Tuesday, March 3, 2009

What's Wrong With Allen Iverson?

I've been pretty savage in my treatment of Allen Iverson here, though I must also confess that he has long been one of my favorite players to watch. Like Pistol Pete, he is a uniquely skilled player whose game's transcendent qualities have never translated into winning basketball. Both Iverson and Marovich could get a shot off in almost any situation, regardless of what the defense does to stop it. This leads to high volume - but too often low efficiency - scoring. Such scoring is rewarded both financially and culturally. Money and accolades are heaped at players who have such an uncanny knack for putting the ball in the bucket. But it also leads to far too many empty possessions, too many missed shots, too many turnovers.

Anyway, Iverson has, for a variety of reasons, been considerably less effective this year than in seasons past. He's never posted a high Win score, but in another advanced statistical measure of player performance, PER, he's always been pretty good. In fact, last year's PER of 21.06 justified his annual All Star selection.

This year, however, with a new team, in a new system, (at 33 years old, I should add) his performance is down across the board. For years people have called on him to decrease his volume scoring to increase his scoring efficiency. Yet with the Pistons both are down, and down significantly. He's taking far fewer shots, yet making them at an even poorer rate than in the past. His usage is down, but his turnovers are up. Taking fewer shots, making a lower percentage of them, handling the ball less but turning it over at a higher rate, it is no wonder his PER has fallen almost 5 points.

And now ESPN.com is reporting he's seeing a specialist about his back.

This may be bad news for Iverson fans. His game has always been predicated on his ridiculous athleticism. He's very short for a basketball player, and not a great shooter. Height and shooting ability are the best predictors of longevity in basketball players, as they don't go away with age. Speed and quickness, however, do. At 33, with a bad back, with a game built around his speed, quickness, ball handling and exceptional creativity, I have to wonder how much Allen Iverson has left.

I'm rooting for him, though. And I should note that John Hollinger doesn't blame Iverson alone for his struggles or the Pistons' struggles. While it is clear that the Pistons play poorly with Iverson in the lineup, play much better without him, and that Iverson himself is having far and away the worst season of his career by any measure, it is also clear that the Pistons have been misusing him. This, coupled with their inability to recognize their most effective players and lineups, is a real problem.

Hollinger writes:

I should hasten to point out, however, that this says as much about the Pistons as it does about Iverson. He's a terrible fit as long as they want to grind out wins in the halfcourt and essentially play exactly the same way as they did with Chauncey Billups at the point, and Tuesday's meeting in Denver should only underscore that point. The Nuggets adjusted their playing style completely when Billups arrived; the Pistons didn't change at all.


As someone who - while critical of his game - has always enjoyed watching Allen Iverson play, I hope that he comes back quickly. And I also hope that when he does his team - understanding his strengths and limitations as a player - puts him in a position to both succeed and help his team.

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