Iverson’s return to Denver unlike Vick’s triumph in Atlanta

by Joseph Birmingham

Monday December 7, 2009 

Iverson’s return to Denver unlike Vick’s triumph in Atlanta thumbnail

Vick returned to Atlanta with the Eagles and helped secure a 34-7 victory, contributing 2 scores, one passing and one rushing to the cause.  Tonight it was Iverson returning to Philadelphia, the team that originally drafted him, and trying to beat the Nuggets, the team he was traded to in 2006 after falling out of favor with the 76ers.  Careerwise, Iverson was “The Answer” in Philadelphia during his 10+ seasons with the team, holding the team’s top spots for average points per game scored, ranking second in overall scoring and steals, and 3rd all time in assists.

This is not a team that has not had it’s share of superstar contributors over the years, with the likes of Chamberlain, Irving and Barkley leading the team prior to Iverson ever shooting the ball in the NBA.  Allen led the team to the 2001 NBA finals but failed to bring the championship home to a city who for years was starved for success on a national level.    Last year the Phillies finally broke “the curse” and offered fans of this generation the chance to celebrate a national championship for a major sports franchise.

“Wilt the Stilt” and “The Dr” both brought championships to Philadelphia, then “Sir Charles” led the team to several finals but never won   After Barkley the team hit the dark ages from 1991-1996 where they were just awful.  The one bright spot was their getting the top pick in the lottery and picking “The Answer”.  Iverson too took the team to the finals in his fifth season but failed to get the championship which I believe was a large part of why he eventually left in disgrace.   This is a team that, at this point has not won a championship since 1983, and currently looks to be one of the five teams in the league LEAST likely to contend for a title with their current ensemble.

All that being said, the fact that Allen holds the spots he does in the 76ers record books against other players of the caliber mentioned above shows simply how good a player overall he is.   The 192 games he has played in some other team’s uniform in no way compare to his tenure here, when he averaged better than 30 points a game for 5 full seasons and 28.5 points throughout his Sixers career.  Even after his last few lackluster years, Iverson still ranks 3rd all time in points scored per game played, behind only Micheal Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.    Iverson is also 13th on the all time steals list.

The problem is, Iverson is a pure scorer.  He can dish out assists at times, but not consistently, and he can rebound very well for his small size, but simply put, he is not a good fit to the current 76ers team.  And the team has way too much invested in Brand and Dalembert to put a lot of time to an aging superstar who’s claim to fame is his ability to ignore the offensive scheme and relentless aim for the basket, possession after possession, sometimes shooting as many as 30 balls a game, even when his timing is off.

Early on tonight, the Sixers had a 4-8 point lead and Iverson played a fair amount of time, with minimal contribution.  The more he pressed as the game wore on, the more the Sixers fell off their game and by the second half, the lead they had enjoyed became a deficit. Granted, the Sixers rode a 9 game losing streak into the second Iverson debut appearance, but one has to feel the signing was more to do about selling tickets than winning basketball games.

It certainly appears Iverson will not be “The Answer” to this team’s problems, made more obvious by the Phillies repeat appearance in the World Series, the Eagles near perennial contention in the NFC East and the Flyers prospects of finally winning another Stanley Cup.   The Eagles have the longest current championship drought, but the Sixers have the least chance of bringing a championship to the city right now compared to the other major sports franchises in town.

The Sixers ended up losing by ten to run their losing streak to ten games, and Iverson finished with the following line.  4-11  3-4  5  6  1  11.  That’s right, under 40 percent shooting, 5 assists, 1 steal,  11 points, in 38 minutes, an average night for a decidedly under average team.

Filed Under Sixers

Comments

4 Responses to “Iverson’s return to Denver unlike Vick’s triumph in Atlanta”

  1. Rick on December 7th, 2009 9:38 pm

    This team will not win a championship until management learns how to distribute the right amount of money instead of giving max money to average players.

  2. Jersey Joe on December 8th, 2009 3:28 pm

    The answer is not AI. Another 76er ploy to fill seats. Dalembert wants to be traded also. Good ridence. Draft a center that can score.

  3. joseph on December 8th, 2009 7:20 pm

    I agree on AI, and also Dalembert. However, I have to note the 76ers own the #22nd highest payroll at a little under 63 million, so they have not spent too much, just on the wrong players. It doesn’t take top money to win championships, but the six top teams in payroll have won 8 of the last 10 NBA championships so being 22nd out of 30 teams virtually guarantees you wont be competitive.

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