I remember when we first got Steve people were saying that he could easily be an AI type of player down the road...not a pure point guard but an amazing scorer. Francis has developed into a great all-around player (but still not much of a point guard), but somehow he has never become that great scorer that some predicted he would be. AI is overrated. His style of play will never help a team win a championship. But he is so darn fun to watch. Who cares if the team doesn't win?
I was at the game tonight. AI was pretty amazing. I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but, until the 4th quarter it was a pretty "quiet" 60 points. What I mean is, his points totally came in the flow of the offense which has been the cool thing about moving AI to PG this year. It was only when he got to 45 or so that they started giving him the ball every time the floor to get 50. And then they really cleared it out for him to get 60. (I think he scored the last 15 Sixer points or something.) The funny thing is that it he never would've gotten 60 if the Sixers hadn't let the Magic cut a twentysomething lead down to 9. If the Magic don't come back, AI probably rests on the bench much of the 4th quarter. Anyway, the crowd was amazing ... standing on their feet and going nuts every time he got the ball in the 4th. And I loved AI at the end pounding his chest, yelling "This is MY gym." Especially after he got his 59th and 60th points after Jameer clotheslined him on a layup. AI takes so much abuse for a 165 pound man. By the way, he got a piece of everyone. Francis started out on him, Christie was on him a while, then Jameer, and finally some other guy for points 49-60.
He single handedly took his team to the finals- and won a game against a Lakers team that no one else could touch in the playoffs.
And now, in AI's famous words -"We talkin' about Practice!" -Allen Iverson "If I can't practice, I can't practice. It is as simple as that. It ain't about that at all. It's easy to sum it up if you're just talking about practice. We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're talking about practice. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we're talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game last it's my last but we're talking about practice man. How silly is that? Now I know that I'm supposed to lead by example and all that but I'm not shoving that aside like it don't mean anything. I know it's important, I honestly do but we're talking about practice. We're talking about practice man. We're talking about practice. We're talking about practice. We're not talking about the game. We're talking about practice. When you come to the arena, and you see me play, you've seen me play right, you've seen me give everything I've got, but we're talking about practice right now." After putting up 60, I'd give him a day off....
You guys are complete idiots. Iverson just dropped 60 points and the man who was once our teams Franchise player (and dropped 58 against the same guy several years ago)! He's won a league MVP, three scoring titles (on his way to a fourth), carried a mediocre Sixers team to the NBA Finals, putting a loss on a Lakers team that had been previously UNDEFEATED in the playoffs that year. The man's one of the toughest players in the game. But he's overrated. Sure, anyone can win a scoring title if they shoot as much as AI. But why didn't Steve Kerr or Brent Price or John Paxson ever win a scoring title? Weren't they better shooters than Iverson? Surely if they shot as many times as he did they would average 30ppg too, possibly more, right? It's unfortunate that people consider Iverson to be overrated. Let's be honest, if it were Grant Hill who just scored 60, no one would be calling him overrated. If it were T-Mac, or Garnett, or Ray Allen, you'd be heaping on the praise. Despite the fact that Ivy's accomplished more than any of those guys (my guess is that if Iverson were a clean-cut kid with no braids or tatoos, or if he was just white, people wouldn't be calling him overrated). Iverson's a great, great player, and there's never been anyone like him. He'll certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame when his career is over. It just suck that there are some ignorant people who probably only watch him two or three times a year would question his ability... For God's sake, he just scored SIXTY POINTS! With relative ease! Give the man his props.
he was one of the best players for us on the u.s. olympic team. everyone knew that and said that. he didn't shoot well, but duncan and a.i. were the only ones that seemed to be able to play well for the u.s. in the past olympics.
I agree. A.I. took his team to the finals and consistently leads the Sixers to the playoffs. There hasn't been a guard that's been able to do that single-handedly in a while and I don't see Lebron, Kobe or even T-Mac being able to do that. No guard in the league is the focus of a defense more than A.I. Kobe has Lamar Odom, Lebron has big Z, who the hell does A.I. have? I think Kyle Kover and Andre Igoudala are good players, but they aren't all-star caliber.
one suspects Steve would surely say the same thing but really does it matter what he put up when his opponent scored 60 and his team lost......
agreed, he should've just scored zero. only play well when you already know your team is going to win so it'll mean something.
i don't know the exact thing that set it off but reporters were asking him questions about either skipping practices, sitting out practices, or just having a very lax attitude toward them and he finally had enough and just went off on that rant. it was hilarious and has been quoted ad nauseum since it happened. how did you manage to escape it?
Larry "b****tits" Brown (rightfully) went to the media to complain about AI missing several practices after a disappointing 2001-02 season. Allen didn't have to address the media on the day he cleaned out his locker for the summer, but he decided to hit the podium and launch into a needless and ultimately fruitless justification for his own irresponsibility. He also wound up the embarrassing diatribe by calling out longtime Sixer beat scribe Phil Jasner by calling him "Philip" over and over. Essentially, it was a 26-year old millionaire acting like a 12-year old boy. And dressing like one too.
christie and nelson was assigned to a.i francis guared there 2 most of the game.It's christie getting burned this time.
Most of Wade's point come from alley oop, layups, dunks, short jumpers in the NBA. The international teams play zone D to prevent Wade from penetrating. That 46% number is very misleading. Look at how many 3s he has taken the whole season, and look at his number recently when the opponents force him to take outside jumpers.
I have never been a big fan of AI. But common, lets give respect where it is due. AI is not overrated as some fans in this forum said bout him. He is the toughest competitor in the game bar none. A shade below six feet, a mere 165 lbs taking all the beatings, hard fouls, plus jacking up 30 shots (i mean that hurts), running all over the court, defending, making plays for his teammates, man, thats freakish. He is leading the league in scoring for the fourth time in his career, and i will not be surprised if the sixers can win more games and capture the division title, he is a darkhorse for the mvp. You can argue all day what kg and tim did with their teams but man, they are seven feet tall. A good big man is always a better choice than a good small man. But not taking anything away from AI, he is a future hof. How i wish before his career ends, he may wear a ring or two.
Uniqure player for someone his size but his style of play will never bring a championship. Overrated.
Impressive indeed. Props to Iverson, but really, Orlando has possibly the worst defense in the entire league and the way they play gives plenty of easy baskets to the opposing team. Awesome performance, but I'd be more impressed if he dropped that 60 on our D. I'd be pissed, but impressed.
If by style of play you mean playing on a crappy team, I'd agree with you. But the fact of the matter is, he plays the same style as Michael Jordan, in a much smaller body. They said that a scoring champ like Jordan would never win a title, either. If Iverson ever got a Pippen-caliber player next to him, the Sixers would be a premier team. But Billy King's an idiot, and got Glenn Robinson instead.
