Why Allen Iverson Is "The (Short Term) Answer" to the Pistons' Problems

Mark Martinelli — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:34:45 -0500

Let me start with a disclaimer by saying that I have been a Piston's fan as long as I can remember. I remember when it was Isiah by himself (with apologies to Vinnie and Laimbeer in the early days), and I remember Kelly Tripucka getting traded for Adrian Dantley, who was then mercilessly traded, midseason, for Mark Aguirre, before the Piston's won their first title.

I also remember being the only kid in Orange County rooting for the Pistons against the Lakers (the first two times)...those were the good old days.

The Piston's have appeared in six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and have one ring to show for it (2004). To put that another way, they've reached the Eastern Conference Finals for four years since their last title and have nothing further to show for it.

Essentially the same parts, without one to get over the hump. Give credit to Joe Dumars for doing what's necessary (getting Wallace in '04 and C Webb last year) but with apologies to both, what they lack is a legitimate big man.

What does that have to do with Allen Iverson? Nothing, but the team needed a shake up, and Chauncey was expensive (having signed a four-year $46 million contract last year) and getting old (32 this year).

A.I. is everything that Dumars was not as a player: a loud, attention hogging, shoot-first, play-no-defense scorer, but he's also what Chauncey Billups was not, a lightning-quick, penetrating scorer that commands the defense's attention. Billups, on the other, spends too much time playing with his back to the basket and shooting from the outside.

After handing the Lakers their first loss, the Piston's finished a four-game West Coast trip at 3-1, and last night knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers to pull to within a half game of the division lead.

They are now 4-2 with him in the lineup (he didn't play the first game) and play Boston tonight in a rematch of last year's East Conference Finals. Time will tell what this deal means for the Piston's this year, but things should get better quickly, as both A.I. and Rasheed Wallace will become free agents after this season.

That should leave Joe Dumars with plenty of money to go shopping with.

Give Marshawn the Darn Ball!

Mark Martinelli — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:49:04 -0500

Like many fantasy owners this week, I had a dilemma in which running backs to start. Unlike most owners, I benched Marion Barber AND Marshawn Lynch—and still won!

How I did it (I also have Matt Forte and DeAngelo Williams) is not as important as why I did it, especially in the case of Lynch. In Buffalo's first four games (all wins) Lynch had 18, 19, 23, and 19 carries, respectively.

Prior to last night's game, in three previous games (all losses) Lynch had 13, nine, and 14 carries. Need more convincing? In their first loss, against the Cardinals (when Trent Edwards suffered a concussion), Lynch had 13 carries. In their next game after the bye (a win against San Diego), he had 19 carries.

Granted, they lost last night's game even though Lynch had 23 carries, but I would argue that was because of three Trent Edwards interceptions and not because of one missed field goal.

Lynch was drafted by most as a number two, if not a number one, fantasy running back and would be considered a disappointment, if not a bust, depending on where he was drafted at this point in the season.

Before this week, he was averaging 11.2 points per week, and only because of last night's performance did he climb into the top 15 in fantasy running backs. In fact, I didn't start him in weeks nine and 10, and it was the right move because he had six and four points to show for it.

With last night's performance, Lynch is definitely a must-start running back again—at least for the next two weeks (against Kansas City and San Francisco). After that he has division games against the Dolphins and Jets, but gets Denver in week 16 in what will be the championship game for many leagues.

He will likely fare well in many owner's championship games—provided he can get you there weeks 14 and 15.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Mark Martinelli

Why Allen Iverson Is "The (Short Term) Answer" to the Pistons' Problems

Give Marshawn the Darn Ball!