34-year-old, 13-year veteran, will play for a contract that pays $3.5 million (what the Griz have left under the salary cap) and the deal will be loaded with incentives.
source

To say the Memphis writers and fans are not concerned about this deal is like saying my Mom is not concerned about being old. This deal will destroy an already not promising team. Oh, there is young talent there; waiting for Iverson to do not mold them into a unit, but there is not any kind of a plan.

If you want to build a basketball team, you go get David Lee and Ramon Sessions during the offseason. If you want to build a freak show, you go get A.I. and Z-Bo.

At the start of last season, Heisley had a three-year plan. At the start of this season, his plan has become “Oh, what the Hell.”

Zach Randolph is available?

Oh, what the Hell.

Allen Iverson is available?

Oh, what the Hell.

What are the Memphis fans going to do, anyway? Not go to games?

Now the team will be interesting, at the very least. In the same way that a demolition derby is interesting, that Jon and Kate are interesting, that Mike Tyson was interesting.

This cannot end well.
source

None the less, Allen Iverson remains one of the most entertaining and fan popular players in the game. Everyone wants to root for the little guy, except maybe the team that owns him.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed