Iverson + New Team + Missed Practice + Suspended = Public Relations Disaster

November 28th. 2008, 2:00pm

Saw this headline on TV last night and our stomach ache (overeating, of course) turned into a headache.

Like Iverson. Always have. He’s a Virginia guy, and famously during his high school years, he drilled a pregnant woman with a folding chair, WWE-style, during a high school brawl in a bowling alley. The Governor pardoned him, and AI went to Georgetown. (Aside: We long for the day in which somebody presses John Thompson on how Allen Iverson got into Georgetown.) We thought he would certainly lift the Hoyas back to the Final Four, but the best team John Calipari could buy, led by Marcus Camby, thwarted the Hoyas in he Elite 8.

Then, it was on to the pros where he made the 76ers relevant again, and eventually torched the Lakers for 48 in the NBA Finals, and his career was brimming with hope. In a way, his athletic duration in Philly has been similar to that of Eric Lindros with the Flyers and McNabb with the Eagles – off-the-charts expectations, but never able to bring Killadelphia a title.

Instead, Iverson’s career has been pockmarked by enough drama to fill a season’s worth of Gossip Girl episodes. And that’s what annoys us – 10 years from now, when somebody’s compiling the best shooting guards in NBA history list, will Iverson be that guy who “just misses,” and the reason is because he never won a title, but was surrounded by off-the-court issues almost like clockwork every few years?

Look at the best to play his position: Jordan (6-foot-6), Kobe (6-6), West (6-2), Drexler (6-7), Gervin (6-7), Reggie Miller (6-7), etc. Iverson is generously listed at 6-foot, 165. Despite that diminutive frame, he has amassed a scoring average of 27 points per game, 3rd best in NBA history. If this 12-year vet wants to take Thanksgiving off to be with his family, where’s the beef?

And besides, who the hell has a practice on Thanksgiving Day, anyway? And no, the answer isn’t, “the team whose point guard doesn’t even know the name of some of the guys he’s passing to.”

The Pistons have 60 more games to jockey for position in the East and prepare for the playoffs.

11 Responses to “Iverson + New Team + Missed Practice + Suspended = Public Relations Disaster”

Makblunt Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

if your coach say you have pratice, then go. period. You can be unhappy about it, but you can’t just skip out cause it’s a holiday. I like AI too, but having a career means sometimes you have to work hours that you don’t like.

ButtersBC Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

If this 12-year vet wants to take Thanksgiving off to be with his family, where’s the beef?

Sounds like the Favre apologists in Green Bay…if they tell you to go to work, you go to work unless you have a real reason beyond “I didn’t wanna”

youngstown Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

i think their contracts alone is a reason that these guys are expected to show up on thanksgiving day for practice..

Quizz and Quon Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

And that’s what annoys us – 10 years from now, when somebody’s compiling the best shooting guards in NBA history list, will Iverson be that guy who â€œjust misses,â€

TBL, highly doubtful.

Triston27 Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

Really? Nobody? Ok, I’ll say it.

We’re talkin’ ’bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game.

shawnfromtex Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

triston i am surprised it took that long.

BrianBridgePro Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

You get paid a princely sum for the whole package, that includes practice. If you have a legit and necessary reason to miss a practice then speak up in advance.

tyduffy Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm