TEFLON ALL-STARLead Story by: Jim Tammaro Over the last two weeks, there has been a large amount of backlash from NBA scribes and sports radio personalities around the country over the fact that Allen Iverson was a leading vote getter among guards on the Eastern Conference's NBA All-Star Game ballot. Last Thursday the NBA announced the final results of the All-Star balloting and Iverson finished second among the East's guards, thus sending "The Answer" to his 11th straight All-Star selection. The official announcement that Iverson would be starting along side Dwyane Wade in the backcourt for the East squad in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium escalated the controversy from backlash to full on outrage. Numerous basketball heads called for Iverson to step aside and let a more deserving player have his first-five spot and for the voting process to be taken out of the hands of NBA fans. It wasn't just the media that took shots at Iverson and the system either. Nine-time All-Star Ray Allen called for a change in the voting process and TNT analyst Charles Barkley stated that Iverson should "decline to play" . But here at HoopsTV we feel all the anger and advice headed Iverson's way should also be directed at another East starter. In our opinion, if you want to argue about which baller who should give up his undeserved starting All-Star spot, maybe you should consider discussing Kevin Garnett as well. Look, there's no denying that Iverson's game has fallen off and that there are several guards in the East that are more deserving of receiving a 2010 starting All-Star spot then "The Answer". Boston's Rajon Rondo, Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Chi-town's Derrick Rose and Charlotte's Gerald Wallace, would be just a few of the names on that list. One could even argue that Iverson's teammate Andre Iguodala is a more deserving All-Star starter and you'd be correct. This post isn't about whether or not Iverson deserves to be an All-Star starter. He clearly doesn't. It's very questionable whether or not Iverson even belongs in the ASG coming up in Dallas at all. But again this post isn't about Iverson's presence at the 2010 ASG. This post is about another issue that has slipped through the cracks while people take cheap shots at Iverson and his aging game. The issue we are talking about is that Kevin Garnett is NO more deserving of his starting All-Star spot then Iverson, but that fact seems to have escaped all the writers, TV analysts, blogs and people on the street. Why? We have no idea. Here at HoopsTV we love Garnett, his game and his intensity, so this isn't an anti-KG thing. There's no doubt KG is one of the best power forwards in the game and at times still can play at an All-Star level. Additionally, at this point in their careers, Garnett is a better overall ball player when compared to Iverson. But if you take an honest look at Garnett's play and his numbers this season, you'll see he's not balling up to his usual All-Star level and that he like Iverson got the fan vote on reputation not reality. Below is the reality check for both Garnett and Iverson. BURN : Obviously KG has been limited this season as he continues to recover from off-season surgery, but that's no excuse. It doesn't matter to us what the reason is for a player's sub-par performance this season, you either have performed like an All-Star or you haven't. For Iverson age and a reduced role on new team have limited his run. For KG it's injury. To us it's all the same. In 2009-10 KG has played in 31 games and missed 11 runs because of injuries. In those 31 games, Garnett has averaged 30.7 minutes per night. That's a low "The Big Ticket" has not seen since his rookie year in Minnesota (1995-96) when a young buck straight out of Farragaut High School was getting 28.7 mpg. For comparisons sake, between Memphis and Philadelphia Iverson has played in a total of 23 games. So he's only played in 9 less games then KG despite missing a host of contests during his "retirement" and three games because of injury since joining the 76ers. When you average out his minutes in Memphis (3 games) and Philly (20 games), Iverson has received 27.5 minutes of burn a night this season. However if you eliminate the disaster that was his time in Memphis, A.I.'s mpg. jump drastically to 32.8 per night. Still much like KG, Iverson has never seen a number that low in his career. SHINE : In 2009-10 Garnett is averaging career statistical lows across the board. At 15 ppg., KG's scoring is down five points a night from his 20 per game career average. Garnett is not hitting the glass as well this season either, as is evidenced by his weak average of 7.3 rips a game. Again that's a number KG hasn't seen since his rookies season and it's well below his career average 11 boards a night. Iverson has seen his Hall of Fame career stats fall off a cliff as well. For the Sixers this season "The Answer" is scoring at a pedestrian 14.9 points per game. That's a far cry from his scoring machine career average of 26.8 ppg. He's also averaging nearly two less assists per game in 2009-10 (4.4 apg.) when compared to his career average (6.2 apg.). Not since his late '90's gunner days in Philly has A.I. handed out so few dimes. Of course back then he was good for nearly thirty points a night. Iverson's rebounding numbers are down too so far this year, not that the barely six-foot tall guard was ever a windex man. ROLE : Let's face it, neither Garnett nor Iverson are asked by their respective teams to dominate games on a nightly basis like each of them did five years ago. Garnett is the third option for the Celtics behind Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Some may even argue that with the emergence of Rajon Rondo, KG is now the fourth option in Boston. In Philly, Iverson defers without hesitation to Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Louis Williams. You could also possibly throw rising Sixers wingman Thaddeus Young into that group. But their diminished offensive roles doesn't mean that Garnett and Iverson are not huge contributors for their teams. Both players obviously provide needed veteran experience and emotional leadership. As a bonus to their locker room presence, their mere existence on the court opens up opportunities for their teammates. Individually, Garnett is still an excellent defender and Iverson has done a great job handling the rock for the Sixers. In 2009-10 the main role for both Garnett and Iverson is to bring the intangibles to the table for their teams, which are just as important as any stat you find in a box score. Of course should the desperate need arise, Garnett and Iverson probably are each still capable of getting you 25 on any given night. Again this post is not meant as a slam to Kevin Garnett, nor is it meant to be a eulogy on Allen Iverson's career. It's simply a post to say Iverson isn't the only undeserving 2010 All-Star Game starter. Kevin Garnett should be included in that group of players receiving the media's and the public's ire as well. How or why KG has escaped catching some heat for his "reputation" spot in this year's East first-five is a mystery to us.
|
Copyright & copy; 2010 (215) Sports & Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.