Allen Iverson's "Answer": 2010 All-Star Game MVP

It is official—Allen Iverson will be starting in the 2010 NBA All-Star game in Dallas.

This is not shocking news because it was clear he would start once he was up 185,000 votes over Vince Carter for the second guard spot in the East. Iverson will be selected for his 11th All-Star appearance in a row and he will also start for the 11th time.

Iverson started the season with the Memphis Grizzlies after a disasterous 08-09 season with the Pistons. Despite all the hype this signing had to it, Iverson only played 22 minutes per game for the Grizz. Iverson averaged about 12 points while shooting 57 percent from the field.

Iverson and the Grizzlies would part ways after just three games because Iverson wanted out and Iverson would not play basketball for about a month and a half untill the Philadelphia Sixers, the team which he became a legend on, decided they needed him again.

Iverson would return to the city and team that loved him so much for 10 years and was ready to prove the doubters wrong. Iverson has become the Sixers leader and is proving to people he is not cancerous to a team. A knee injury sidelined Iverson for about seven games and he is still trying to get his conditioning back to normal because he hadn't played basketball for a long time before coming back to Philly.

Iverson is averaging only 15 points per game but is shooting a career low 10 shots per game. Iverson is also shooting a career high 47 percent from the field and his jumpshot is better than ever. Iverson is sacrificing for the team and the young guys. But the Sixers are still struggling. They have lost so many close games and could have been a sixth or seventh seed in the East if they won all those close games.

Many people believed Iverson would shoot about 18 shots per game this year and prove to people and owners around the league he is still an elite player and can still lead the league in scoring. But Iverson was labelled a cancer to team chemistry when he was waived by Memphis and that may have changed his agenda. Now Iverson has to prove he can fit in and not be cancerous to team chemistry.

Iverson is doing just that but the Sixers are still struggling. Maybe it is time Iverson starts to play with the swagger he had in his first 10 years in Philly so he can take over and lead this team to the Playoffs like he did before. All this man needs is the green light to do whatever on offence and you will get wins (Check the first 10 years in Philly and the two years in Denver for reference). A team with Iverson running the show is always a competitive team and a team you do not want to play.

Despite having a quiet season, Iverson is being voted into the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference in this years All-Star game. Iverson has not even played 20 games yet but is still going to Dallas for his 11th All-Star game in a row. The fans still love the guy and know he can still play at an elite level if given the green light to do so. But many people and even players have a problem with Iverson getting to start this year.

They think Iverson is not having an All-Star year and doesn't deserve it. Obviously he doesn't—he has only played in 18 games this season. These people don't realize that the fans watch the game and they should choose who they want to watch. These people don't realize the type of career Iverson has had has made him a lock to play in every All-Star game till he retires.

Now once again Iverson has to go out and prove to people that he deserves that spot. He may think he needs to go out and have an amazing second half of the season to prove that. But he doesn't. Remember this is the All-Star game. The same game Iverson has put on a show in everytime he has played. The same game Iverson dropped 26 and 10 in on his All-Star debut 10 years ago.

The same game where he lead a 20-point comeback with three minutes remaining to win the 2001 All-Star game. This is the same game he threw alley-oops to Vince Carter and T-Mac in and the same game he displayed his amazing athleticsm and basketball skill in for so many years. The same game where he took home MVP honors not once but twice (2001 and 2005).

It's the All-Star game, it's Allen's home court away from his home court. It's the game where he has had so much success in and its the game he puts a show on in everytime he plays no matter how many points he scores.

To prove to people and players that he deserves that spot Iverson needs to play with that swagger that he played with in his first All-Star game, he needs to play with the hunger he played with when he was a youngster trying to become a Hall Of Famer. Iverson needs to go out there and do what he did in all his great All-Star games. He needs to cross people over and do no-look alley oops.

Iverson needs to pop jumpers in players faces and drive to the lane without worrying about being called a ball hog and without worrying about being taken off for some young guy that looked up to him growing up. He needs to play with a chip on his shoulder and he needs to go out there put on a show and win the All-Star game MVP for his third time.

Imagine what winning that award would do for Iverson. That painful year in Detroit would wash away from people's minds. It would be such a good feeling for him that his arthritic knee may just cure on the spot. It would be the monkey coming off his back and the people doubting him would feel so stupid.

The people and players that said he did not deserve that spot would feel idiots. Iverson would go back to the Sixers as the go to guy and the Sixers would make a push in the standing because the player running the show for them would be the player that was born to run the show for them.

But it all starts with Iverson dominating the game and winning the games MVP. He will need to get off to a hot start because you know the coach is going to be dying to take him off and put someone that "deserves" the spot on for him. Iverson can wash away the hard times by putting on a show and dominating the 2010 All-Star game and winning the game's MVP.

Then when you see David Stern present A.I. with his third All-Star MVP and that smile comes on his face as the arena cheers his name everything will change we will realize the answer to the "Answer's" problems was the 2010 All-Star Game MVP.