Monday, November 9, 2009

Is it time for Allen Iverson to call it quits?

Great athletes never can accept it when their skills diminish. The roar of the crowd, the V.I.P. treatment and your name being discussed in arguments at the barbershop can make a brother lose sight of things. Allen Iverson at one point in time was considered one of the greatest players under 6'3. Now he is doing is legacy a total disservice. Most of his detractors will now swear that this version of Allen Iverson that they've been warning us about.


Joe Dumars realized his mistake when trading the steady and humble Chauncey Billups for Iverson after another meltdown in the Eastern Conference finals. Not only did Iverson sit on the bench most of last season but he whined about it. He didn't particularly like playing second fiddle to a team that has had more playoff success that he has. Imagine that. Allen Iverson has scored a bunch of points in his career but aside from a few playoff appearances,(one resulting in an NBA finals appearance) who has he made better? Drafted ahead of Stephon Marbury in 1996, conventional wisdom said this guy had the star power it to ressurrect the Philadelphia 76'ers. To his credit he was apart of that resurgence but he wasn't the total summation of why it happened.


It was difficult for young stars like Jerry Stackhouse and Larry Hughes to really develop because Allen dominated the ball so much. Eventually Iverson became one of the shortest 2 guards in the NBA but boy could he score. Eric Snow normally handled all of the ball handling duties and guarded the opposing teams speedy point guards while Iverson played help defense like a defensive back. His defensive skills were sub par though he was always one of the league leaders in steals. Playing passing lanes and defending people one on one are two different things.


Allen Iverson is going through what Muhammed Ali, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler, Jerry Rice, Magic Johnson and countless other sports legends go through when its time to hang it up. Great players are likely to underestimate their present abilities by past accomplishments. Professional athletes are like trying to carry groceries in soggy paper bags- You never know when the bottom of their talent is going to fall out. Very few times do scoring point guards play at a high level past the tenth year. Iverson has exceeded that, yet he is unwilling to concede that he's past his prime.

Iverson's numbers have declined over the last four seasons partially because he was no longer the first option. He has a career scoring average of 27 points coupled with a 6.2 assists per game. Not bad for a perceived ball hog however stats don't always tell the of his entire story of his career. Larry Brown was Allen's best coach and quite frankly, "A.I." had is best years under Brown. Those days are long gone. Iverson has become more of a cancer in the locker room. He's hasn't evolved into the veteran leader that Sam Cassell became once he realized he wasn't the same player.

Iverson is having a hard time adjusting from superstar to role player. The game has seen many great point guards but Iverson is the originator of the term combo guard. He isn't the first guard that could play both the point or the two but he is one of the few that has been allowed to just be what he is. Tiny Archibald was a great scoring guard but didn't win a championship until he catered his game to a team first philosophy. Isaiah Thomas could score in bunches but wisely adjusted his game to his personnel.

Iverson probably will never do so and may find himself out of the league after this season. Today's young point guards such as Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Brandon Jennings and Rajon Rondo are playing like your classic "pure point" guard. These guys are throwbacks to the Mark Price's(Rondo worked out with him this summer)the Mark Jackson's and the Mark Macon's of basketball yesteryear. Those types were great at getting their own shot second and getting their teammates involved first. When has Iverson ever had to defer to anyone? He didn't at Georgetown. He didn't in his ten years in Philly. Iverson wants a championship but at the expense of him playing like he did in 2001. It will not happen that way. Does he want a European championship like Dominique Wilkins? His stint in Memphis was supposed to be a launching pad for a contender to trade for him.

It's his time to show that he can be a leader on and off the court. This was his one chance to allow his game to evolve from getting 25 shots a night to only half that in order to develop fit into a team concept without him driving the ship. Rickey Pierce became a deadly threat as a six man later in his career. Clyde Drexler gladly came to Houston in 1995 after his glide began decline. Vinnie Johnson relished his role as a sixth man. Iverson has become a disappointing example of how team sports will always have a love/ hate relationship with guys who statistically productive but have difficulty with meshing with their teammates.

When these types get older they become expendable. Seven years ago NBA teams would've dealt with the baggage that he brings. Now in the twilight of a hall of fame career, teams don't have to. It's to much young talent available for teams to have to settle for a pompous veteran who's never learned to be a teammate first and a superstar second. The Memphis Grizzlies was the one of the few teams willing to extend a lifeline out to Iverson. Maybe time away from the game will put it proper perspective for him. Maybe when teams will barely give him an invitation to work out, let alone a contract will he get it. Until then he's hijacked a paycheck from a struggling franchise that needed someone like him to make the team relevant again. SO much for that.

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