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Gotdamn, the FIRST GAME?? C'mon AI at least wait 'til December before you turn into The Canswer.
I think they are more like a development team for the Lakers
Gotdamn, the FIRST GAME?? C'mon AI at least wait 'til December before you turn into The Canswer.
Manu is a sixth man. AI just needs to learn to man up and stfu.
scrub
It's one thing to be young and a dumb-ass, but to be an old dumb-ass, that's a completely different thing.
I was surprised any team showed interest in AI or this very reason.
Not only does he still have cornrows, but he cut them off last year to appear more mature and then grew them back after the end of the season.
A team with better chemistry would rat-pack him like the 's Angels every time he shot his mouth off like this.
ai, zbo and the mayo-rudy pair is just a bomb waiting to explode.
That didn't take long.
Didn't he agree to coming off the bench when they signed him?
I sence a back injury comming on. You can ask Detroit fans about that one.
Very symbolic of him BSing the public, while he was out of work. Then suddenly, putting on his selfish "coat of armor" once he's working again.Not only does he still have cornrows, but he cut them off last year to appear more mature and then grew them back after the end of the season.
That's original and never been done on spurstalk before!
Sorry brah, but the Gay Mayo arguments looks like it was a lot of false reporting.ai, zbo and the mayo-rudy pair is just a bomb waiting to explode.
Grizzlies, Iverson off to rocky start
By Marc J. Spears
Allen Iverson made his debut with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, and it went about as expected.
He spent much of the night on the sideline. And he wasn’t happy about it.
Nor, it seems, was his rear.
“I had a problem with my butt from sitting on the bench so long,” Iverson said. “That’s the only thing I had a problem with.”
Iverson made his first appearance in an NBA game since April 1, and not much had changed in the seven months in between. The Grizzlies brought him off the bench just like the Detroit Pistons tried to do, and Iverson didn’t like it. Not after watching the Grizzlies lose 127-116 in overtime to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Not after he played just 17 minutes – an effective 17 minutes in which he scored 11 points – and not after seeing his new team fall to 1-3 while he sat idly on the sideline.
Upon signing with the Grizzlies this summer, Iverson said he would have no problem coming off the bench – provided he was given a chance to compete for the starting job. That, however, was then. This is now. Iverson is a tremendous compe or and fiercely proud. Not even missing Memphis’ first three games – along with the entire preseason – with a hamstring injury seems to have tempered his distaste for bench work.
After the game, Iverson had no problem stating matter-of-factly and loudly – just so everyone in the locker room could hear, including starting guards Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo, who was seated next to him – that the Grizzlies would need to make a change if they continue to lose.
Specifically, they’d need to start him.
“I’m not a reserve basketball player,” Iverson said. “I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. That’s something for the media to talk about. It’s only a big issue when the media talks about it. The subject never came up in my career until everything happened in Detroit. No one talked about me being a sub or anything like that until last year.
“In all the other years of my career, it’s never come up. I’ve been a starter on All-Star teams, Olympic teams and NBA Finals teams. It’s just a big deal now. I think it is something people should let go. To answer your question, no, I’m not a bench player or the sixth man. Go look at my resume, it will show you that I’m not a sixth man.”
For all of Iverson’s accomplishments, however, the Grizzlies were the only team to show any significant interest in him when he became a free agent this summer. They ultimately signed him to a one-year, $3 million contract.
Iverson’s stock dropped, in part, because of his experience with the Pistons – an experiment gone bad. From his arrival into the NBA to the end of his tenure with the Denver Nuggets early last season, Iverson had started 827 of 832 regular-season games. Iverson says the Pistons’ rookie coach, Michael Curry, promised him when he joined the team that he would continue to start. After Curry eventually relegated him to the bench, Iverson openly complained about his reserve role and said he would rather retire. The Pistons, citing Iverson’s back problems, sent him home for the remainder of the season.
Iverson was hoping this season would provide a fresh start. He made his first appearance on Monday with 4:39 left in the first quarter, but took only one shot in the first half and missed. Kings fans heckled him by saying he should retire.
When Iverson returned in the second half, he looked much more like “The Answer” of old. He scored 11 points in the half, even making a key 3-pointer, and didn’t force the action. His cross-over mid-range jump shot looked as pretty as ever.
“I felt like me,” Iverson said. “I’ve been playing basketball for 26 years. It felt like riding a bike. That’s what I do. I’m a professional. I felt like me out there. I haven’t played in a long time, so obviously I had a lot of time to rest. So I wasn’t tired.”
But with the game tied at 94 with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins replaced Iverson with Conley. Iverson was visibly upset while heading to the bench and begrudgingly slapped hands with Hollins. With 1.4 seconds left in regulation and the game still tied, Hollins put Iverson back on the floor.
In the past, Iverson would have been almost certain to take the final shot. Instead, Zach Randolph threw away a bad pass to send the game into OT while Iverson stood alone in the corner, unguarded.
“I went to the bench and told my teammates that I didn’t think they knew I was in the game,” Iverson said. “They didn’t. They didn’t even think I was in the game and that was a bad thing. I was like, ‘Man, I was wide-open.’
“Obviously, [the Kings] didn’t think I was in the game because someone big ended up on me. I guess [the Grizzlies] got used to me sitting so long that I didn’t even get in the game.”
Iverson wanted to clarify that he wouldn’t complain if the Grizzlies were winning. But they didn’t, and they aren’t.
“If we’re winning, I can play 10 minutes and I’m happy,” he said. “When we’re losing, that’s when I trip out.”
Iverson never said whom he should replace in the lineup. And the way Mayo is playing (22.3 points per game), Iverson isn’t likely to get his job. Conley, however, is shooting 41.9 percent while averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 assists.
Hollins downplayed questions about Iverson’s role before the game and was no longer available to reporters when Iverson complained after the loss. Memphis assistant Johnny Davis, who coached Iverson in Philadelphia, said the possibility of a lineup change wasn’t discussed by the coaching staff after the game.
“I do believe Allen will do what he feels is in the best interest of the team,” Davis said. “And I don’t know that one game is a true indicator of anything relating to starting or not starting. But we love having him, I know that. He’s going to be good for our kids.”
The Grizzlies can’t say they’re surprised by Iverson’s complaint. He didn’t like coming off the bench for the veteran-heavy Pistons. Odds were he also wouldn’t like doing it for the young Grizzlies, especially as they struggle. Memphis owner Michael Heisley figured Iverson, at the least, would improve ticket sales. So he signed him, leaving Hollins to manage the hard-nosed guard.
For the Grizzlies, there is a simple choice: Start Iverson; or prepare for the circus to follow them from town to town. Yes, this was just one game, but Iverson has already seen enough.
“It’s not about me being selfish or anything like that,” he said. “It’s just the fact that this is who I am. I don’t want to change what gave me all the success when I came into this league.”
Although he did it in the wrong way, Iverson is right...he should be the starter or get starter's minutes.
I don't agree with his at ude or his whining, etc. But from a basketball view, there's no way Conley should get more minutes than AI.
The Grizz probably would have won if Iverson was in the game instead of Conley at the end.
Conley still makes too many mistakes and forces too many shots. Even at age 34, AI's a huge upgrade over Conley.
+1
That's really the only reason he signed there. It's his first game back and he expects 30+ minutes so he can risk another injury? I guess he's not 34 in his mind.
lol@spurfans who wanted this jerk on the team.
I thought it was because nobody else wanted him.
AI is really crazy.
Missed the whole preseason and the first 3 games and complained about being a reserve. WTF.
Show something first and then talk
Didn't know he was also the GM.
Perhaps AI should start looking at himself as unemployed.
C'mon dude. Let's get this straight. AI's main compe ion isn't Mike Conley - it's O.J. Mayo. AI IS NOT and point guard. He's a shooting guard. You put the ball in AI's hands and no one else gets shots. He'll pound the rock unmercifully, pile up a lot of points, and the Grizz will still lose games. Not to mention, it'll stunt the development of their young scorers.
Larry Brown found this out when he coached him in Philly. Why do you think he took AI off the ball and give the PG duties over to Eric Snow? AI had his best season, won and MVP and that team went to the Finals.
And as far as who gives the Grizz a better chance to win - obviously it's AI. However, does anyone think the Grizz coaching staff is going to bench Mayo for AI? Especially, after he already consented to come off the bench? no!
Personally, I don't feel a bit sorry for Iverson. He did this to himself. I hope he rots on the bench for the Grizz. If he doesn't like it, he should ask to be cut and wait for another sucker to come along and give him another chance.
When Iverson came in last night it was for Conley. If AI is trying to cut in Mayo's minutes, he's fighting a losing battle.
I actually watched the game last night, it was all on Conley. No way AI is taking away Mayo's minutes. Mayo right now is probably a better scorer than AI already.
I don't feel bad for Iverson either; he's in a situation of his own making.
Just from a basketball and winning point of view.
AI last night was far better than Conley. If AI gets the start Conley will suffer, the rest of the team probably won't and the Grizz will win more games. But losing his spot to AI may be exactly what Conley needs ... a dose of humility. AI needs that too but it won't work on him.
Conley's trying to do too much right now to prove he belongs as a starter.
Does anyone remember back in the day, when Iverson first announced he wasn't a bench player? It was back when he was with Philly, and I think coming off an injury, and the coach wanted him to come off the bench, and he balked. I remember him listing his accomplishments off as evidence of why he wasnt going to come off the bench.
Not long after, Tim Duncan, infinitely more accomplished than AI ever was, came off the bench while coming off an injury. I think he made some comment about doing whatever the coach thought was best (and I THINK he included a little something directed at AI, but that might be my imagination). Either way, it was the most direct rebuke of another NBA player's conduct I've ever seen from TD, and I loved it.
As far as the Grizzlies go, I'd rather Conley start over AI. AI is a lot more potent, but at least Conley has some sort of idea on how to run an offense. And with Mayo, Z-Bo, Gay, and Marc starting, there's barely enough shots to go around.
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