I've watched enough Denver Nuggets games to know that Allen Iverson is not the best running mate for Carmelo Anthony.
Carmelo is 23 and his game should be growing as much as LeBron's or D-Wade's. He has one of the best mid-range jumpers in the NBA. If there was a last shot to take to win a game, besides Kobe, Carmelo's name would be the first name to come to mind.
Last year, with Andre Miller at the point, Denver had a great record, and Melo was scoring 30 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. I guess we can also blame George Karl also for not emphasizing ball movement to his team.
But the first thorn in his road to greatness at this point is none other than Allen Iverson. Don't get me wrong, the guy he's great; he's the best 6'0" man to lace them up (excluding Isaiah). Every time he has the ball in his hand, the first thought that comes to his mind is shoot. He only passes when he can't score or to get that worthless assist. Charles and Kenny commented on that not long ago also. If you watch other good point guards in the league (CP3, D-Will, Nash, Kidd), you see the clear difference in their game's compared with Iverson;s.
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I've seen Carmelo Anthony set countless picks for Iverson and when he slips behind the defender to receive the ball, it never comes to him. Iverson just attacks the basket and shoots the ball. The only time I've seen him pass the ball is when another defender blocks his way to the basket.
This is why the Andre Miller trade was bad for Denver.
Think about it people, they would have had a much more efficient offense with Andre at the point. They definitely should have put more thought into getting Kidd by trading Iverson. Call me stupid, an idiot or an illiterate when it comes to basketball, but Stevie Wonder can see that Iverson doesn't fit in Denver.
With shooters like J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza, Carmelo and high-flyers like Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby, Denver would definitely be an elite team out West. The Nuggets would be able to compete with just about anybody if they possessed a legitimate point guard who knew when to distribute and when to score.
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5 months ago
1. Iverson's game isn't like all that you mentioned above, he lives on shooting the ball, that is why he is their shooting guard and Anthony Carter is their point man. 2. If they didn't make the Miller trade, they would've fared even worse in the West because Denver would not have had another major scoring option and thus putting work on Carmelo. 3. You can hardly call Marcus Camby a high flyer. Everyone knows he is a defensive minded shot blocker. He doesn't even average over 10 PPG. The only highflyer in the league that kind of size would be Amare and Dwight. 4. Lebron and Wade are sitting pretty in the Eastern Conference. The easiest conference in the NBA filled with terrible teams and mediocre play. Otherwise, nice job.
from 5 months ago
sean, did you know that Denver had a really good record before the whole Knicks fiasco which happened right before Ai was traded for?? Andre MIller is average 17ppg with Philly on 14 shots(6 less than Ai) and .6 less TOs than A.I. those 6 shots could have gone to Kleiza and JR who are able scorers. Kenyon Martin got his 90 million dollar contract based on his high flying abilities next to Kidd. not to mention Andre was better a defender than A.I. who mostly plays the passing lanes.
I'm not saying this as a Knock to Iverson. I'm just stating a fact after watching countless Nuggets basketball. do you know how lethal this team would be if they moved the ball?? You do realize that Melo's game has regressed right?
5 months ago
Carmelo Anthony is the sexiest man alive and sweet in basketball, what else can you ask for!
5 months ago
Allen Iverson is sexy and is a perfect point guard......so get off his jock
5 months ago
carmelo and iverson iz percect in the game of b-ball iverson iz a shooter hes one of the best in the game think if they would of got j kidd he would not be in az good shape azz allen iverson iverson body will not break down az easy az j kidd iverson will be a star at any team he goes to think they got melo iverson jr smith cambey and nene and martin,martin just gettin hiz game back az it used to be melo changed diz WHOLE DENVER NUGGETS team around carmelo has steped up az a leader hes hit over 7 game winnin shots iverson iz the teams shootin guard hes not to much of a point guard hes more of a 2 that hes can drive the ball hard and can get a jumper goin yeah to me there better than old time shaq and wade iverson has he came in the game as a 2 and they just moved him to a 1 thyats a hard move in the NBA now carmelo he iz the furture of the NBA hes not as effective as lebron but he as help lebron doesnt have that much help yes the denver nuggets need a point guard they need more of a derron williams type of point guard and to get to know the team better as where theyh can all soot from and it no dount in my mind that they can be a dynasty team there better than ANY TEAM IN THE NBA but doesnt have the mind of it thats the only way the suns have them
Xzayiver aka furture NBA PLAYER GET WIT IT
5 months ago
What the Nuggets need is a true point guard who can play defense, distribute the ball, and run the offense. Iverson has been forced to play in the point guard position on many nights and it is contradictory to his instincts as a shooting guard. It has also been seen that many times this scenario causes a mismatch with the players he has to guard on the defensive end.
If you want to get technical about their record, just consider that they were 12-9 before going into that game against the Knicks, that is not exactly playoff caliber. There is no doubt the team misses Andre Miller's contributions because they have not had a better point guard since then, but to be fair the Nugget's struggles are not a result of Iverson being in the mix.
5 months ago
If you believe that having a career year in rebounding, 3 pt shooting, FT percentage, and blocks is regressing than Melo is doing it at a alarming rate. Andre Miller averaged 14.8, 13.7, and 13.6 PPG in the seasons he was with Denver. Obviously that is not that 16.9 he is now posting in Philly. Iverson provides a great scoring option besides Anthony that the Nuggets needed and draws attention from defenses all around the league. You can't completely blame the Denver Nuggets for the their position their in. The fact is that the West has just gotten tougher and deeper.
5 months ago
I agree with Sean here, Melo has not regressed this year. I take it you are basing this assumption on his point average, which is lower than last year. Kobe Bryant is also scoring less than his average last year, but its easy to see that this is not because he has regressed, but because he is playing better team basketball. If you've seen Melo play recently, he is making an effort to play better team basketball (for Melo at least) and grabbing more rebounds, that's is surely an improvement over last year.
5 months ago
I don' t know what you guys are talking about. You guys do know that the Nuggets have their best record, and guess who's with them; that's right, AI. Allen Iverson in averaging less points, less assists, and isn't playing as good as he did in Philly, but that's because he has another high scorer. These two are a great combo, and if you guys like Andre Miller better, then you really think that he has more experience and better ball skills, not to mention shooting skills, then you guys don't know much about AI.
5 months ago
Dude shut up u dont know wat ur talkig aboout. Shut up.
5 months ago
The jason kidd trade would have been a great one for denver. Not only would Kenyon matin's game dramatically increase but carmelo and jr smith's too. Smith is a shooting guard but is having a difficult time because ai is a shoot first point guard and smith is stuck just shooting threes when it is convenient for ai. So they bring in another point move ai to the 2 and smith is forgotten. Kidd would eliminate that. He loves to pass and would get melo and jr the ball in scoring position. Also he is a first team defender and a leader. He would lead by example and be vocal and the others would follow. Could you imagine J kidd with melo, jr, martin, and camby? the scoring would be crazy. they would run the suns out of the building.
5 months ago
First of all Allen Iverson passing ability is not the reason for them losing. Now if you want to blame him for his defense that make sense. When Andre Miller was on the team they 14-9 before he got traded and 44-38 the previous season when the knock out the playoff by the spurs. Now that I Iverson on the team that they are 12 games above 500.. That is normally a great record, but not this year with the west being so strong. So don't blame Iverson offense ability for his team position in the playoff. The blame should be more on the Team defense as a whole. Denver can easily put up 115 points on a team, but they also give up around 115 points. If Goerge Karl Can get these guy to play team defense they will be serious threat for any team. As far Carmelo Stats going down this year its only because he is not taking as many shots as he did last year. That goes for both Iverson and Anthony.
5 months ago
Denver isn't as good as they should be because they don't play defense. Bottom line. The whole team needs to play defense. If they play defense, they win games. They can outscore anyone, but they need to play defense. This is not AI's fault. I see people still have issues with AI...It's hilarious at this point. Back off the dude. Charles has a history of picking on AI so what he says doesn't matter at all. I'm sick of people talking about worthless assists or assists when he can't score...an assist is an assist and AI has a career average of 6.3 or so a game which is good. And he's not a point guard so you can't expect him to have a pass first mentality. He's a two guard. A shooting guard...key word is shooting.
5 months ago
People still act like he's a ball hog. Watch him play. That's it. Just watch him play and you will see him making efforts to set up his teammates. You will see him pass the ball. A ballhog is someone who shoots it every time he gets it which AI has never done. A ballhog is someone who doesn't even attempt to get an assist which AI does and willingly.
5 months ago
I agree Denver needs a PG, but Allen Iverson isn't a PG. Just because he's small doesn't mean he's a PG. This article is the same tired BS that has followed Iverson since he came into the league. Granted, Iverson has never been accused of being an angel in his earlier years, but he is as devastating a scorerer as they come. The real problem you have with Allen Iverson is his image, maybe you don't consciously do, but the media sure did a great job painting him as a team cancer since 1996 that no one wants to believe he's grown up or helped his teammates in any way.
It's easy to write an article praising Andre Miller and the 37 swingmen that he's surrounded by in Philly with their recent success, but don't tell me the Nuggets were better with him, while completely neglecting the fact that the West wasn't nearly as competitive as it was two years ago compared to it's consistency now.
5 months ago
I think people biggest problem with Iverson is his image. I think if he had a cleaner image we would not even be dicussing these issue. If Iverson was a 6 foot 6 shooting guard we will be saying iverson has great stat for a two guaurd, but because he is a 6 foot two guard there are problems. By the way all the pass first point guard in the last 15 years like Jason Kidd, John Stockton, Andre Miller, Chris Paul, and Steve Nash, guards with cleaner images they did not win nothing eithier.
5 months ago
that's not true. I never said Iverson is not good. I just think he's not a great fit for Carmelo Anthony nor denver. they just dont fit together.
5 months ago
I Know who every wrote this need to stop jockin and get off Allen Iverson jock
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