Allen Iverson Doing It His Way

This is 2009, 13 seasons after Iverson was drafted in 1996 and as a fan I am unable to say he has evolved much. Highly unusual as players get older they get more crafty rather than bolshie. Iverson lives and dies by his heart, it defines him, being brave and righteous in his game. It is his calling card. He is all heart. The fans love him for it and he does not disappoint.

 This would be great if he was a character in brave heart however he earns his living at a thinking game. Watching him last season in Detroit, everyone including his team mates knew what Iverson was going to do when he got the ball and everyone but the defence looked on. Sometimes it was hard to continue watching, one against two sometimes three. Most times he would go for a fade away off the dribble, which is not a great shot as every time he missed it was a defensive rebound and he missed often. Kobe Bryant loves the fade away jumper as well however unlike Iverson he draws his defender to him rather than creating space to shoot. This way if he misses being sent to the foul line is a nice little silver lining.

Change is inevitable. We must evolve to keep ahead of the competition. Players who do not adhere to this rule fall on the way side - Harold Minor, Steve Francis etc. I suspect that the scouting report on Iverson has not changed much since 2000.  He probably does not drive to the hoop as much and is probably a step slower but it is still the same game. One that brought him accolades galore.

Don't get me wrong when you have talent like Iverson you need not change much but attitude is what defines us and it is high time Iverson realises that he is highly unlikely to be a franchise player of a winning team any time soon. He had an opportunity to make Denver a contender but instead of being a facilitator he decided to compete with Carmelo for the scoring championship. It was never going to work. The 2000 76ers team (best year) worked well because those players wanted, needed him to score. Denver did not. However Detroit needed him but he was not the same. Injuries were rife.

 After Carmelo Anthony got back form his suspension I kept waiting for the Nuggets to take off but it never happened. Chauncey Billups came in the latter part of a season and suddenly Denver were gunning for great heights.  Worse was the instant compares to Iverson's Nuggets vs. Billups'. The simple fact that Chauncey's game suited the Nuggets better than Iverson's was not even considered.

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I just hope that before Iverson picks a team from the very dwindling offers he has left, he carefully thinks about what he has to contribute. Than last thing he needs is to be called a "Cancer