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.
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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.”

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

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Chauncey Billups has always been a clutch free throw shooter, the type of ice in the blood, never lose your cool, want that player with the ball and the game on the line sort of player. You know if the game is on the line that Chauncey is going to win it for you.

Denver Nuggets 90 Chicago Bulls 89

Have you seen how Billups shoots his free throws? There is very little movement in his legs at all. Aren’t we taught to bend at the knees and slowly come up and the release is at the end of the shot? Not so for Chauncey as he doesn’t seem to put any legs into his free throws at all, they just seem effortless and always seem to go in no matter how much pressure is on him at the time.

This time it was Chauncey beating the Bulls, but his shot did not win the game until the referees got together and looked at the film of Brad Miller’s last second shot. The odd thing was that just before Brad shot his three pointer, Chauncey purposely missed his second free throw to run the clock out in order to win the game. You can check it out in the YouTube below.

After nearly four minutes, the surprising call was made — the Nuggets had defeated the Bulls 90-89 at the United Center, by a fingertip.

It was the basketball equivalent to winning by a nose. Chicago’s Brad Miller launched a jumper at the buzzer Tuesday night. The initial ruling was that the basket was good and the Bulls celebrated like they had won a playoff series. Then the officials ruled that the ball hadn’t completely left Miller’s hands when time expired, and Denver stole a big road victory.

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You can watch the final shot here on YouTube.

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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.”
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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

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It should be the name of a rock group and at times they play just that crazy and act just that crazy. The team got to the point that there was no separation between the night life and the court life.

Now all that has changed. George Karl was fed up and wanted to go back to the old tried and true ways of actually stopping your opponent. Still, something was missing and that is when Chauncey Billups arrived.

Chauncey had played for Rick Carlisle (Defense, man to man), Larry Brown (Defense, spread the ball), and Flip Wilson (team defense, and score the basketball). Chauncey had learned the disciplined way from all three and then you have to add in the fact that he played under the GM brilliance of Joe Dumars. Joe settled for nothing less than excellence.

Chauncey Billups is leading the Nuggets

Now Chauncey is exerting his influence on a Nugget team that is desperate to get away from the old ways and win an NBA title.

Nearly everything Karl had preached, Billups magnified. Defense. Toughness. Professionalism. With the ball in his hands, Billups was able to shepherd these wayward Nuggets toward a common goal.

“I was always looking for somebody like Chauncey to come to our team,” Carmelo Anthony(notes) said.

His career tarnished by five consecutive first-round exits, as well as a few off-the-court transgressions, Anthony’s hunger to win grew even more after he had helped the U.S. Olympic team win a gold medal in Beijing. If Billups wanted to lead, Anthony, like most of the Nuggets, would follow.

“My whole thing was I knew some guys wanted to win,” Billups said. “Where I come from that’s one thing I know how to do: win. I don’t do it all the time, but I’m trying to all the time.”

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Photo source Newscom

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Carmelo Anthony works on his Michael Jordan tongue moves

The Nuggets have signed J.R. Smith to a multi-year contract as a crucial piece to their team.

He shot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range, the best percentage in team history for players with at least 100 3-pointers.

Smith, 22, was acquired from Chicago in 2006 in exchange for Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks. He was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round and 18th overall in 2004.

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Smith’s consistent play and 3 point shooting has slowly won Coach George Karl over to his side.

You gotta wonder though, with Denver easily giving up Camby and shopping Iverson if Denver is not on the downhill slope.

How much can Carmelo Anthony carry this team?

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He is at it again.

Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports has come out with his Power Rankings of the NBA.

Let’s check out some of his top teams with your intrepid author’s comments in italics.

PARADE PLANNERS

1. (2) Boston Celtics – In less than a week, the Celtics were linked to Damon Stoudamire, Sam Cassell and Gary Payton. At this rate Bob Cousy will be back in uniform by mid-February.

Rajon Rondo a key to the Celtics

The Celtics put together a little win streak after their little losing streak. The injury to Rajon Rondo showed a weakness in the formerly impenetrable armor of the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo, who has missed the Celtics’ last two games and three of the last four with a combination of back and right hamstring woes, went through practice yesterday and thinks he’ll be ready to play this afternoon against the Knicks. His coach isn’t so sure. source

The Boston Celtics and GM Danny Ainge will most certainly be looking for point guard talent.

The player mentioned most often is Damon Stoudamire. Damon has been a shoot first player in the past and would not fit in well with the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, all of whom need the ball on offense.

There is also accusations of a little too much bonging going on.

2. (7) New Orleans Hornets – The Hornets played in front of an announced crowd of 9,882 last week against Seattle, leading Chris Paul to shout to Kevin Durant: “First one to Oklahoma City wins!”

Chris Paul is awesome and the Hornets continue to be one of the surprise teams in the NBA. Hard to believe at this point they could survive the playoffs without more experience.

3. (5) Phoenix Suns – Let’s get this straight: Steve Kerr and Mike D’Antoni reportedly are at odds; Amare Stoudemire is miffed over his shot count; Shawn Marion wants to be traded; Boris Diaw forgot how to play; Grant Hill just had an appendectomy; Steve Nash claims the Suns haven’t had “that same joy” as previous seasons; and Phoenix continues to lead the Western Conference? Maybe there’s still hope for the Knicks, after all.

Face it, the Suns are loaded and play a style that few teams can stop. The missing piece is a center.

4. LA Lakers

Probably headed downward in the rankings until Andrew Bynum returns. Although Kobe may have something to say about that.

5. Dallas Mavericks

Love to watch this team play. They leave it all out on the floor in a race to see who shoots first. When they drafted Maurice Agar from Michigan State University, they announced they got him for defense. Still trying to figure out who Mo ever guarded. So is Tom Izzo. My friend, Ron B, points out that compared to the Mavericks; Mo is a defensive wizard.

6. Detroit Pistons

Another team lacking a post defensive presence. When Rasheed Wallace wants to shine, the Pistons are unbeatable.

7. San Antonio Spurs

Because of Tim Duncan, a Center, you can’t count out the Spurs come playoff time.

8. Portland Trailblazers

Think what this team becomes with the defensive presence of Greg Oden. Unfortunately that happens next year.

9. Golden State Warriors

The mini version of Phoenix starring Baron Davis.

10. Denver Nuggets

Plagued with injuries and lacking defense. What will happen to this George Karl team?

Teams poised to move up:

Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James,

Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and a big victory over my Pistons

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your team make the rankings?

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