Sixers have final Answer
Rolling out some answers after "The Revenge of A.I." episode showing at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night in Denver had an ending that turned out in his old team's favor. Allen Iverson (30 points, nine assists, seven turnovers) saw his Nuggets swatted 108-97 by the team that traded him, the Sixers...
Getting run by referee Steve Javie shortly before losing to his old team was probably not how A.I. scripted this one.
There's some frustration. You don't spend over a decade with a team and then see that game happen. Getting thrown out of the game was icing on the cake. You couldn't have written a better script for the Sixers, to ruin his night in Denver.
Before the game, Iverson expressed frustration that his views were not taken into consideration by Sixers coach Mo Cheeks, even as Philly was reeling.
Your franchise players are usually given a little more opportunity to offer guidance in the thought process of a team. A franchise player likes to think he knows a little bit about the game.
Like Iverson's view that Andre Iguodala isn't suited for point guard?
I don't think Iguodala is going to be a point guard, either. It's not his skill set.
If Cheeks had to win one game this year, was this the one?
Yeah, it'll go a long way for the psyche of the entire franchise. This is the one where they were able to hold it together.
The Sixers are now 4-4 since the trade. The Nuggets are 2-4.
A lot of those guys in Philadelphia had something to prove. They can take Iverson's demand to leave as an attack on them collectively as players. Players have pride and they showed that Tuesday night.
Andre Miller had 17 points, 10 assists and four steals in his return to Denver. Joe Smith's 12 points and eight boards didn't hurt.
Miller is a top-10 point guard in the league. Along with Smith, those were two rotation players for a playoff team.
On the bright side, only three games till J.R. Smith returns.
It helps having his scoring at upwards of 18 points per game. Still, it's going to take time to adjust.
And eight more games till Melo's back. Will the Nuggets, now 16-13, still be over .500 when he returns?
Yes, I think so. But it's not a given -- it's not going to be easy.
Do you think No. 3's intensity can be a blessing and a curse?
For all of Iverson's greatness, he is the hardest star in the league to play with -- he's so intimidating even at 6 feet and 160-odd pounds.
Greg Anthony appears on "NBA Shootaround" with Fred Hickman and Tim Legler on Friday (ESPN, 7:30 p.m ET).
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After made baskets, if the Nuggets can't get an easy shot out of their early offense, look for Allen Iverson to play his more customary role off the ball, with Earl Boykins playing the point.
In the half court, coach George Karl loves two-man games like pin-downs (down screens) and side pick-and-rolls and pick-and-pops. When Carmelo Anthony returns, it is fair to assume that A.I.-Melo two-man games are going to be a common part of Denver's half-court set. If Anthony's man hedges hard to control Iverson's drive, A.I. will simply pass to Melo in open space -- a scary thought to any defense.
Yet I'm pretty sure, if anyone asks me what I'll remember most about 2006, that it'll be a one-word answer.
Playoffs.
The word is not to be said with a Mora-like tone of incredulity. There's no question mark there.
I mean playoffs!
As in: Best postseason of my adult life.
In nearly 15 years covering this league, I've never seen start-to-finish drama like it. We saw three one-point games in the Cavaliers-Wizards series alone, all won by LeBron James' Cavs in his first-ever taste of the playoffs. We had Phoenix resurrecting itself from a couple killer Kobe buzzer-beaters, overturning a 3-1 deficit to the Lakers in the same round. We watched Cleveland take a shocking 3-2 lead over Detroit in Round 2, only for the Pistons to pull it out in seven. We witnessed Dallas surrendering a 3-1 lead to hated San Antonio -- and then losing all of its 20-point lead in Game 7 on the road -- before the Mavs finally KO'd their longtime Texas rivals in overtime.
