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Allen Iverson: The difference maker

Updated [7:48]: I originally excluded 9 games that AI missed with injury in 06-07. Mistake has been corrected.

I know a lot of Sixers fans believe Allen Iverson is the savior. They have a false hope that a 34-year old Iverson will come in, fix the defense, fix the rebounding, and fix the coach. I've seen arguments for Iverson, and I've seen arguments against Iverson, but this should give you a definitive answer on whether he'll fix the Sixers.

I could sit here and write why Iverson won't fix the team until I'm blue in the face. Instead I'll give you one stat -- the only stat that matters -- wins and losses.

In the past four seasons, here is the record of the Sixers, Nuggets, Pistons and Grizzlies when Iverson plays.

107-109

Here is the record of those same teams without Iverson:

135-108

Correction: (The 06-07 Nuggets went 5-4 when Iverson was injured changing the "record without" from 130-104 to 135-108.)

If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will. Four different seasons, four different teams, four different coaches, four different systems. Iverson has been detrimental to them all.

0 recs  |  Comment 29 comments |

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Comments

Display:

Dude, just like realize man, and all you haterz, AI is gonna surprise everybody. We’re a championship contender now. None of your stats mean jack, AI is AI and we’re gonna win a championship, and sell out the Wachovia Center.

This is what I would say if the left side of my brain didn’t function.

by TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsMichaelBourn on Dec 6, 2009 2:49 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Well – the only available tickets for tomorrow nights game are SRO – so comcast has what it want.

by jemagee on Dec 6, 2009 3:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

it's great logic but

this is great logic, but fans of the iversons and marburys of the world never listen to this kind of thing. i know from experience as a knicks fan.

by DAN L on Dec 6, 2009 3:02 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

You know nothing about Allen Iverson if you lump him into the same category as Marbury

Iverson accomplished things in the league in the primer of his career, he has reason to want to achieve that level again.

Marbury was a douche from day one and never ever backed it up

by jemagee on Dec 6, 2009 3:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Wow – the cowgirls kicker sucks :)

by jemagee on Dec 6, 2009 3:48 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

You see that Romo pass, missing a wide-open Williams by a MILE…

by MojoPharoah on Dec 6, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

AI is a difference maker …. in ticket sales.

by Ryan Sanderfielder on Dec 6, 2009 4:13 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I like that thinking! ha

by guitarmouse35 on Dec 6, 2009 6:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

We can only hope ej is incompetent enough to get us enough balls in the lottery.. I think we have a chance.

by Sorry About Dresden on Dec 6, 2009 7:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That was the plan

Stephanski was planning that. He signed Eddie so we can get the best player in the next few drafts while still having a team that should be good enough to win(with a non-retarded coach). Mission accompished. All we need to do is play out 3 years then fire EJ.

by philsfreak6 on Dec 7, 2009 12:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Thanks for looking this up, really tells all

by fantasybc88 on Dec 6, 2009 7:21 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

AI can’t fix the rebounding and defense, but he can help overcome their scoring deficiencies.

The rebounding is still a problem, I don’t know how much is Eddie Jordan and how much is it the Sixers. Brand is a good rebounder and Dalembert is a good rebounder, it seems to me if they get the minutes they’ll do a good job. In any case another big man should come in when one of them goes out and that means Smith. Until Speights comes back those three have their opportunity to shine, or at least they should. It’s important for the Sixers to find out if Smith can really play or not, so we know who to draft next season. If we get rid of Dalembert and Smith washes out that means we need two new bigs to replace them.

I think Speights will help with the defense and rebounding when he comes back. He was improving greatly in both those areas jsut prior to his injury. It will be nice to see how he and Brand work together.

by RickoT on Dec 6, 2009 7:27 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

18th in offensive efficiency
27th in defensive efficiency

Iverson can hurt the offense as much as he can help it.
And we’re 100% he’s not helping the D.

by jsams on Dec 6, 2009 7:30 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

doesn't hold water.

First off, let me start by saying I live in Denver and am a long time Nuggets fan. I wish no ill will, and have a ton of respect for the Sixers organization. I am also a fan of AI, but not here to slurp him by any means. I just happened to come across this post, and don’t think the argument holds any water. When looking at all four of teams listed, you have to take into consideration that each one was in a different situation with AI. I don’t think you can count the Grizzlies at all in this argument because they suck. They suck now, they sucked then, they suck forevermore.

Next consider Denver, they were a decent team before the arrival of AI, but didn’t live up to expectations, so they moved him. They also gained Chauncey Billups in the move and let Marcus Camby go in the off season. Those two moves may have very well created a larger impact on the Nuggets improvement that the actual loss of AI. He performed well as a Nugget.

Detroit may have suffered m ore from losing Billups than gaining AI. Billups was their general on the floor, and an integral part of the team. They lost a bit of their identity in the move, but is that AI’s fault?

Now for the sixers. Way worse without AI…. period. Been a middle of the pack .500 team in a terrible Eastern conference. When you had AI, conference finals was an expectation.

Your team is 5-15, with like 7 losses coming by 3 points or less. Take him, at least he gives you a punchers chance to knock down some final shots and turn some close games into w’s!

by All Day Jay on Dec 7, 2009 1:30 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

See my comment below.

You don’t need to make excuses. The bottom line is, every team Iverson has played on since ’06 has been better without him.

by jsams on Dec 7, 2009 3:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Nonsense

Pretty stupid stat to use.

Compare Denver with and without AI.
Compare Memphis with and without AI.
Compare Detroit with and without AI.

Mixing that up suits your hating agenda,though. Denver is a much better team than the other 2 and the stats get skewed a great deal due to that. It’s either pretty ingenious use of stats to hate or you are just another dumb little bimbo.

by Laloo on Dec 7, 2009 8:29 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Now see – how I love how the signing of Iverson has brought more rational intelligent debate to the blog.

by jemagee on Dec 7, 2009 8:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

06-07 Sixers w/ Iverson: .33 win percentage.
06-07 Sixers w/o Iverson: .44 win percentage.

06-07 Nuggets w/ Iverson: .49 win percentage.
06-07 Nuggets w/o Iverson: .59 win percentage.

07-08 Nuggets: .58 win percentage (Iverson played every game)

08-09 Nuggets w/ Iverson: .33 win percentage.
08-09 Nuggets w/o Iverson: .66 win percentage.

08-09 Pistons w/ Iverson: .43 win percentage.
08-09 Pistons w/o Iverson: .48 win percentage.

09-10 Grizzlies w/ Iverson: .00 win percentage.
09-10 Grizzlies w/o Iverson: .47 win percentage.

Every team was better without him. Still don’t make sense?

by jsams on Dec 7, 2009 3:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Are those numbers when Iverson was on the respective teams and didnt play (due to injury or whatever), or when he was not on the respective teams at all?

by philiafan14364 on Dec 8, 2009 1:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Both, but only the year he played for them. So I didn’t include the Sixers after 06-07, etc.

by jsams on Dec 8, 2009 8:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think you missed my point, let me ask this a different way.

What would the percentages look like when…

Iverson was on x team and played
Iverson was on x team and didnt play (because he was hurt etc)
Iverson wasnt on x team at all (before or after he was traded by/to that team)

For example, what would the 06-07 Sixers winning percentage be
Before the trade when Iverson actually played
Before the trade when Iverson didnt play
After the trade

by philiafan14364 on Dec 9, 2009 2:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

For those who think it’s ‘hating’

Denver preferred Chauncey Billups
Detroit preferred sending him home than the ruckus he would cause cause he’s more about his minuts than the team winning, cause he thinks he knows better than the coach
Memphis preferred sending him home than any positives he brought to the team – if he brought any
The sixers signed hiim for ticket sales, not to win or lose, they don’t really care that much about winning or losing.

All this ‘hating’ commentary is boring and just what people incapable of defending their point are going to use. Iverson wasn’t even “the answer” for his last couple seasons in Philadlephia.

This is the equivalent of the phillies trading for Scott Rolen to play 3rd base

by jemagee on Dec 7, 2009 9:08 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Detroit fired that coach and they still suck. AI might have saved that situation and that coach’s job if that coach wasn’t so determined to loose the team. Memphis is also a joke of a club, and their collective idiocy isn’t AI’s fault either.

Denver is better with Billups than with AI, that’s all those stats prove. The ones that show he can still score are the point. He’s still a good NBA scorer, which is something the Sixers need. They need a lot more to be a good team, but with AI they at least have a chance to win some games.

This team wasn’t going to get a lottery pick, and not bringing in AI might have kept them out of the playoffs. It’s a good move for the team, and it’s no risk since they can always cut him if things don’t work out.

by RickoT on Dec 7, 2009 9:24 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Allen Iverson probably only would have made the team tighter, not looser, the pistons asked him to come off the bench and he refused.

Allen Iverson has refused to come off the bench in two different situations, Allen Iverson with no NBA coaching experience knows better than the entire pistons organization (cause dumars would have forced the issue if he thought it made a difference)

I don’t get how Allen Iverson can continue to be a selfish crybaby and people continue to love him.

This team wasn’t going to get a lottery pick, and not bringing in AI might have kept them out of the playoffs. It’s a good move for the team, and it’s no risk since they can always cut him if things don’t work out.

They currently have one of the 5 worst records in the NBA and a horrible coach. Not to mention that after January 6th his contract is guaranteed..I still want a hold of the hallucinogens you have that make you think this team isn’t a train wreck

by jemagee on Dec 7, 2009 9:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

so they would have been kept out of the playoffs and not gotten a lottery pick? i’m confused by that logic

by tsteidel on Dec 7, 2009 9:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

See, the key word in your post is logic, you expect some

by jemagee on Dec 7, 2009 9:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The logical inference is clearly that without AI they had a greater chance of being in the lottery.

Why that’s beyond you is the question you should be asking yourself.

by RickoT on Dec 8, 2009 12:07 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Wow, just dripping with irony aren’t you ricko?

by jemagee on Dec 9, 2009 7:48 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

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