# Allen Iverson Olympics thread



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

As we all know by now Allen Iverson is the co-captain of the Team USA senior basketball team. While he was suspended for the first game for being late. His first exhibition game of the tour was the loss to Italy, but he bounced back in big fashion with several clutch plays and his first buzzer beater of his life when he hit the winner against Germany.

I should've done this earlier, but since the actual Olympics haven't started yet, we still have time. So if you have anything to talk about involving Allen Iverson's international play, feel free to post it here.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

Team USA won 79-67 over Turkey in their second to last Exhibition game. Their next exhibition game is against Turkey on Tuesday. Turkey played without Hedo Turkoglu who missed the game with a broken nose, I'm not sure if he'll be back for the next game or not.

Iverson put up 13 points, and was the second highest scorer, and one of two players who scored in double figures. The other? His co-captain Tim Duncan who put up 16, on a 8-12 effort against new Utah Jazz signee Mehmet Okur.

Refs were inconsistent during the game in calling fouls, and Larry tried playing the core youngsters in the game (which means no Amare, or Emeka), looked like for stretches he wanted to get them more experience and it almost resulted in the game being lost.


----------



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Iverson had some of the last made baskets in this game too. He comes through in the clutch. A heady, game player Iverson is.

I hope AI keeps playing this well for when the Games start and continues playing this well in the regular season. I've really liked what I've seen from him.


----------



## Pan Mengtu (Jun 18, 2004)

He's been shooting the hell out of the player the last couple of games. I think they said around 50%. Glad he's doing well, don't have to worry about injuries for now, it seems.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

His play as of late, also almost made everyone forget about his lateness to that one practice. I'm really looking forward to the start of Olympic play. If Brown is playing him at the rate he's been playing him in the exhibition games, we shouldn't really have to worry about Iverson getting hurt.


----------



## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

What I really want to know are Allen Iverson's stats from the Olympics and the pre-Olympics especially his assists per game and his turnovers.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>KL Dawger</b>!
> What I really want to know are Allen Iverson's stats from the Olympics and the pre-Olympics especially his assists per game and his turnovers.


Here's his stat line from the four games he exhibition games he played in:

12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2 TO, 1.8 SPG

That's all in 24.8 MPG.

Other key points are his FG% he is shooting 57% from the field, and 47% from beyond the arc.


----------



## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>PhillyPhanatic</b>!
> 
> 
> Here's his stat line from the four games he exhibition games he played in:
> ...


Wonderful. He's killing them out there.


----------



## FanOfAll8472 (Jun 28, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>PhillyPhanatic</b>!
> Here's his stat line from the four games he exhibition games he played in:
> 
> 12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2 TO, 1.8 SPG
> ...


Wow. I'm pumped for next season.


----------



## soopahpit (Jun 1, 2004)

Not so fast.

1. It looks like he's lost a step. Look at him defensively. The effort is there, but it looks like the quickness isn't. Hell he even got run down a couple of times on a FAST BREAK by scrubs whose names I cant spell.

2. His stats are good but his point guard play has really not been that good. He drives into that zone, is defended, then makes a bad pass to someone who's covered. Saw too many turnovers like that in the 4 games. Need his decision making to improve to feel good.


----------



## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>soopahpit</b>!
> Not so fast.
> 
> 1. It looks like he's lost a step. Look at him defensively. The effort is there, but it looks like the quickness isn't. Hell he even got run down a couple of times on a FAST BREAK by scrubs whose names I cant spell.
> ...


But, it's Marbury running the point for the Americans, not Iverson.


----------



## BEEZ (Jun 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>soopahpit</b>!
> Not so fast.
> 
> 1. It looks like he's lost a step. Look at him defensively. The effort is there, but it looks like the quickness isn't. Hell he even got run down a couple of times on a FAST BREAK by scrubs whose names I cant spell.
> ...


I’ll respond to your posts in 2 parts.

1.	Its known that hes not as fast as he once was, but it doesn’t mean he is no longer fast. He’s not a blur anymore, hes just fast which still more than 80% of the league is. You saying he got ran down on a fast break is somewhat of a oxymoron. So a man dribbling a basketball shouldn’t be caught by another man in a dead sprint without having a ball in his hands. OK. If you notice Larry Brown seems to have shackles on all the perimeter defenders as far as playing the passing lanes that’s why you don’t see him jumping out there using his long arms for steals. Its all across, in the Germany game when he jumped into the passing lane and stole the ball for Marion’s dunk Larry Brown was screaming at him because he wants solid man to man perimeter D.

2.	Hes been playing PG for all of 9 minutes a game. They showed a stat the other day on ESPN where the bulk of his TO have been from the SG spot. His play from the PG spot has been stellar. At least be aware of what you are speaking on before going off on a tangent.


----------



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Today Iverson had 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while adding 5 assists. He looked great out there, hitting a clutch 3 to ice the game (the US already had control of the game but that shot eliminated any chance of the Turks coming back).


----------



## soopahpit (Jun 1, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>BEEZ</b>!
> 1.	Its known that hes not as fast as he once was, but it doesn’t mean he is no longer fast. He’s not a blur anymore, hes just fast which still more than 80% of the league is.


It wasn't quite established that he had slowed down. It really was a "theory" that he was going to start slowing down. He hadn't yet, so you can't say that "its known". Him slowing down is indeed a worry because his game is predicated on speed.



> You saying he got ran down on a fast break is somewhat of a oxymoron. So a man dribbling a basketball shouldn’t be caught by another man in a dead sprint without having a ball in his hands. OK.


This didnt used to happen. Not by players at this level. He got run down more in these games than I've seen in a whole season.



> If you notice Larry Brown seems to have shackles on all the perimeter defenders as far as playing the passing lanes that’s why you don’t see him jumping out there using his long arms for steals. Its all across, in the Germany game when he jumped into the passing lane and stole the ball for Marion’s dunk Larry Brown was screaming at him because he wants solid man to man perimeter D.


I know this. I've watched every minute of all 4 games. Its not that he's not getting steals. Obviously I'm taking that into account. Its that his ball pressure is not great, and hes getting BURNED. I'm not used to that, and it unsettles me. Watch the games. Over and over he D's up his man pn the perimeter, gets burned on a move or taken out on a halfazzed screen that he didnt fight hard enough through, runs to catch up and flails a futile arm way too late to affect the shot. 

I'm sitting at a bar debating with my anti-philly roommate about whether AI is a hall of famer. I'm citing his defense, the fact that hes often the 2nd or 3rd PG in NBA coach's all defense voting, and then he's getting burned over and over against turkey.




> 2.	Hes been playing PG for all of 9 minutes a game. They showed a stat the other day on ESPN where the bulk of his TO have been from the SG spot. His play from the PG spot has been stellar. At least be aware of what you are speaking on before going off on a tangent.


Whether or not he was officially listed as the "PG" is irrelevant to what I'm saying. What I AM saying is that his passes have not been so crisp. I don't care about the statistics. Like I said I watched every minute of every game, with particular interest whenever AI was bringing the ball up (I don't bring this up to brag, just to address your "be aware of what you are speaking" point). His passes in the half court set (not the fast break, despite being caught by defenders, he still has been sensational on the break) have been shaky. I noticed many times he dumped it off to a double covered Duncan, or someone else who is well covered. This is not an objective qualification I can back up with statistics. I'm LOVING AI's clutch shooting, but my post was a subjective observation in response to someone's enthusiasm for AI's play. 

I am a big Iverson fan, and those were my thoughts and observations tempering someone else's pro AI post. At least be aware of the context of what I was speaking on before going off on a flame.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>soopahpit</b>!
> His passes in the half court set (not the fast break, despite being caught by defenders, he still has been sensational on the break) have been shaky. I noticed many times he dumped it off to a double covered Duncan, or someone else who is well covered.


I haven't seen anywhere near the amount of Team USA exhibition games as I wanted to, only full game I watched was the one on Sunday. But this section I quoted was something that people were pointing out on Iverson last year, but with the scheme O'Brien will use this year his interior passing in the half court game won't matter much most of the time because we're running. But I'm hoping that he can sharpen that up, since everywhere else he's a nice passer.


----------



## BEEZ (Jun 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>soopahpit</b>!
> 
> 
> It wasn't quite established that he had slowed down. It really was a "theory" that he was going to start slowing down. He hadn't yet, so you can't say that "its known". Him slowing down is indeed a worry because his game is predicated on speed.
> ...


To be an Iverson fan and to know how fast he was, you could see signs last year that he had lost some of his "blazing" speed. It was talked about last year even before the knee injury. Him being run down on a fast break in honesty is not anything major. Yes his game was predicated on speed but hes still fast its not like hes Derrick Coleman or anything. As I stated hes probably on the same level speed wise as most NBA points now. Hes clearly faster than Stephon Marbury and hes still an all-star. It has been known that he wouldnt have that speed forever playing the way he used to. So No it wasnt a "theory".



> I know this. I've watched every minute of all 4 games. Its not that he's not getting steals. Obviously I'm taking that into account. Its that his ball pressure is not great, and hes getting BURNED. I'm not used to that, and it unsettles me. Watch the games. Over and over he D's up his man pn the perimeter, gets burned on a move or taken out on a halfazzed screen that he didnt fight hard enough through, runs to catch up and flails a futile arm way too late to affect the shot.


I have as well. I have all 6 games on tape actually. I see him, just like everyone else playing lackadaisical on the perimeter. They are all getting burned. Case in point, the Serbia game. They played excellent on the perimeter they're guards driving were minimal they won big. Its plain to see. Your response even goes to solidify what I am saying. Hes clearly not trying to hustle, it has nothing to do with him as a player.



> I'm sitting at a bar debating with my anti-philly roommate about whether AI is a hall of famer. I'm citing his defense, the fact that hes often the 2nd or 3rd PG in NBA coach's all defense voting, and then he's getting burned over and over against turkey.


Once again, you strengthen my point. If hes consistantly on these teams and was even looked at last year even though he only played 49 games, thats telling you something.



> Whether or not he was officially listed as the "PG" is irrelevant to what I'm saying. What I AM saying is that his passes have not been so crisp. I don't care about the statistics. Like I said I watched every minute of every game, with particular interest whenever AI was bringing the ball up (I don't bring this up to brag, just to address your "be aware of what you are speaking" point). His passes in the half court set (not the fast break, despite being caught by defenders, he still has been sensational on the break) have been shaky. I noticed many times he dumped it off to a double covered Duncan, or someone else who is well covered. This is not an objective qualification I can back up with statistics. I'm LOVING AI's clutch shooting, but my post was a subjective observation in response to someone's enthusiasm for AI's play.
> 
> I am a big Iverson fan, and those were my thoughts and observations tempering someone else's pro AI post. At least be aware of the context of what I was speaking on before going off on a flame.


I dont think I flamed at all, I posted all valid points. His interior passing from half court sets have forever been an issue with him. NOthing new, he has to adjust to doing this. As you stated hes been sensational on the break where the Sixers are definitley going to need it from him, but theres nothing to worry about. A healthy AI is all I care about and with one we going to the playoffs.


----------



## soopahpit (Jun 1, 2004)

well, we're probably closer on this issue than it seemed. you have stated valid points, and everything i've stated has been valid as well. Maybe I did miss some evidence of him having lost a step last season. I wrote it off as lingering injuries, but its tough to catch sixers games in a new york market.


----------



## BEEZ (Jun 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>soopahpit</b>!
> well, we're probably closer on this issue than it seemed. you have stated valid points, and everything i've stated has been valid as well. Maybe I did miss some evidence of him having lost a step last season. I wrote it off as lingering injuries, but its tough to catch sixers games in a new york market.


You dont pickup Comcast for Sixers games


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

> ATHENS - Allen Iverson's influence over his Olympic teammates apparently has become so great that yesterday the entire squad - including head coach Larry Brown and Iverson, a co-captain - was 40 minutes late for its pre-tournament press conference.
> 
> Officials from USA Basketball blamed the delay on traffic congestion, which just happens to be an alibi Iverson has used for years and one that Athenians have uttered for decades.
> 
> ...


LINK

 

Only reason I posted this was because it was news on Iverson, but it seems like the writer has some personal agenda against Iverson. Any compliments he gives are in the form of a barbwired bat tapping AI on the back. Ah well, what can you do?

He won't focus on the positives of AI being on the Olympic team so go to the negatives which doesn't require much if any work, all you have to do is remember the past.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

Allen Iverson makes his Olympic debut today at 1:30 as Team USA takes on Puerto Rico.


----------



## RoyWilliams (May 25, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>PhillyPhanatic</b>!
> Allen Iverson makes his Olympic debut today at 1:30 as Team USA takes on Puerto Rico.


Well the whole teams debut sucked today.


----------



## Tyrellaphonte (Feb 21, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>RoyWilliams</b>!
> 
> Well the whole teams debut sucked today.


word


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

When watching the game I was paying too much attention to how pathetic Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion were when out on the floor (which was basically all game!). I'm going to watch it again to see how Iverson played, and focus more on him.

The one thing with AI in this game that I did notice, he did make some huge shots in Team USA's comeback, but overall had a terrible shooting night.


----------



## RoyWilliams (May 25, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>PhillyPhanatic</b>!
> When watching the game I was paying too much attention to how pathetic Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion were when out on the floor (which was basically all game!). I'm going to watch it again to see how Iverson played, and focus more on him.
> 
> The one thing with AI in this game that I did notice, he did make some huge shots in Team USA's comeback, but overall had a terrible shooting night.


I was to busy bashing RJ to notice that AI was 1-10 from beyond the arc.


----------



## BEEZ (Jun 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>RoyWilliams</b>!
> 
> I was to busy bashing RJ to notice that AI was 1-10 from beyond the arc.


If you take that away he was 4/4 inside the 3 point line


----------



## soopahpit (Jun 1, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>BEEZ</b>!
> 
> 
> You dont pickup Comcast for Sixers games


nope, cablevision in north jersey, aka Steinbrenner's ***** market.
Missed the game, but at least most of the heat was directed at RJ, Marion, and steph. 

I think one of the best evaluations of AI i've heard was from Decourcy who said something like "Iverson is the best shooter in the game. He's not so great a maker though."


----------



## dmilesai (Jul 19, 2002)

I hope Allen plays well tomorrow against Greece...


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

Was just watching the news, Iverson has a fracture in his thumb. Not sure which hand, but he's still going to play.

He injured it in the game against Puerto Rico, and re-aggravated it in practice. The Sixers have okayed him to play, and said it won't harm him for the season.


----------



## iversonfan3 (Aug 18, 2004)

wow, USA only beat Greece by 6? But iverson had a great game, 13 points with a fractured thumb.But this game shows how weak USA is now. Maybe one off game against Puerto Rico, but two straght bad games from them beating a horrible team by a small margin. If it was any of the other 3 dream teams they would have killed Greece by 20. I think they should just dump the ball to Duncan downlow every single play:laugh:


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>iversonfan3</b>!
> wow, USA only beat Greece by 6? But iverson had a great game, 13 points with a fractured thumb.But this game shows how weak USA is now. Maybe one off game against Puerto Rico, but two straght bad games from them beating a horrible team by a small margin. If it was any of the other 3 dream teams they would have killed Greece by 20. I think they should just dump the ball to Duncan downlow every single play:laugh:


I think Iverson played well in this game, 17 points, he was aggressive early on and carried the team. He played solid man on defense, I hope he carries that into the regular season.

With the NT coming in flat two games in a row, I think they still aren't taking opponents seriously. I bet we see a completely different approach by the team come the Lithuania game tomorrow.

What the team should try, is when they have another capable post presence in with Duncan, they should move Duncan to the high post. If they dare triple him there, it'll leave the basket area wide open.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

I missed the first half, caught the second half, the team made a huge run after AI went on the bench. If anyone knows about what happened in the first half, feel free to share, because I want to know how he looked out there early on.


----------



## Nevus (Jun 3, 2003)

I made a couple Team USA Allen Iverson avatars for anyone who wants them. If you find some more good pictures I'll make some more.

http://img60.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img60&image=AI03.jpg

http://img60.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img60&image=AI04.jpg

They're nice, in my opinion.


----------



## pErSiSt (Jul 16, 2004)

i just love him
whatever


----------



## pErSiSt (Jul 16, 2004)

i have not seen single a game of him playing in the olympics
but i kinda heard about that someone saying this:
hes play as a point guard sux
so what do u guys think his next season since everybody
says hes going to play PG


----------



## BEEZ (Jun 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>pErSiSt</b>!
> i have not seen single a game of him playing in the olympics
> but i kinda heard about that someone saying this:
> hes play as a point guard sux
> ...


The only knock on his pg play has been in the half court. hes been almost flawless on the break


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

Iverson had a nice game today, 16 points and was efficient shooting from the field. And it might just be me, but slowly but surely it looks like AI's getting his quickness back, he might not be on the level he had prior to last season but he's looking really good out there.

At several points he made huge shots, and I love how he's taken a leadership role on this team. Things like this can only be a good thing when heading into the regular season.

The story of this game was obviously Marbury taking over and scoring 31. This was a dream for most basketball fans to see the two electric guards from the 1996 draft class carry this team to a win over the previously undefeated Spain.

And did anyone see Larry Brown at the end? Looked like he was ready to get into a fight out there. :laugh:


----------

