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The Memphis Grizzlies dropped a 113-100 decision to the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night at Staples Center. They blew a halftime lead the night before in the same building against the defending champion Lakers.
Another season means another chance for mortally ill Memphis to lose 50 to 60 games.
It’s hard to know what’s worse, that the Grizzlies brass considered adding Allen Iverson to this chaos, or that GM Chris Wallace and owner Michael Heisley’s facial expressions during the mercurial guard’s introductory press conference seemed to suggest they had convinced themselves this partnership could work.
If Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon constituted the odd couple, this marriage qualifies as the relationship from hell.
Stuck in pro basketball’s perennial inferno, thanks to a cheapskate owner and non-existent fan support, the Grizzlies are headed for one of the ugliest, darkest seasons in NBA history.
Heisley decided he would rather sell a few more tickets than concentrate on building a winner.
The construction process had just begun.
The bird-brained decision to chase Iverson when no one else wanted him will cause whatever foundation existed to collapse under the weight of his demands and management’s penchant for failure.
There is no way this team can win with Iverson’s distractions, nor can he help Rudy Gay or OJ Mayo—promising talents for sure—make the playoffs.
Iverson was a petulant punk, now he’s just a cheap, fool hearted sales ploy.
In his Philadelphia heyday, he represented the ultimate flawed genius—a tough-as-nails competitor who could get by on his marvelous talents without proper practice.
We learn a lot about players when their abilities begin to decline. How players perform in their 30s is as crucial as how they perform in their early 20s.
What did Kobe Bryant, 31, do this summer? The best player on the planet, already unguardable, worked with Hakeem Olajuwon on his postgame. Bryant’s sole focus: helping the L.A. Lakers defend their 15th NBA crown.
Tim Duncan at 33? He shed 15 pounds without anyone in the Spurs organization asking him to do so. Duncan’s reason: he hopes a lighter frame will keep him healthier and fresher for the playoffs, when he hopes to deliver a fifth title to small-market San Antonio.
These men are winners, driven by the desire to be the best at their positions, consumed by the thrill of finishing on top. Is Iverson?
He led a flawed Philadelphia roster to the NBA Finals, where the Sixers became the only team to defeat the 2000 Lakers in a playoff game that season.
In a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-league, that doesn’t matter now.
Upon his arrival in Denver, sent there via trade when the Sixers could take no more, he promised to show Carmelo Anthony a thing or two about leadership.
Anthony’s defining moment alongside Iverson. He accused his teammates of quitting in a first-round loss to the Lakers.
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