Allen Iverson isn't having what you would classify as an All-Star season.
Unless, that is, you're one of the million or so people who cast votes for Iverson to start in the Eastern Conference backcourt when the All-Stars take the field, er, court at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 14. To those folks, Iverson has nothing but All-Star seasons -- which is very nearly true, given his 10 selections in the 13 years as arguably the greatest little man in league history.
His numbers thus far, and impact on the Philadelphia 76ers since returning after a three-year absence -- and ending one of the briefest, least convincing retirements ever from his unsatisfying-all-around stint in Memphis -- have been modest. At 15.1 points per game, 4.8 assists and 0.7 steals in 33.4 minutes, his individual stats are down across the board from his career output (26.8 ppg, 6.2 apg, 2.2 spg, 41.2 min), though he has shot a little more accurately (45 percent to 42.6 for his career). Twice in the past eight games, Iverson has attempted fewer than seven shots -- something he did only twice in his first 896 games after being drafted No. 1 overall by Philadelphia in 1996.
The guy who scored 30 points or more on 345 occasions -- topping the 40-point mark 79 times and 50 on 11 occasions -- has a season high of 22, which he got two weeks ago against Toronto. Still, that began a four-game stretch in which Iverson averaged 17.8 points (compared to 9.3 in his three previous games). And he had 11 points and nine assists when he exited the Sixers' game at Minnesota on Monday afternoon in the fourth quarter, never to return, his team up 99-98 with 51.6 seconds left in what would become a 108-103 overtime loss. Needless to say, that affected the conversation a little when I spoke with Iverson afterward, a few other media folks chipping in:
NBA.com: For as long as I've covered the NBA, I guess it's nice to know that there still are surprises to be had. I'm thinking I just saw something that never has happened before in this league -- Allen Iverson sat out an entire overtime period. Has that ever happened?
Allen Iverson [with one brief laugh]: No. Nah.
NBA.com: You played the first 23 minutes of the first half [shooting 3-of-9 with three turnovers]. Had you hit any sort of minutes limit?
AI: Aw, no. I know it wasn't like I reached my minutes or anything. That's something you've got to ask Coach [Eddie Jordan].
NBA.com: Eddie told us that he wanted to keep you in while you were going good in the third quarter and beyond. But with you matched up most of the game with Timberwolves guard Corey Brewer [listed as 6-foot-9], he felt he needed bigger bodies in at the end. Did you still have enough left to keep playing? No problems with your [arthritic left] knee? Good to go?
AI: Yeah. Come on now, overtime, that's the time I really want to play. Fourth quarter and overtime. That's what players like myself look forward to. I didn't tell anybody that I couldn't go.
NBA.com: I even though he might go offense-defense with his substitutions at the end. But with four seconds left, 99-99, you didn't come back in. [Andre Iguodala missed a fadeaway jumper from 19 feet with 0.7 seconds left.]
AI: I don't know. That was kind of different for me too, not being in there for the last shot.
NBA.com: Even as a decoy.
AI: That too. But what he did, I'm not going to make a big stink over.
NBA.com: OK, so it was a career first. What was it like, sitting and watching in overtime?
AI: It's frustrating. Especially for somebody like myself, I've been in so many wars. Then to have to watch, it was tough. But at that time, all you do is be the best teammate you can and cheer for the guys who are on the court. That's all I can do. But it was different, not being in there for overtime, especially not being in for the last shot.
NBA.com: You guys were up by 20 points in the first half and let it slip away. Why does this keep happening?
AI: Losing leads? It's mental. It's all mental. Just not being mentally tough enough to overcome -- I don't even want to use "overcome." I would rather say "handle" having a big lead like that. I mean, that game was supposed to be over in the first half.
NBA.com: But with four seconds left, [Jordan is] starting to draw something up ... are you starting to walk toward the scorer's table?
AI: Absolutely. [Laughs.] Absolutely. I mean, coaches go off their gut feeling. You just got to live with it. Just like he lives with things I do on the basketball court that are not always right, the right thing for the team. And allows me to make mistakes or whatever have you. My whole thing is to allow him to coach and make the decisions that he makes, and support him with the decisions that he makes. My whole thing was not to sit over there and pout about it. Just sit over there and be the best cheerleader that I could be.
NBA.com: How do you feel this return to Philadelphia is working out? [The Sixers are 8-12 since Iverson signed and played his first game in early December. They are 5-6 with him in the starting lineup, compared to 13-27 overall.]
AI: Great. I mean, I'm happy. Obviously we're not winning the way that I want to. But as far as me being here, I'm happy. I'm ecstatic.
NBA.com: Have you noticed a lot of changes around the team, with the fans or toward the Sixers in the three years since you first got traded to Denver?
AI: To me, it was déjà vu. It felt like I never left. I mean, that's all I wanted. I'm having a great time. Times like this, you know, that would be tough for anybody. But I feel good about my situation and where I'm at in my career.
NBA.com: There is a real possibility that the people will speak and you will end up as an All-Star starter in the East. [In the last balloting update, Iverson was second to Miami's Dwyane Wade and, with 930,713 votes, had a lead of more than 185,000 over Orlando's Vince Carter and amost 420,000 over Boston's Ray Allen.] Allen recently was critical of players like you and Tracy McGrady getting so much All-Star love in years when you might not "deserve" it. Do you like the idea that the fans still consider you an All-Star?
AI: That's the best thing in the world. Without the fans, there wouldn't be no "us." So for the fans to vote me into the All-Star Game, obviously they want to see me. I haven't played even 20 games yet. And to be able to be selected on the All-Star team, it's a blessing. And it's really an honor and an award. Because like I say, they make us. Without the fans, there wouldn't be no us. For them to want to see me, regardless of what's been going on, that says a lot about how they feel about me. I just thank 'em for that.
NBA.com: Will you go, if called?
AI: If I'm healthy, I'll go. But I'm going to do the best thing for this team. That's the most important thing. I want to be able to make sure my fans are happy, because they want to see me play. But I have to be smart about the future of this franchise right here.
NBA.com: Best All-Star memory?
AI: The first one. [In the 2000 All-Star Game in Oakland, Iverson scored 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting with nine assists in 28 minutes.]
NBA.com: Despite the loss, did playing on Martin Luther King Day mean something special to you?
AI: I wouldn't say playing. It's just special to me to be a part of it. To be able to celebrate it.
Posts
