Little Man in the Mirror
Allen IversonHow did Devin Harris introduce Allen Iverson to the next chapter of his career? By holding a figurative mirror up to A.I.’s face and turning in a vintage Iverson-like game of his own. Knifing into the paint relentlessly, getting to the line, hitting tough shots amongst the trees while absorbing contact, exuding fearlessness and quickness and an un-pick-able handle, and not seeming too interested in passing the rock, Harris dumped 38 points (20-for-24 FT’s, 2 asts) on A.I. and the Pistons to spoil the big debut and get the Nets an upset win … Iverson was good, putting up 24 points and six assists and easing into his role as Detroit’s go-to guy — the 1 to Rip Hamilton’s 1A. On the game’s first possession Iverson dribbled the ball up top until the shot clock was in single digits before making a move, then the next time he drove and scored as soon as he got it. Pistons’ fans might have been a little worried at that point, but A.I. played a team game and wasn’t being a nut or anything … In Denver, Chauncey Billups did a decent job of pretending like he’s not upset about the trade, finding some silver lining while addressing the crowd before Nuggets/Mavs. (It’s good to be back home, I’ll try to get us to a championship level, etc.). In an interview that aired during the game, Billups said he’s not gonna stand for the team “getting out of control and taking crazy shots.” Think he was talking about J.R. Smith? … Chauncey himself wasn’t shy about letting it fly, but he made just 5-for-17 from the field and, more surprisingly, bricked one of two free throws with Denver up one in the final 20 seconds. But on Dallas’ next possession, Nene stripped Brandon Bass (one of the few too many times Bass was put in a position to create off the dribble, which isn’t his game) and Carmelo iced it from the line … While his team got the W, Chauncey (15 pts, 3 asts, 3 stls) got outplayed by Jason Kidd (22 pts, 10 rebs, 9 asts). Kidd hit six threes, opening up a whole new bit of weaponry for the Mavs that makes them real dangerous when teams leave him open … In the first quarter of Hawks/Raptors, Josh Smith caught an alley-oop from Mike Bibby that came in a bit low, but Smith basically took it off his defender’s head and brought it back up in one quick motion for a two-hand finish. Nasty. Hawks color analyst Dominique Wilkins said simply, “That dunk brought back memories.” But a few seconds later Josh went up to block a shot, came down wrong on his ankle and had to leave the game … Even with Smith hurt and Al Horford having a quiet night, the Hawks thoroughly outplayed Toronto and improved to 4-0. Chris Bosh (26 pts, 8 rebs) and Jermaine O’Neal (17 pts, 3 blks) put up their numbers, but the Raps’ backcourt was getting scorched by Mike Bibby (19 pts, 12 asts) and Joe Johnson, plus Flip Murray off the bench … In first half, Bosh scored in the post and pointed at the nearest ref, screaming “AGAIN! AGAIN!” to show he was getting roughed up and wasn’t getting calls. The ref hit Bosh with a tech, but he wouldn’t drop the issue until Sam Mitchell came and pulled him away … We’re starting to see a formula with the Pacers. They get off to a strong start, catching the other team off-guard by going balls-out during that time in the first quarter when most players are casually taking jumpers and getting a feel for the arena; they hold a lead or at least stay competitive most of the way; and then they ultimately fall apart in the end. But given Indiana’s murderous schedule to start the season — at Detroit, vs. Boston, vs. Phoenix, at Cleveland last night — they’re playing about as well as you could expect with their talent level … Danny Granger (33 pts) led the Pacers to a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter against the Cavs, and they controlled the pace until well into the fourth, before LeBron and whoever LeBron decided to pass to buried them under a late barrage of buckets … One fourth quarter sequence saw LeBron (29 pts, 9 rebs, 8 asts, 4 blks) get a two-hand windmill dunk in traffic plus the foul, a two-hand monster dunk on the break that was reminiscent of Shawn Kemp’s work, then a Dr. J-esque reverse finger roll that he released when almost his entire body was hanging in the air out of bounds. That run took some of the life out of the Pacers, then LeBron started working the pick-and-pop with Anderson Varejao and finding open looks for guys like Delonte, Wally and Mo Williams that finished the job. Finally, with under 40 seconds remaining and the Cavs up four, LeBron skied and pinned what seemed like an open layup for T.J. Ford on the glass for the defensive dagger … We forgot Lorenzen Wright was on the Cavs. For that matter, we forgot Sasha Pavlovic was there, too. Did anyone screw himself over worse than Pavlovic? He was at least a relevant player in the League coming off the Cavs’ NBA Finals run in ‘07, then he had that contract holdout and has barely been heard from since. He and Bonzi Wells should have a lot to talk about … With the new-age goggles and the nearly-bald look, didn’t Amare Stoudemire kind of look like Antoine Carr last night? STAT was about the only one on his team who showed up, though, as they got smoked in Chicago. Derrick Rose (18 pts, 6 asts) punctuated it by putting Leandro Barbosa on a poster … It’s getting even worse for the Spurs, after Tony Parker’s ankle injury he suffered in a loss to Miami is expected to put him out of action for the next 2-4 weeks. Tim Duncan is gonna feel like he’s back at Wake Forest after Randolph Childress left … Have we mentioned that we love Jerry Sloan? Last night he made history by getting his 1,000th win with one team, and despite Utah coasting with a 20- to 30-piecing for most of the game against the Thunder (OKC did made a late rally), the entire time he looked like he was in pain. Later in the night he was being interviewed on NBA TV and never so much as grinned … Carlos Boozer posted 21 points and nine boards, and the Jazz got some strong performances off the bench by AK-47 (16 pts, 12 rebs) and Brevin Knight (11 asts). At halftime of the Jazz broadcast, Thurl Bailey broke down the Thunder as such: “They’re — they’re bad.” … The D-League held its annual draft, and ex-U of Florida big man Chris Richard (a backup during the Horford/Noah era) went #1 overall to the Tulsa 66ers. Just to give you an idea of the difference between the NBA Draft’s production value and the D-League version, the picks were announced by the D-League commish at a mini-podium on the NBA TV studio set, and one of the “expert” analysts described Richard’s college run by saying, “He averaged six and six, or whatever.” Other notables: Smush Parker went #12 overall, Kansas’ Russell Robinson in the second round, James “Flight” White in the second round, Curtis Terry (Jason’s bro) in the fourth round, John Millsap (Paul’s brother) in the 10th and final round … And do you remember the name Tony Key? Back in 2001, he was a 6-foot-11 high school kid out of Cali, maybe a Top-50 talent at best, who didn’t just decide to skip college and go pro, he didn’t even finish high school first. He dropped out during the school year and moved to Vegas to workout full-time in preparation for the draft. (This was the same year Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and some other high school guys got picked.) Key didn’t get drafted, and we hadn’t heard from him until last night, when he got picked in the fourth round of the D-League draft … We’re out like everybody’s ankle …
November 8th, 2008 at 2:42 am
SayItIsntSo says:
Why did it seem like just about all the teams that were supposed to win lastnight didn’t? I.E the Pistons, Hornets, Spurs, Suns all lost to much lesser teams…maybe it was just one of those nights.
I must say, Tim Duncan is my favorite player and I know that people say this every year…but im starting to worry about the Spurs. Even with Parker out they shouldn’t be getting blown out by the Heat. Same thing with the Suns vs the Bulls. Yikes!
And Chauncy is mad as hell about having to leave Detroit to go to Denver. The guy is a class act though, but he’s going to have his hands full trying to get some of those players on the Nuggets in line. He went from one of the most disciplined teams in the L (Pistons) to one of the most UNdisciplined. SMDH
And I love Iverson, but how many post are you folks at Dime going to have about his debute? LOL! J/K
November 8th, 2008 at 3:09 am
the_don_mega says:
now i get Pop’s hobo look… it seems like somehow he knew that this would be one rough season for his team… imagine the Spurs being a lottery team this year and getting Blake Griffin or B.J. Mullens in next year’s draft… that would be TD and the Amiral all over again… just a thought y’all
November 8th, 2008 at 3:10 am
the_don_mega says:
now i get Pop’s hobo look… it seems like somehow he knew that this would be one rough season for his team… imagine the Spurs being a lottery team this year and getting Blake Griffin or B.J. Mullens in next year’s draft… that would be TD and the Admiral all over again… just a thought y’all
November 8th, 2008 at 3:15 am
knoc says:
i hope the spurs just tank the rest of the season to get some fresh top talent next season.
November 8th, 2008 at 3:25 am
RENO says:
No mention of King James getting poked on tonight!?! Sup dime?
November 8th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Nora says:
Spurs should not be allowed to tank again. Talk about the rich getting richer. How do you think they got Duncan?
November 8th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Hi, Jurg from Denmark says:
Hi sup from Jurg in Poland on a visit.
I like what you say RENO cos Jurg is like King James here in Poland looking to get a poke on tonight too. Most probaly pay, but that is like most times and that is funny. Not every man can be as pretty as Peja Stojakovic from Serbia and get all the girls.
I like how Mr Sloan has his team going. I must say he is so good and so respect in my basketball community and he has so many European players too so that helps. Or players who are white like Kylr Korver. And what Jurg means is not best athlete like the D Wade, just play the smart basketball to win so many games.
This is Jurg from Denmark and I can talk to you soon. Hi.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Dima says:
What about LeBron’s huge block vs. TJ Ford?
http://www.squidoo.com/LeBronJamesDunk
November 8th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Kudabeen says:
It is funny that Iverson was perceived as the weakest link on the floor defensively for Detroit, but Devin Harris was carving Stuckey and Prince up all night. Now “analyst” are actually are saying Iverson should have been allowed to guard Harris to “lend a hand”…People keep sleeping. Iverson is a good on ball defender, even guarding the post at his size, because of his quickness and athleticism. How many plucks and pass interceptions has he grab out of the hands of the guy he was guarding. He may not be the best at knowing when to float and help defensively, but he is not any more of a liability on the floor than Stuckey, Farmar, CP3, TP, etc…
Boston at Detroit Sunday 6pm!! Both teams healthy. Can’t wait.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?page=iversondebut-081107
November 8th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Kudabeen says:
Of course SportsCenter says Harris dropped 38 on Iverson, but Harris scored on everyone (mostly Prince and Stuckey [fouled Harris 4 times in the 4th]). If a guys is quick and is driving good defense can disrupt the dribble or direct the drive to help. If the offensive player has exceptional quickness and ball handling your help has to be there. Harris gets to the line 24 times, so help was slow or coming off of horrible angles. Pistons are going to be all right as they work in guys like Kwame defensively. They wouldn’t need him to do anything but clog, rebound and defend with Wallace. Pistons are built to beat every team stylistically. I look forward to seeing how it plays out.
It may be a much better season than last year…
November 8th, 2008 at 5:41 am
that's whats up says:
okay. it is official. SPURS are in a lot of trouble.
At one point last night, Popovich had the team in the huddle and it was Tim Duncan and four other guys wearing “Hello, My Name Is _______” name tags.
Even if they do tank the season they would need at least four 1st round picks to have a chance. Pop should have nabbed Chalmers last year and I know he regrets that. …and the Spurs have no BIGS at all.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:57 am
that's whats up says:
Teams that are 3-2: Heat, Raptors, Magic, Knicks and…. the Hornets????
did anyone see Tony Parker hopping off the court like Keyser Soze? I mean I know the Spurs don’t have any BIGS at all but there wasn’t one person around to help him to the locker room??? must be some personal ish
The Wizards are 0-4. Did Arenas even play? is he still in the league?
….and the starting point guard for your 0-6 Clippers…..Baaaron Daaavissss!!! I give him ten more games before he shuts it down for the season.
November 8th, 2008 at 7:04 am
the_don_mega says:
@ that’s whats up – you got it all covered man!!! anyways, never seen that spot with TP… ei Dime, better look into that rumor! BTW… the Spurs aint tankin’ the sason… yet! they just prolly positioning themselves for that though…
November 8th, 2008 at 7:07 am
jackass says:
no love for d.wade’s 33-10-9 line???
November 8th, 2008 at 7:30 am
heavy d says:
I am amazed that Rodney Stuckey isn’t one of the one’s with injured ankles because late in the game Devin Harris blew by him and left him crumpled on the floor.
November 8th, 2008 at 8:33 am
rangerjohn says:
@thats whats up
that huddle was FUNNY AS SHIT, pop said “who are you guys” then gave the play, then duncan said (after the other guys where gone) “hi im tim, ive been here like 6 or 8 years”
man i fell over that was funny shit coming from those 2.
spurs are in serious trouble! duncan is either going to get HUGE numbers, or NO numbers. the second parker went down, beasley and marion where all over duncan, double teaming the whole time he was on the floor. roger mason had a rought start but was drillin 3’s later on. finley is retire material, and i like how pop let the young guys play. the young guys did pretty well against the heat also. and the best part, MATT BONNER PLAYED 13 SECONDS!!!!
as for chalmers, i have not been supper impressed, g hill has only had 3 games to work things out after missing pre-season and half of training camp. i got no problem with the hill pick.
November 8th, 2008 at 8:34 am
rangerjohn says:
@ jackass
my guess is wades line is irrelevent because it took 36 minutes against rookies. lol
November 8th, 2008 at 8:37 am
alf (from melmak) says:
two words for all of you — jerry sloan. if you do not appreciate the magnitude of his accomplishment then you do not love and understand all that is good about basketball.
November 8th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Ashlov says:
Tsk tsk….no word of Mario Chalmers having his dick DEEP in Tony Parker’s cup of kool-aid before limping off the court. Chalmers was doing a great job of defending Parker, and the Heat were already up 24-9 when Parker went down. Looks like Miami is slowly getting it together.
November 8th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Dagomar says:
I still don’t get the trade for the Pistons.
Okay, they needed a go-to guy who could get you buckets in crunchtime. Got it. But they sacrificed one of the best points in the league to get him. Stuckey isn’t a true point yet – though he’s getting better by the game – and ironically now they have the same problem Denver had last year – lots of talent, loads of scorers, but nobody to get guys the ball. Losing to the Nets, maybe the worst team in the East, is no way to debut, personal stats aside.
Bosh really wasn’t getting many calls last night, but for however strong they are at the 1, 4 and 5 the Raptors are incredibly weak both offensively and defensively at the 2 and the 3 – especially the 3. Moon might be the worst starter in the NBA. Until some of the young talent grows up or they can find someone at the midlevel exception before the trade deadline the Raptors are going to labour against teams with great players at the 3 and the 2 (like the Hawks).
November 8th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Max says:
Adding to the “no mentions” here, ha ha, no mention of Darko getting T’ed up and ejected in the first half of the Grizz-Warriors game? One of the weirdest things I’ve seen in a game this year — it was like the ref mistook Darko for Sheed and didn’t give him a chance to even vent. No one even ran over to defend Darko or protest to the refs, they were all too stunned…it was like watching a puppy getting tasered by a riot cop.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:02 am
that's whats up says:
nice one max….
I think the official ruling on Darko was that: Rule 24.7.1 states if you have at least 50 total CAREER points and are T’ed up, the refs will pause for your teammates to intervene before a second technical foul is issued.
Maybe next year he’ll have that luxury. by 2010 at least
November 8th, 2008 at 10:05 am
IGP says:
The year the Spurs got Duncan they didn’t tank. David Robinson was injured for the year. I forget what happened to him, but it was basically Sean Elliot running the show for the Spurs. He’s not a bad player at all, but without Admiral they weren’t going anywhere.
How do the Spurs look for cap space? I think that Manu, Parker and Duncan are the only ones under the cap in a year or two.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Blue says:
Right jackass and Ashlov…
what’s with the no love for the Heat from Dime…They’re already a fifth of the way to last season’s win total! WTF?
D-Wade Stat Line…
33pts., 10 rebs, 9 assists, 3 stls…
better than Bron!
speaking of better than Bron…did y’all see him get stuffed on? hahaha…nice!
November 8th, 2008 at 10:22 am
rangerjohn says:
IGP
spurs are tight next season, but 2010 they have a TON of space.
here is the spurs salary situation for the next 5 yrs
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/san_antonio.htm
November 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
that's whats up says:
that’s good info ranger.
…and now I know why Manu doesn’t use his full name.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:48 am
QuEsT??? says:
again u cant blame AI for harris’ night, plus all the buckets came in stuckeys face. Smush Parker must feel depressed, going number 12 in the dleague draft, i mean he started for the laker…..the lakers.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:50 am
QuEsT??? says:
why is every team making salary cap space for 2010??? there are going to be a lot of teams disappointed because they are not going to be able to land free agents.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Blue says:
dang QuEsT???…you serious about Smush? that’s kinda sad, but homeboy only did it to himself really!
‘Is Smush Parker gonna have to choke a bitch?’ haha
November 8th, 2008 at 11:04 am
jl90 says:
im such a spurs hater i cheered when parker went down. we were killing them before that anyway! beasley is a definite NBA starter!
November 8th, 2008 at 11:11 am
IGP says:
@ rangerjohn: thanks man.
I bet if the Spurs do badly this year and get a lottery pick a free agent like Bosh or Wade would play there. A lineup of Duncan, Parker, Manu and Wade or Bosh plus a lottery pick would be nasty.
November 8th, 2008 at 11:12 am
IGP says:
@jl90: I think the Heat are hoping Beasley is more than just an NBA starter. shit, Matt Bonner can say he was an NBA starter, and that guy just sucks all around.
November 8th, 2008 at 11:22 am
that's whats up says:
…in defense of Matt Bonner….
nahhhhh…..he sucks
November 8th, 2008 at 11:56 am
BkHoops says:
Wow still no love for the Heat.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
JC says:
Tony Key didnt disappear to me — I went to juco with him. He’s a load inside, though the declaring for the draft (without the requisite HS diploma) miffs me. But at that time the NBA was HS crazy, so education took a giant back seat. He’s from some rough parts of the country (he’s really from Mississippi, so Compton was an upgrade in his world) so I’m sure he was thinking about getting out of the streets and taking care of a family. I hope he’s got his head on straight and does well in the D-league.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
johnny says:
@Jurg
Keep us updated.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
baron von faulk says:
I think this is the record for most Spurs posts that are non-hating. I don’t think they are lottery bound just yet, you know Manu and Tony will be back in December and Captain Ahab won’t let them tank.
Jurg – god damn you trip me out daily dude, good luck with the cheap drugs and I hope you are wearing plastic helmet device so you no get the burny from the prostitutes of your country, we must hang out next time I go to Poland, I will loan you some $$ so you can get high class hooker, hi from Texas, I’m Baron, we speak soon. I watch many youtubes about polish girls.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
baron von faulk says:
jl90 that’s real f’n classy dude, I will cheer when you get the testicle cancer
November 8th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
doc says:
Yeah these polish chicks is nice.But 1 game with AI dont prove shit good or bad.The people predicting failure(me) cant get hyped off that.AI gonna average his 27 and 7 thats what he do.And dont see that he wasnt jacking this game and think he wont do it constantly in a couple of weeks.This trade will not fail until they get their ass handed to them in round 2.Detroit chopped off the head of their team for a extra wing and that dosent work in this league.Name 1 team thats ever won a chip with 2 shooting guards.I can think of 2 Harper and Mike and Harper and Kobe.And Harp changed his game from 20+ scorer to lockdown defender and hit open shots.And I dont see AI or Rip doing that.If he wanted AI so bad he should’ve traded Rip not Mr. Big Shot/the brains of the team.
November 8th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
rangerjohn says:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=FreeAgents-09-10
good list of the potential free agents 2009 and 2010.
guys like joe johnson, labron, dirk, wade, rich jefferson (not in those guys cat but hey) chandler, amare, nash shaq (nash and shaq not so much lol) MANU(?) bosh.
there are more and some with player options like boozer, and kobe. thee are enough to go around. spurs could sign manu and ALMOST any of those guys. sure there are those that will say “SA is not a big enough market” but there are others who just want that ring, and a manu/TD/TP with a wade or bosh or joe johnson would be pretty nasty and those guys could realisticly go to SA.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
J says:
Oden 08 worth the wait
November 8th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
BxBaller says:
What no mention of Granger dunking on LeBron? Come on Dime, you’re better than that.
So are the Suns going to give Shaq certain nights off against lesser teams this season? If so, that shit bit them in the ass last night. Getting beat down by the Bulls, WOW!
November 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
jl90 says:
please baron von faulk, i have loads of respect for the spurs and their fans, i just don’t like their style of play and their undenied arrogance on the court. besides it’s a slight ankle sprain, enough to curse me with testicular cancer? i think not
November 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
ConverseWeapon says:
I will add that Kendrick Perkins had a career high seven blocks against the Bucks, after shutting down Yao Ming two games ago. He has yet to turn 24, and is becoming a monster.
November 8th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
SayItIsntSo says:
I read this blod a lot and I have to say @ ‘doc’ please do everyone a favor and chill out. People act like just because they’ve been a long time Sixer fan that you can sit around picking apart Iversons game and what he will or will not do for a team, and everyone else must be wrong because they weren’t a ‘Sixer fan’ and must not know what they are talking about. Just because you sat in a room with a players nephew doesnt make you the be all tell all of Iverson. Everyone at Dime and just about everyone here have been watching Iverson throughout his career as well.
I for one want to wish dude the best and dont want to sit around hating on the guy all day and hoping he fails. Regardless of what anyone says, Detroit is the most disciplined team Iverson has EVER played on and also the best. Dumars knew that when he brought him there. Detroit is one of the few teams in the L that doesn’t even need a constant PG because of how disciplined they are. I can name a few teams that has won chips without a top flieght PGs (Celtics, Lakers ect.) they had ‘decent PGs’ but not top flieght.
I like Billups, but maybe you haven’t been watching him the past few seasons..Billups got complacent (tons of Pistons fans have called him out for it) and he hasn’t been “Mr. Big Shot” since they won the title…so obviously therefor Dumars thought it was time for him to move on. I hope Billups can help out with Denvers chaotic team and at least help them win more then one game in the 1st round. Despite all the hype I never thought Iverson was a good fit for the Nuggets. The guy works better with veteren players that know how to win and dont need much guidence. I just dont understand how someone can call themselves a fan of b-ball and want to wish that guy bad luck, but whatever. Like I said before, I cant stand Kobe..but I cant take away from the fact that the guy is a baller. If AI works out in Detroit he does..if he doesn’t oh well. It is what it is. But Dumars is not stupid and I know he wouldn’t have brought Iverson there is he thought he would disrupt the team.
November 8th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Amar says:
congrats to sloan for winning 1k with one team. (he never punked out like guys like larry brown or phil jax when the starts went away and he had to rebuild)
congrats to the thunder. stupid name. shouldn’t have left seattle. but entertaining to watch. they did not give up last night.
November 9th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
tim says:
yeah Billups is gone for a reason…the last couple years…they lost to better Celtic team…but before that all Chauncey ever said was its just us man, they aren’t doing anything man, its just us…and all this its ok we lost we’ll get em like its no big deal…I think Joe D was just like ok, see you later then…