| A.I. Drops 60. Sixers Officially A Quality All-Around Team Authored by Jim Serratore - February 13, 2005 - 9:43 pm
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By the way, Saturday night at the Wachovia Center officially marked the end of football season for Philly fans, many of whom are still coping with the Eagles Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. Thanks to Iverson, hoops season in Philly is now finally on the radar screen. With the Sixers hitting their stride, the timing couldn’t be better.
Some would say that the Sixers can only win when Iverson plays out of his mind, as he did against Orlando. In past years this was true, but those days are over. The Sixers have become a team that never gives their opponents a break and as a result they put themselves in a position to win every game regardless of Iverson’s heroics.
Defensively, they are talented and gritty. They hustle, dive for loose balls, cover each other’s back, and make the other team earn every point the old fashioned way.
Offensively, they’re a turbo charged high wire act. Iverson has the ball in his hands on every possession, which constantly puts pressure on the opposing defense from baseline to baseline. His ability to score and dish make him one of the few truly unstoppable forces in the league.
In past seasons, when Iverson played shooting guard, his defender could relax from time to time when Iverson didn’t have the ball in his hands. This season, however, Iverson has the ball in his hands so much that his defender never really gets a chance to catch his breath.
The general attitude of the Sixers is a mirror of Iverson. Forever a player who plays every game like it’s his last, Iverson’s attitude has no choice but to rub off on his teammates. Now that he is one of the elder statesmen on the team he has perhaps an even greater influence on his teammates because he gets so much respect around the league for his warrior mentality.
The main difference between the contenders and the pretenders in the NBA is a little thing called desire. Some guys have it, some guys don’t. Of those who have it, only a select handful have amazing talent, too. Iverson is one of those guys. When push comes to shove in the NBA playoffs, the teams with guys like Iverson usually find a way to come out on top.
A few more words about Iverson’s performance against Orlando. First of all, is it a coincidence that the top two scoring performances of Iverson’s career came against Steve Francis? I think not. Iverson and Francis have been linked together for years because of the similarities of their playing style. If there was ever a debate about who is better, Iverson just put an end to that discussion for now. Secondly, you can’t help but feel sorry for Philly product Jameer Nelson who was stuck trying to keep Iverson in check most of the night. Nelson will forever be a local hero around Philly for his legendary college career at St. Joe’s, but in only his second homecoming as a pro he was subjected to watching Iverson have a career night at his expense. You have to give Nelson credit though. He never gave up and turned in a pretty impressive overall performance while playing in Iverson’s shadow.
The facts about Iverson’s 60 point explosion are as follows. He shot just a hair under fifty percent from the field, going 17 for 36. He took an amazing 27 foul shots, draining 24 of them. He also managed to hand out six assists and collect five steals. Overall it was a night to remember from a player who has had more than a few nights to remember.
You knew it was a special night when people started calling friends and family members to say “Are you watching this? Can you believe this guy?”
With so many memorable performances under his belt already, you still get the feeling that on any given night he can leave you shaking your head in pleasant disbelief, even when it seems like he can’t possibly do more than he’s already done.
At 29 years old Iverson is still in the prime of his career. His knowledge of the game is at an all-time high plus his physical skills have not yet begun to deteriorate. Ask Iverson what his goal is for this year and he’ll likely tell you that it’s no different than any other year. He expects to win a championship, and one of these days you get the feeling he’s finally going to do it.
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