Newsgroup: it.sport.americani
Titolo: [NBA] Iverson, cosa ne pensate?

Sono sempre stato un grande estimatore di TheAnswer, tuttavia perfino
io mi sto convincendo che si tratta di un giocatore estremamente
sopravvalutato.
Alcuni punti mi lasciano molto perplesso:
1) troppo accentratore
2) non sufficientemente efficiente per giustificare il suo dominio
sulla palla
3) inadatto a giocare in una squadra offensivamente forte che sfrutti
le sue caratteristiche (i Sixers sono stati, nel migliori dei casi,
una squadra mediocre in attacco)
4) deve il 90% della sua reputazione ad una finale assolutamente
episodica (non essendoci poi mai piu' andato neppure vicino), in un
est ai minimi storici (e che e' rimasto debole da allora), e dopo aver
battuto in maniera certo abbastanza fortunosa in 7 partite, seppur con
merito, squadre che da allora non han piu' combinato niente (Raptors e
Bucks)
5) adesso va via e i Sixers sembrano un'altra squadra, mostrando
quando giocarci vicino possa essere difficile.
-- 
Ryoga Hibiki (Marco Fracasso)
icq: #132215537 mail: ryogahibiki(at)
inwind.it
"Players ALONE don't win championships, organizations do"
Jerry Krause  B,SVAODNEVCUQQOOPJVE

 quando giocarci vicino possa essere difficile.
Ryoga, uso le tue stesse armi. Phila e' in striscia di 6, ma sono gare 
in casa e contro gente o dell'Est, o reduce da viaggi lunghi. Per 
carita', Iguodala resta un'all star dei prossimi 5-6 anni e Dalembert 
uno dei lunghi piu' sottovalutati della Lega.
Da parte mia, sospendo il giudizio fino ai prossimi playoff, dove si 
decide una buona parte della bonta' dello scambio di dicembre.
Kicco

 1) troppo accentratore
Il fatto che molte stelle (più o meno brillanti) siano andate via da 
Phila quando c'era lui è chiaro segnale di accentramento che non fa mai 
bene alla squadra.
Come dice Kikko vedremo se ai play-off potrà dare buoni risultati a 
Denver, è lì che i risultati contano.
-- 
http://celtics.playitusa.com/
  il sito di riferimento italiano dei 
Boston Celtics (NBA)

 
Il giudizio su Iverson è sempre stato difficile. Io credo che Iverson 
appartenga ad una categoria molto ristretta di giocatori anomali che, 
per caratteristiche tecniche e fisiche (lasciamo da parte quelle 
caratteriali), difficilmente si inquadrano in un qualunque gioco di 
squadra. I suoi punti di forza, straordinari, vengono alla fine 
compensati da debolezze (la statura, la difesa etc.) che alla fine 
difficilmente portano a risultati positivi. Sulle sue capacità nessuno 
può avere dei dubbi ma alla fin fine riuscire a creare una squadra 
vincente con lui diventa molto difficile, purtroppo devo dire quasi 
impossibile. Che i Sixers ora vadano bene è da un certo punto di vista 
normale, nel senso che finalmente si sono liberati del peso psicologico 
di essere la squadra di Iverson e (non dimentichiamo) si sono liberati 
di un altro grosso peso che è Webber (ora spero che nessuno mi venga a 
dire che Webber sta facendo bene a Detroit, lo so anch'io, peccato che 
il signorino a Phila giocasse in modo completaante diverso, totalmente 
demotivato e alla fine dannoso alla squadra). Siccome a Phila il talento 
c'è (Iguodala, Dalembert etc.) ora che giocano rilassati i risultati si 
vedono, ma non dimentichiamo che è arrivato anche un signor play come 
Miller che fa giocare la squadra come non avava mai giocato negli ultimi 
anni. Io credo che con Iverson si possa anche vincere il titolo, certo 
non dev'essere lui il centro della squadra, deve adattarsi ad un ruolo 
di arma in più in una squadra già forte, sinceramente non credo che a 
Denver questo possa accadere.
Davide


Delayed impact
Iverson laid groundwork for 76ers' current work ethic
Posted: Wednesday March 14, 2007 6:57PM; Updated: Wednesday March 14, 2007  
7:12PM
The agonizing decision to trade Allen Iverson was like a surgery postponed  
for too long a time. The fear of undergoing it turned out to be worse than  
the operation itself.
Now that the 76ers have gone 19-20 since the December trade with Denver,  
now that Andre Iguodala is performing like a not-so-future All-Star, and  
now that virtually everyone on the roster is playing at a higher level  
around Andre Miller than they were around Iverson, a logical deduction is  
gaining traction in Philadelphia: That Iverson was a negative influence  
and his younger teammates would have been better off without him.
That's not how I'm looking at it. When Philadelphia was winning eight  
straight games through last week, I assumed that much the credit should go  
to one ghost in particular.
Iverson.
A lot of people focus -- rightly so -- on Iverson's outrageous refusal to  
practice hard and the bad example it set for his younger teammates. But  
that argument has lost much of its value now that those younger players  
are working hard and winning more than anyone imagined they could. If  
Iverson was the evil example he was made out to be, wouldn't they be  
playing selfishly and ignoring coach Maurice Cheeks?
What is happening instead is they're doing all of the little winning  
things that a lot of teams don't do anymore. Guess who forced them to  
learn those things?
Iverson.
He was such a Napoleonic presence on the court and in the lockerroom that  
everyone in his presence -- even Chris Webber -- was forced to become a  
role player. It turns out to be not such a bad thing after all. In too  
many NBA cities the young players are given roles of entitlement based on  
how high they were drafted or the team's (often disingenuous) ambition to  
rebuild with youth. But Iguodala had no choice but to learn the  
old-fashioned way. He wasn't going to get a lot of shots playing alongside  
the more celebrated A.I., so to earn his minutes Iguodala had to develop  
his less celebrated skills as a defender, playmaker and rebounder. The  
same goes for everybody else on that team.
"It laid the foundation for hard work, being scrappy and doing the little  
things right,'' Iguodala says of his two full years with Iverson. "Right  
now I'm scoring the ball, but I'm still focused on the small things -- on  
defensively diving after balls and just understanding what it takes to be  
a role player. When the rookies come in, now I can say I experienced the  
same thing and I can give them some advice.''
Over his last 17 games Iguodala has averaged 21.8 points (to go with 7.1  
assists and 6.8 rebounds), which begs the question of how he developed his  
scoring skills while playing alongside Iverson. The supposition Iverson  
was an entirely harmful influence cannot be supported by the current facts.
I would argue instead the 76ers benefited from watching how tirelessly  
Iverson tried at the offensive end. Nobody in the league works harder or  
absorbs more punishment for creating his own shot.
Not only did they see firsthand how difficult it is to be a scorer in the  
league, but his teammates also realized if they ever wanted to earn shots  
alongside Iverson, they'd have to prove they were capable. When they  
worked on their moves over the summer, they weren't trying to meet the  
typical NBA standard. They were trying to rise to the standard set by  
Iverson, which is the highest bar in the league.
"We have a lot of guys who are hungry, who feel they have lots to prove  
and want to prove that they belong,'' says Kyle Korver, whose 14.6 ppg  
ranks second on the Sixers' behind Iguodala's overall 18.3. "We've heard  
for a long time that we weren't very good, that there weren't any pieces  
to build on here, and for a long time you didn't really feel like you had  
a say in the matter because you really couldn't show what you could do.  
And now we're getting that chance.''
Iverson had huge blind spots. As a leader he was more Fascist than  
Democratic, he showed up for too many practices with no intention of  
trying his best, and though he averaged 7.6 assists over the concluding  
two-plus seasons in Philadelphia, they were delivered mainly as an  
afterthought once he had exhausted his own scoring options.
But he also won an MVP, led the team to an NBA Finals and was All-NBA for  
six of seven years while establishing a standard for toughness and playing  
hurt that will enhance Iguodala's career for years to come. "I've had  
nights where I've been very sore or had pain somewhere, it happens a  
lot,'' says Iguodala. "He's a lot more frail than me, he's smaller than me  
-- and he's playing with broken fingers. I think that's contributed to me  
mentally competing in every game and not missing a game.
"I've been blessed not being hurt. But with small injuries that you could  
miss a game with, you mentally have to prepare yourself to say, 'I'm fine,  
nothing is bothering me.' And when you have a teammate like that, it can  
help prepare you to play hard.''
The 76ers hastened their turnaround by replacing Iverson with Miller, and  
their approaches couldn't be more different: The play used to funnel into  
Iverson; now it radiates out from Miller. Samuel Dalembert is becoming a  
more confident defender because he's receiving touches at the offensive  
end. More than a three-point specialist, Korver will occasionally sneak  
backdoor for a layup now that he has a point guard who loves completing  
those passes.
Once he'd recovered from the shock of being traded out of the playoffs and  
into the lottery, Miller's big concern was that the 76ers would try to  
leverage as many chips as possible into the Greg Oden sweepstakes. "I  
wasn't coming over here and sitting on the bench and tanking the season,''  
he says.
Did he make this point to team president Billy King?
"I didn't say anything.''
When I asked if he'd rather be employed by a playoff team, Miller said:  
"The answer's obvious. At the same time you've got to be professional. I'm  
just going to come out and work hard. That's their job to take care of  
who's on the team and who's not.''
Was he planning to talk to King about the future of the team?
"I'm not going to say anything.''
Ladies and gentlemen, Andre Miller is the anti-Allen Iverson. The defense  
rests.
The 76ers' future looks more promising than it did a few months ago.  
Iguodala is a versatile leader who reminds King of Scottie Pippen when the  
Bulls won 55 games during Michael Jordan's initial "retirement.'' "Scottie  
scored, rebounded or passed the ball, and that's one thing Andre has the  
ability to do,'' says King. "Andre's a player who will do whatever it  
takes for us to win.''
Even King's stock has risen in the last three months. It wasn't so long  
ago he was being compared to embattled Detroit Lions general manager Matt  
Millen. Now he looks like he knew what he was doing when he assembled  
these youngsters around Iverson.
They have one of the league's best point guards in Miller, a 23-year-old  
star in Iguodala, and intriguing contributors in Korver, Dalembert and his  
fellow slim Twin Tower Steven Hunter. Plus they could have as many as  
three first-round picks, including their own which, as of Wednesday  
afternoon, was tied at No. 5 in the lottery alongside Seattle. If the  
76ers remain in the top five or six they'll have a shot at getting Oden or  
Kevin Durant in the draft; otherwise they could package their picks to  
either zero in on another draftee with All-Star potential, or else try  
trading the picks for an established scorer.
These days the Wachovia Center is either half-empty or half-full,  
depending on your point of view. The stands are occupied like a radar map,  
where the red seats are the dry dusty plains of the Midwest, and the  
scattered dots of colored shirts are the negligible showers passing  
through. It's for good reason that their fans have given up on the season.  
But at least there's something to look forward to.
Doesn't that say something good about Iverson's legacy? He helped create  
the next generation of 76ers like a Marine gunnery sergeant at boot camp.  
They may not have appreciated every minute of the experience, but playing  
with Iverson made them tougher, more versatile and less naïve about the  
work that lays ahead.
-- 
L'Edicola di giopep
http://giopep.blogspot.com/