Good night from Charlotte

Bobcats 89, 76ers 83

The Sixers were lead by a double-double by Samuel Dalmebert (12 points, 15 boards) and a game-high 19 points from Willie Green. Six Bobcats scored in double figures, including rookie Adam Morrison, who kept the hair out of his eyes long enough to pour in 17 points.

Hanging around

At the end of 3, the 76ers trail the Bobcats, 67-62. Willie Green has helped the Sixers push up that field-goal percentage with his team-leading 19 points.

Head's up

Here's a friendly reminder: the 76ers are playing in Charlotte right now and are losing to the Bobcats, 42-34 at the half. I'm sure most people are flipping back and forth between the Sixers and the Eagles, but just in case some of you aren't, the Sixers are in pretty good position considering they shot just 32 percent from the field during the first half.

Powder, man… we’re talkin’ ‘bout packed powder

Vacation time. It’s use-the-days-or-lose-them time. It’s also recover from a 16-hour day that was Tuesday when Allen Iverson was finally traded away from the 76ers. Needless to say, there is a bunch of server space that has been impeded upon in the name of delving into the intricacies of the trade.

I’d say trees were killed, too, but we all know that newspapers, in their hardcopy form, are irrelevant.

Apparently, Iverson said he never asked to be traded, which is a unique spin after being inactive for the 76ers for six games. Unless Iverson lives in a cocoon or cave he surely heard the stories saying that he did, indeed, ask for a trade. It’s a wonder he didn’t say anything sooner.

Meanwhile, as a regular traveler to Colorado and parts of the Denver metro area, I’m going to make an easy prediction in saying that Allen Iverson will take over the sporting landscape of that area unlike any other athlete, excluding John Elway, Dan Issel and Frank Shorter. Iverson immediately makes the Nuggets viable in Colorado, which is something. Afterall, the big events out there are Broncos games, track or cycling Olympic Trials when half of Boulder empties out, and the annual Colorado vs. Colorado St. game.

The hard part, as everyone has been writing, will be to get shots for Iverson and leading-scorer Carmelo Anthony. Who knows, perhaps the new dynamic duo will just start playing one-on-one against each other in the middle of games.

Another concern is getting Iverson to practice in the medium altitude in Denver. Then again, he likely won’t have the same distractions in Colorado that he had in Philadelphia. Atlantic City won’t be 45-minutes away, though there are the low-stakes gambling halls in Central City and Blackhawk.

Better yet, forget about Friday’s and Dave & Busters. Just try to keep Iverson off the slopes in Aspen, Vail, Crested Butte or Telluride.

Powder, man… we’re talkin’ ‘bout packed powder.

Of course he can always go up to Boulder and play hacky sack on the Pearl Street Mall, too. Who cares that the team is now being re-nicknamed from Nugs to Thugs… personally, I prefer Carmelo and the Super Sucker (punchers), but that’s me.

So with Iverson gone what are the 76ers going to do to remain in the news? How about an encore for Larry Brown? That’s definitely a unique one. Has Brown ever returned to any of the 274 teams he’s been with during his career? I don’t think so.

Other stuff
Apparently there is a big football game on Monday night. What intrigues me the most about the game – other than the fact that it could determine whether the Lancaster Crackers are the PSFL champion or merely the runner-up – is what if it were to be played in Philadelphia like the NFL originally wanted?

Elsewhere, I enjoyed reading Todd Zolecki’s Q&A with patron saint Bill James. I suppose it’s fair to label Todd as a “sabergeek.”

Goofin’ off
So what does a vacation mean around here? Well, yesterday it meant a 20-mile run that beat me up a little bit. To recover I ate a half gallon of mint chocolate cookie frozen yogurt on top of a chili sauce and tofu with rice dish my wife makes.

Tonight I plan on a modest recovery run since I struggled to run 6:45 pace during the 20-miler, followed by a trip to the haircuttery with our 2-year-old boy and dinner at one of the Japanese restaurants here in town.

Yeah, it’s pretty wild around here.

Later in the week some traveling, movie-viewing and other domesticated tomfoolery is on the agenda. Plus, since a lot of my friends work at home or in offices nearby, I might stop in and bother them.

See, told you it’s going to be wild.

Wrong Answer?

Years from now we will be still debating Allen Iverson’s legacy with the 76ers and as a Philadelphia professional athlete. Certainly, it’s hard to rate Iverson on par with Wilt, Julius, Barkley or Moses Malone. Aside from reaching the top of the NBA as members of the Sixers, there is just something about those guys that illicit wistful reminiscences from people who think on those things.

That’s not to say Iverson didn’t accomplish a lot during his time with the 76ers. After all, his 2001 season is up there with one the all-timers and there was a stretch where watching Iverson was just as exciting as it was during the era that featured Doc, Bird, Magic and Jordan.

By now, of course, most folks who follow these types of things have heard the news regarding Allen Iverson's desire to be traded from Philadelphia, and his boss's desire to accommodate his request. Nevertheless, unlike everything else that occurred during Iverson's past decade with the 76ers, the upcoming ending to his time is not at all unpredictable. Everyone saw it heading this way years, and years ago.

Then again, if it didn't end badly it would never end.

Iverson was a rarity in the post-Jordan NBA in that he was a player that was actually worth the steep price of admission. Throw in the fact that he is built more like a middle-distance runner than an NBA MVP and it made Iverson even more intriguing.

But intriguing is pretty much all Iverson was during his soon-to-be completed career as a 76er. He was never the self-proclaimed “Answer” despite carrying the team on his narrow shoulders to five games of the NBA Finals in that magical 2001 season. Oh sure, Iverson made his teams competitive, interesting and a threat, but he never made them better.

He never made them a contender.

With the 76ers, Iverson was a lot like a middle-distance runner on a track team or a collegiate wrestler. In those competitions the focus is on the individual result with the team a secondary thought. With Iverson the only way to discuss his game was to talk about the numbers.

For instance, Iverson was a lazy team defensive player but always seemed to poach enough steals to make the league-leader lists and even crack the All-Defensive charts a few times. Meanwhile, Iverson averaged 28.1 points per game during his career on nearly 24 shots per game. Compare that to Doc (24.2 points/18.8 shots), Bird (24.3/19.3), Jordan (30/23), or Barkley (22.1/14.5) and it’s clear that Iverson is the perfect NBA player for the video game age.

For a historical context, perhaps the best comparisons are notorious gunners Bernard King, Alex English, Dominique Wilkins or George Gervin… without the finger roll.

Or the ring.

That last part is hardly Iverson’s fault. Actually, Iverson was always adamant about winning being his top priority. It’s just that winning is more than playing hard in the regular-season games scattered on those nights between November and April. Winning is an everyday thing. It’s a summertime time. A weight room thing. A get-to-bed-early-so-you-can-recover-for-the-next-one thing.

Winning also takes a commitment from the front office, too, and oftentimes it appeared as if the Sixers weren’t putting team together with the correct pieces. Whether that’s a by-product of having Iverson on the team or the state of the modern NBA is for smarter people to figure out, the point is that if Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Julius Erving or Magic Johnson needed the right teammates, Allen Iverson certainly needed them, too.

Let’s not pile on the criticisms of Iverson and the 76ers because that’s not totally fair. Surely Iverson was an inspired player and tons of fun to watch. Like it was stated previously here, those traits are hard to find in the current NBA. But it’s hard to wonder if there was something more with Iverson. Did he get the most out of his ability and talents or was some of it wasted? Make no mistake about it; Iverson gave us everything in games and in interviews when he chose to do them. But it’s hard not to wonder if there was some more left.

Could there have been more for the Sixers and Iverson during the past decade or are we just being greedy?

You know, greedy like Iverson dribbling the ball with the shot clock winding down.