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AI is Talking Bout Broke

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Moderator1, Feb 14, 2012.

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  1. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Third that. The guy can be a major asshole. He walked around with an attitude.

    But the one thing no one can ever take away from Iverson is that he showed up to play for every game and threw his body around with reckless abandon. He was 5' 11", 165 lbs. generously, and he never took plays off, and took the ball right into the lane with the big guys without any second thought. I disliked him as a person -- I saw him personally do several things off the court that scared the hell out of me. But on the court? Jeez. He gave everything he had, every night, and at that size, it takes guts to bring the ball to the basket game after game, year after year, the way he did.

    I'd say he definitely qualified as a player with "heart."

    The practice thing is what it was. And he was apparently a moron with his money. And he was certainly a thug at times.

    But among players, the term for guys who collect a paycheck and dog it is, "stealin." And no one would have ever accused Iverson of stealin.
     
    The Big Ragu, Feb 15, 2012
    #61
  2. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Short of death and really long prison sentences, I can't think of a sadder story than burning through $154 million.
     
    playthrough, Feb 15, 2012
    #62
  3. king cranium maximus IV

    king cranium maximus IV Active Member

    This is the NBA. Not college, not YMCA ball. Nothing new is going to click out of doing a bunch of team drills at this juncture.

    Again: The Sixers' best chance to win was Iverson hitting the deck on layups during games. Not running rebounding drills with his scrub teammates in practice.

    How was Iverson going to make players who'd never get better any better?
     
    king cranium maximus IV, Feb 15, 2012
    #63
  4. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Then, for god's sake, don't practice. Just roll out the ball on opening night.
     
    jr/shotglass, Feb 15, 2012
    #64
  5. king cranium maximus IV

    king cranium maximus IV Active Member

    See below, then:

     
    king cranium maximus IV, Feb 15, 2012
    #65
  6. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    I had read it, king.
     
    jr/shotglass, Feb 15, 2012
    #66
  7. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    I wouldn't say roll it out on opening night; they do need training camp to put together the offense and work in new players. But yeah, once the season starts, practice really isn't much. Mostly it's just a way to make sure players work off last night's drunk.
     
    LongTimeListener, Feb 15, 2012
    #67
  8. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    OK, and if they deem that a 10 a.m. shootaround is appropriate to shake loose the cobwebs from a night off ... well, I'd say they're well within that right upon paying even a minimum NBA salary.
     
    jr/shotglass, Feb 15, 2012
    #68
  9. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    That's probably true. However, harassing the only good player on the team hasn't always been a good career path for coaches nor a reliable way to build a franchise.
     
    LongTimeListener, Feb 15, 2012
    #69
  10. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Y'all are just not going to swing me over to the point where AI was justified in questioning practice. And I assure you, he didn't use the intellectual thought many of you have obviously put into it.
     
    jr/shotglass, Feb 15, 2012
    #70
  11. king cranium maximus IV

    king cranium maximus IV Active Member

    The Sixers knew exactly who AI was when they drafted him. They knew exactly who he was when he played for them. They hitched their wagon to him, made it to a Finals they wouldn't have remotely neared without him, and made many millions more off him than he off them.

    But here we are. Talkin' 'bout practice, man. Still.

    1) Says you.
    2) And even if he didn't, here's his thought pattern: I bust my ass in games. I'm a little sore. Larry Brown is bitching me out because I'm not exactly in the mood to do rebounding drills with Vonteego Cummings. This annoys me, because I bust my ass in games. Makes sense to me.
     
    king cranium maximus IV, Feb 15, 2012
    #71
  12. king cranium maximus IV

    king cranium maximus IV Active Member

    (I'll note here again that I think AI was a dope for not settling the matter behind closed doors. Didn't do the franchise or himself any favors.)
     
    king cranium maximus IV, Feb 15, 2012
    #72
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