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Iverson will not return to 76ers
By Dan Gelston
March 2, 2010
Philadelphia , PA — The Philadelphia 76ers have said goodbye to A.I.
Allen Iverson’s second stint with the team he once led to the NBA finals ended Tuesday when the Sixers announced he would not return for the rest of the season.
Iverson has mostly been absent from the team for a month, returning to Atlanta to be with his family as they deal with an undisclosed illness of his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah.
Iverson, who returned as a free-agent to the 76ers in December, has not played since Feb. 20.
“After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply,” team president Ed Stefanski said. “It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life.”
The former NBA MVP and four-time scoring champion averaged 13.8 points in 28 games this season. He started the season with Memphis but only played three games before he announced a short-lived retirement.
The 34-year-old Iverson made a tearful return to Philadelphia eager to prove he wasn’t finished after disastrous stints in Detroit and Memphis. He returned to a sold-out crowd dotted with No. 3 jerseys, but he only showed flashes of his former playmaking self when he ruled the NBA as one of the best guards around.
He scored at least 20 points six times—including a 23-point effort in a game against the Lakers that turned into a throwback 1-on-1 duel vs. Kobe Bryant(notes).
“Before it was like, give him the ball, everybody spread out and let him do his thing,” Sixers center Samuel Dalembert(notes) said. “Now, he’s like, you have to run this, you have to get him involved. He was still learning the offense. There were a couple of games where it was a struggle offensively, but other games he got the feel for it. You got the flash of A.I.”
Iverson said at a Feb. 15 practice that it was emotionally draining to leave his family to play basketball.
“It was tough to leave her and my wife and kids,” Iverson said. “But I do have a commitment and an obligation to be with my team and to do my job. But it is rough. I think this is the only thing I do in life where for a couple hours during the game I don’t think about nothing but (basketball).”
Iverson was hobbled by an arthritic left knee and constantly needed it drained. He usually walked gingerly around the locker room after games. His dwindling production didn’t bother his fans—Iverson was voted an Eastern Conference All-Starter, though he did not play.
Dalembert, who played with Iverson in both stints, said A.I. was not the same player who once terrorized the opposition. But Dalembert also noticed a more reserved, humbled Iverson who just wanted to fit in instead of dominating the ball or making splashy headlines with controversial or selfish actions.
“He was focused, he was being a leader,” Dalembert said Monday night. “It was a completely different Iverson. The role we needed him to play, he was doing it. He understood what he needed to do for the team and he came in and did it.”
The Sixers have been awful with or without Iverson. They are 22-37 after a 126-105 loss to Orlando on Monday night. They were on a nine-game losing streak when Iverson made his debut on Dec. 7.
Now, the global superstar who popularized “talking about practice,” might be talking about retirement. This time for good.
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Center-less Cavs reclaim No. 1 spot
By John Schuhmann
March 2, 2010
February is the shortest month of the year and includes a four-day break for All-Star, but there was still enough basketball played last month for the Bucks to go from ninth place in the East (three games out of a playoff spot) to seventh, with a 1 1/2-game cushion over the Heat.
The Thunder made a similar push to put themselves in the top six in the West. At 9-2, Oklahoma City had the league's best record in February. Meanwhile, the Jazz (10-3) and Bucks (10-4) had the most wins.
Miami was both the best defensive team (allowing just 97.4 points per 100 possessions) and worst offensive team (scoring just 98.4) of the month. The best offensive team was Cleveland (113.6).
The Magic ranked fifth both offensively and defensively, but they were the best team overall, with a differential of +9.5 points per 100 possessions. The worst team overall? No, it wasn't New Jersey.
The Clippers picked up as many wins (four) as the Nets (two) and Knicks (two) combined, but they were outscored by 8.2 points per 100 possessions over the course of the month.
The Cavs take back the top spot in the rankings this week, but they have bigger issues to deal with. Shaquille O'Neal will have surgery on his right thumb on Monday and will likely miss the rest of the regular season. And they will have to play at least another nine games without Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
That stretch could be critical as they try to hold off the Lakers for the best record in the league and home-court advantage in a potential Finals matchup. Remember that the team that starts the Finals at home has won 19 of the 25 series since the league went to the 2-3-2 format.
Cleveland currently has a one-game lead over L.A. and holds the tiebreaker. And while the Cavs have to go center-less for at least another 2 1/2 weeks, the Lakers have their own challenge: 11 of their 15 games in March are on the road.
Last Week: Cleveland stumble clears way for Jazz to take over top spot
Hero Team of the Week: Dallas (4-0) - The Mavs beat the Lakers for the second time this season, and then won in Atlanta two nights later. Their seven-game winning streak is their longest in more than two years.
Zero Team of the Week: Boston (1-2) - The Celtics barely beat the Knicks before getting smoked by the Cavs in the second half and then losing to the Nets for the first time in three years.
High jumps of the week: Dallas (+5), Milwaukee (+3), Six teams (+2)
Free falls of the week: Toronto (-5), Utah (-4), Boston (-3)
East vs. West: The West is 194-152 (0.561) in inter-conference games and was 16-9 this week.
Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
Off: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank) The league averages through Sunday are 95.2 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 104.2 points scored per 100 possessions.
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