After establishing himself as a potential Hall of Fame guard, with offensive skills never before seen in the league and establishing himself as a perennial winner who's only flaw was that he was surrounded by insufficient backup, the last year has done a lot to tarnish that reputation. After being traded to Detroit he was an outright disaster, unable to find his place in the offense or in the locker room. Meanwhile the guard he was traded for, Chauncey Billups, lead his team to the Conference Finals.
As a free agent this summer, Iverson needs to go somewhere quietly and rebuild his image, much the same way that his old coach Larry Brown has in Charlotte. But it might be another small market team Iverson ends up with. One that now features an... eclectic makeup of personalities.
The struggles of Allen Iverson have been noted. He has been unable to find a groove with the Pistons, finally ending his 2009 season with back problems. His scoring average of 17.4 with the Pistons is the lowest of his career. The trade for Iverson sent Chauncey Billups to Denver, and Billups has been fantastic for the team.
All that still doesn't seem like it should warrant this graphic ABC Sports showed during Game 4 of the Cavaliers-Pistons series (large image after the jump). The Cavs swept the Pistons, and the folks in the ABC truck decided to do a playoff comparison of Iverson and Billups, even though A.I. hasn't played a single game this postseason.
Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down."
The Cavaliers took no time in putting their foot to the throat of the Detroit Pistons, closing them out in the third quarter with 16-6 run. The Pistons, a powerhouse over the last seven years, will not reach the conference finals for the first time in seven years. The cause of their downfall? The only man with less fear of the Palace than Ron Artest.
LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to again create the majority of the punch for the Cavs, who will now have up to a week of off time before facing the winner of the Atlanta-Miami showdown.
With the way the Cavaliers are playing, those teams might want to put off facing the Cavs as long as possible.
Last Monday, Pistons beat reporter Chris McCosky of the Detroit News wrote on his newspaper blog that Allen Iverson had been banned from two Detroit casinos for "boorish behavior," which included throwing his chips at dealers when losing. Two days later, on April 15, the Detroit Free Press refuted McCosky's story, citing casino spokesmen who denied that Iverson had ever created a disturbance, let alone been banned.
As I mentioned last week, barring some sort of organized cover-up by both casinos, it seems clear McCosky fell for a bad tip. Except, here's the odd part: instead of posting a retraction, McCosky actually went on the offensive with another post on April 15, glossing over the fact that the thrust of his original report (that Iverson was banned) was wrong while adding that Iverson was seen "spitting at a dealer" and "even accused of cheating more than once." Under Michigan gaming laws, cheating at a casino is a felony offense.
CLEVELAND -- They posted the result on the end scoreboards at Quicken Loans Arena, and gradually, the crowd noticed and erupted. "CHI 105 BOS 103," the news flashed, followed by "ROSE 36." I'm not sure what more this ohhhhhhh-noooooooo, disbelieving city requires in regard to positive reinforcement, but when the Celtics lost at home to Derrick Rose and the Bulls, it should have reminded every doubting soul in northeast Ohio that the Cavaliers have an express lane to the NBA Finals.
And if that wasn't enough, what about You Know Who, launching a prayer just past the midcourt stripe and watching it bank in as the halftime buzzer sounded? What more do you possibly need, Cleveland? Isn't it time to forget those deep, ugly wounds and start buying into this "ONE GOAL" stuff printed on every T-shirt?
On Monday night, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported on his blog that Allen Iverson had been banned from two of Detroit's three downtown casinos after repeated warnings for "boorish behavior" such as "throwing his chips or cards at the dealer" when he loses.
The only problem? As reported in today's Detroit Free Press, spokesmen for both MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown Casino denied that Iverson was ever banned, or that there's any record that he ever created a disturbance in the first place.
But what's an "injured" professional basketball player to do with all that free time? Gamble, duh. Iverson hit the casinos in Detroit hard; a little too hard, actually, because he's been banned by both the MGM and Greektown casinos. And, amazingly, it doesn't relate to the fight his bodyguard was allegedly involved in recently.
It's been a season of surprises for the Pistons -- and most of them haven't been pleasant. The decision to trade Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson blew up in everyone's face, and a team once marked by consistency was thrown into a constant state of flux as players both struggled to stay healthy and adjust to unfamiliar roles.
Things have finally calmed down over the last few weeks, in part because Will Bynum, a forgotten role player for much of the season, burst onto the scene to provide scoring off the bench and a steady presence in the fourth quarter -- ironically, the role the Iverson was too proud to embrace before shutting it down for the year.
NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.
It took the subtraction of Allen Iverson to mend the Pistons, and while there is a chance his removal came a bit too late, Detroit needs to win just one more game to seal a playoff berth. The Pistons are now tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, a lucky spot that means avoiding a first-round clash with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.
NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.
It took the subtraction of Allen Iverson to mend the Pistons, and while there is a chance his removal came a bit too late, Detroit needs to win just one more game to seal a playoff berth. The Pistons are now tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, a lucky spot that means avoiding a first-round clash with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.
Allen Iverson needs to lay low for a while. 
The struggles of 
Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down." 
Last Monday, Pistons beat reporter Chris McCosky of the Detroit News wrote on his newspaper blog that 
NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.
