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Posts Tagged ‘Allen Iverson’

Here’s another fill in the blank. There are a ton of qualified coaches out there for the Sixers. Finish the sentence:

The Sixers next head coach should be ____.

The Sixers have been through this process way too often over the past 6 seasons (for more evidence click here). Every year they pick a new coach. Some exciting, big names get thrown around and the fans hope they make the right choice. Instead, the team ends up picking the lesser known or unproven option and have to do it all over in a year or 2.

This year, there are some really big names out there as well as a few up-and-coming assistant coaches. Larry Brown, Doug Collins, Avery Johnson are all proven, winning coaches Read the rest of this entry »

AP Photo

The Sixers are 2-12 in their last 14 games but their overall record is 24-46 which is still 8th from the bottom. For the fans, the season has been long, dismal and difficult to watch but they have been winning just enough games that they aren’t in the running for the top 3 picks in the draft.

One of the biggest ways this team can turn things around this off season would be getting a top 4-5 draft pick. Read the rest of this entry »

So the Sixers announced today that Iverson’s year with the team was over. Unfortunately, it ended in a way nobody wanted it to- with his young daughter having a health issue serious enough to keep him away from the game. I’m not a parent but I can imagine that he must be going through some serious stuff right now and I wish his family the best.

The 25 game rental of Allen Iverson was fun while it lasted. He put some extra people in the seats, got the Sixers their first All-Star in a while and brought back memories from when this team had heart. Read the rest of this entry »

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

We’ve seen the Sixers put together small winning streaks this season and besides that brutal 12 game losing streak, they seem to sneak in a few wins between their losses. I don’t even think that’s going to be possible over the next week and a half though. For the most part, none of their next five games are winnable.

Their brutal stretch of games started on Wednesday night in Phoenix with a double-digit loss to the Suns. It continues tonight with a trip to LA for the Lakers followed by games against the Magic, Hawks, Celtics and Raptors in that order. In other words- they play the defending champions followed by 4 of the top 5 teams in the East. Read the rest of this entry »

When will the mayhem stop?  The answer is never.  Until McNabb retires or is traded or released, every off season the same questions will be asked.  This off season, McNabb is staying strong and answering the questions the exact same as he did every previous year.  He wants to be an Eagle…for the rest of his career.  He had a quote recently that I have a lot of respect for.  He said that he believes in staying where you start.  He doesn’t think switching teams is the right way to do it.  McNabb wants to finish what he started and you can’t hate on that.

On another note, Iverson will be forced to miss the NBA All Read the rest of this entry »

When the Sixers signed Allen Iverson (again) we all knew that he would have to sit out some games.  The only difference is that at least I imagined that he would be sitting out to rejuvenate his body or because of some type of disciplinary reasons.  However, the reason he has missed most of his games while with the Sixers this time around is due to the fact that one of his children has been very ill.  He has already sat out the previous three because of this, will now miss AT LEAST two more.

This is a different side of Iverson that many people are not used to seeing.  This really shows the family man side of Iverson, which is good to see. Read the rest of this entry »

Iverson is going to be an All-star this season and many people do not think that he deserves to be.  What’s the real reason that people don’t believe that Iverson should be in it?  Is it because they just never liked Iverson and they hate that fact that in his prolonged career  he found a way to still play amongst the leagues best?  No one truly knows, however I know that people will bring out his stats.  They will say that he is barely scoring 14 points a game, he isn’t a good defender any more, and that his assists average per game is just average.  However, what these people fail to realize is that the as long as Iverson is in the league, he will be looked upon as an All-star. Iverson has his haters, but Read the rest of this entry »

Allen Iverson isn’t what he used to be…obviously.  When he came back to the Sixers, I admit… I was expecting him to dropping 25 a game easily.  I quickly realized, that the 34 year old has lost a step.  However, to say that he isn’t playing well and settling nicely into his role would be dumb.  Also, he does shoe flashes of his ability when he goes out and scores 26 in a night.  In his career Allen averaged about 41 minutes per game.  Now, he only is on the court for about 30 minutes.  While ten minutes does not seem like a lot, then minutes for a star can be at least five points a rebound or two and definitely some assists.

Mr. Iverson is playing with the Sixers, not for them.  That is a big change from his previous mentality.  His 15 points a game is solid, and he is dishing out about 4 assists while also hauling in 3 rebounds a game.  The most significant part of his game that has been noticeably slower is his defense though.  He used to be relentless when it came to creating turnovers and was one of the best at stealing the ball.  Now, he isn’t even averaging one a game.  I’d have to say that everyone should be pleased with what AI has given the Sixers.  At least the young players can see one of the greatest play up close and personal.  To think that Jrue or Thad or Lou aren’t learning anything from Iverson is stupid.  They should be picking up on everything he does… and in the end, his teachings are priceless.

The Sixers have a bunch of problems,some controllable (not finishing games) and some not (injuries to team leaders), but one key problem that will continue to hold them back all year is their lack of a solid bench.While injuries to players like Marreese Speights are part of the reason, it goes much deeper then that.

For the most part, they have a solid starting lineup. They tend to start games off hot and its not rare to see them take a lead into the 3rd or 4th quarters. But the starters can’t play the entire game and when they get tired and need a break, there’s nobody to fill in for them.

They have no depth and their record shows it.In their last 3 games (which happen to all be losses) here’s how their total bench points compare to their opponent’s total bench points:

Rockets: 46 points     Sixers: 6 points

Pistons: 26 points      Sixers: 12 points

Nuggets: 29 points   Sixers: 2 points

Read the rest of this entry »

In the words of Iverson himself, he didn’t want to go out there and act like superman on the first night. To start his new role with the Sixers, his plan was to ease into the games, take breaks when he needs to and not try to do too much. That’s exactly what we saw from him last night and I liked what I saw.

Nobody expected him to come in on game one and drop 30 on one of the best teams in the NBA. He will get to that level a few times this season but not in his first game in months. What he did was spread the ball around and inspired the others to play well (for most of the game). It seemed like Iverson’s presence and the atmosphere he created at the stadium inspired Iguodalla to step up and play well. He scored a game high 31 points, had 3 steals and started the game on fire. Read the rest of this entry »