sa_butta
01-27-2006, 11:38 AM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/13723842.htm
The 76ers' 2005-06 defensive era is officially over. It lasted two full games and half of another, expiring on Tuesday night against Sacramento when the Kings scored 60 points after halftime.
The end of the era was confirmed last night against an Orlando Magic team that had won exactly one of its last eight road games and only one game all season in which the opponent scored 100 points.
Trends, streaks and logic don't matter when the Sixers are on the court, though. Both teams scored 103 in regulation before a series of boneheaded defensive lapses cost the Sixers yet another game.
"It's been like that all year," Allen Iverson said. "We always have one of those quarters when we don't play well."
Now that the shimmering mirage of their three-game winning streak has been dispelled, the Sixers face the final 40 games with an even record and an odd couple.
The recent wins put a soft cover on what threatens to become a full-scale locker-room situation. Chris Webber got loud after last week's terrible loss in Washington, Maurice Cheeks got loud right back, and Iverson said he was unsure of his role.
Webber wants more touches. On this team, Iverson is the one who touches the ball. Hence the problem.
And Mo's Magical Mystery Tour rolls on. If he were a different kind of coach, Cheeks could say what Jerry Sloan of Utah said to Karl Malone when the superstar forward complained about touches once.
"The ball's right up there," Sloan said, pointing at the rim. "You can go touch it as often as you want."
Cheeks is not that kind of coach, however, and the ultra-sensitive Webber is not that kind of player. But it is becoming clear that when losses follow losses, as they inevitably will this season, the locker room, the front office and the city will be forced to choose between Iverson and Webber.
Once these things start, they don't stop. Following last night's game, Webber once again whined that he isn't being correctly used. It won't be the last time.
"That's a locker room. You have to be honest with your family," Webber said after the Washington incident, which is unintentionally humorous coming from a guy who was indicted for not being honest with a federal grand jury.
Nevertheless, Webber gimps around, making enough baskets and giving up enough to keep both teams in the game. Iverson doesn't play much defense, either, aside from the odd gamble for a steal, but he has bigger problems now, problems that stretch beyond games and seasons.
Allen sees that Kobe Bryant will dominate this era, feels the sense of overshadowing that others have known before. He is Wilt beneath the championship weight of Russell. He is Charles, in the Age of Magic, Bird and Michael. He is Dominique. He is Reggie Miller. He is... well, Chris Webber. He is destined to join a long list of great scorers whose only lasting company is their mathematics.
Baby, you're a rich man, but you want the things that money can't buy. Only luck and being at the right place at the right time. This, Iverson might have nearly decided, is neither.
The Sixers know they have ridden the horse hard. He will turn 31 in five months and has been essentially injury-free this season. How long can that last? When will his value ever be higher?
As they look ahead, how far ahead is the team that can win a championship? Certainly beyond the two additional seasons of staring at The Picture of Dorian Webber.
Playing within a dysfunctional roster is nothing new for Iverson. His have been armies of the mercenary; recruited, trained, deployed and, ultimately, relocated. Which 76ers player has the second-longest tenure to Iverson's? Samuel Dalembert, now in his fourth season.
Iverson has been on the floor with 93 different teammates in his time here, a list that stretches across the wide NBA universe from Adrian Caldwell to Zendon Hamilton. He never knew the glory of Sixers teams that included Wali Jones, Caldwell Jones or Bobby Jones, but he did dress alongside Jumaine Jones and Alvin Jones.
He has tried to make this thing work with Scott Williams and Monty Williams, with Terry Cummings and Vonteego Cummings, with Derrick McKey and Aaron McKie, with Big Dog Robinson and Pig Miller. Not to mention Frankie King, Jabari Smith, Art Long, Michael Ruffin and Ira Bowman.
Iverson has always had to be his own mentor, the oldest brother even when he was not, chronologically. Now the nuclear family has changed, with the addition of the equally needy Webber, and there are growing tremors on the Richter scale of team unity.
The choosing will come soon, perhaps as soon as the Feb. 23 trade deadline. Webber and his leaden contract will be hard to lift and move, so what does that leave?
Team president Billy King said he expects something to happen at the deadline, but he isn't sure yet if the transaction will warrant a small headline or a big one.
Regardless, the choosing will take place. The parting of the ways, however, has already begun.
The 76ers' 2005-06 defensive era is officially over. It lasted two full games and half of another, expiring on Tuesday night against Sacramento when the Kings scored 60 points after halftime.
The end of the era was confirmed last night against an Orlando Magic team that had won exactly one of its last eight road games and only one game all season in which the opponent scored 100 points.
Trends, streaks and logic don't matter when the Sixers are on the court, though. Both teams scored 103 in regulation before a series of boneheaded defensive lapses cost the Sixers yet another game.
"It's been like that all year," Allen Iverson said. "We always have one of those quarters when we don't play well."
Now that the shimmering mirage of their three-game winning streak has been dispelled, the Sixers face the final 40 games with an even record and an odd couple.
The recent wins put a soft cover on what threatens to become a full-scale locker-room situation. Chris Webber got loud after last week's terrible loss in Washington, Maurice Cheeks got loud right back, and Iverson said he was unsure of his role.
Webber wants more touches. On this team, Iverson is the one who touches the ball. Hence the problem.
And Mo's Magical Mystery Tour rolls on. If he were a different kind of coach, Cheeks could say what Jerry Sloan of Utah said to Karl Malone when the superstar forward complained about touches once.
"The ball's right up there," Sloan said, pointing at the rim. "You can go touch it as often as you want."
Cheeks is not that kind of coach, however, and the ultra-sensitive Webber is not that kind of player. But it is becoming clear that when losses follow losses, as they inevitably will this season, the locker room, the front office and the city will be forced to choose between Iverson and Webber.
Once these things start, they don't stop. Following last night's game, Webber once again whined that he isn't being correctly used. It won't be the last time.
"That's a locker room. You have to be honest with your family," Webber said after the Washington incident, which is unintentionally humorous coming from a guy who was indicted for not being honest with a federal grand jury.
Nevertheless, Webber gimps around, making enough baskets and giving up enough to keep both teams in the game. Iverson doesn't play much defense, either, aside from the odd gamble for a steal, but he has bigger problems now, problems that stretch beyond games and seasons.
Allen sees that Kobe Bryant will dominate this era, feels the sense of overshadowing that others have known before. He is Wilt beneath the championship weight of Russell. He is Charles, in the Age of Magic, Bird and Michael. He is Dominique. He is Reggie Miller. He is... well, Chris Webber. He is destined to join a long list of great scorers whose only lasting company is their mathematics.
Baby, you're a rich man, but you want the things that money can't buy. Only luck and being at the right place at the right time. This, Iverson might have nearly decided, is neither.
The Sixers know they have ridden the horse hard. He will turn 31 in five months and has been essentially injury-free this season. How long can that last? When will his value ever be higher?
As they look ahead, how far ahead is the team that can win a championship? Certainly beyond the two additional seasons of staring at The Picture of Dorian Webber.
Playing within a dysfunctional roster is nothing new for Iverson. His have been armies of the mercenary; recruited, trained, deployed and, ultimately, relocated. Which 76ers player has the second-longest tenure to Iverson's? Samuel Dalembert, now in his fourth season.
Iverson has been on the floor with 93 different teammates in his time here, a list that stretches across the wide NBA universe from Adrian Caldwell to Zendon Hamilton. He never knew the glory of Sixers teams that included Wali Jones, Caldwell Jones or Bobby Jones, but he did dress alongside Jumaine Jones and Alvin Jones.
He has tried to make this thing work with Scott Williams and Monty Williams, with Terry Cummings and Vonteego Cummings, with Derrick McKey and Aaron McKie, with Big Dog Robinson and Pig Miller. Not to mention Frankie King, Jabari Smith, Art Long, Michael Ruffin and Ira Bowman.
Iverson has always had to be his own mentor, the oldest brother even when he was not, chronologically. Now the nuclear family has changed, with the addition of the equally needy Webber, and there are growing tremors on the Richter scale of team unity.
The choosing will come soon, perhaps as soon as the Feb. 23 trade deadline. Webber and his leaden contract will be hard to lift and move, so what does that leave?
Team president Billy King said he expects something to happen at the deadline, but he isn't sure yet if the transaction will warrant a small headline or a big one.
Regardless, the choosing will take place. The parting of the ways, however, has already begun.