After a tough season with the Detroit Pistons, it sounds as if future Hall of Famer, Allen Iverson is ready to call it quits. At the moment, the Pistons find themselves fighting to hold onto the 7th playoff spot in the Eastern conference. They are a 1/2 game ahead of the Chicago Bulls and only 2 games ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats who have been on a tear recently. Now with only 7 games left in the regular season, Iverson is stirring up more controversy stating, "I'd rather retire before I do this again," Iverson said. "I can't be effective playing this way. I'm not used to it. It's tough for me both mentally and physically. If I'm able to go out there, I should be able to get it done and I can't right now."
Iverson has been known to over-dramatize things over his career but after only 2 games of coming off the bench, it seems as if he was waiting for the opportunity to share his disgust with the idea of becoming a bench player. His complaints would have been valid but he initially voiced his unhappiness by addressing the lack of minutes he was receiving.
"Eighteen minutes, c'mon, man. I can play 18 minutes with my eyes closed, with a 100-pound truck on my back. That's a bad feeling," Iverson said, after a 79-73 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Now only two days later, he changes his story and claims that he needs to start so that his back does not tighten up. The fact of the matter is, Iverson is not buying into the scheme presented by Head Coach of the Pistons, Michael Curry, and in his past, when Iverson did not agree with the coach, all parties involved usually suffered. General Manager Joe Dumars and Coach Curry will now be faced with the choice of making Iverson happy and having little to no shot of defeating Boston or Orlando in the first round of the playoffs, or dealing with a disgruntled Iverson which would better your chances of advancing in the playoffs but could cause Iverson to leave Detroit after one season. This Iverson distraction will definitely not make it any easier for the Pistons to hold onto the 7th seed.
The Boston Celtics have chose to shutdown Kevin Garnett for the remainder of the regular season. Garnett missed 13 games earlier this season due to a right knee injury and after making an attempt to return sooner than expected, Garnett has been forced to street clothes until the playoffs begin.
Boston Celtics Head Coach, Doc Rivers had this to say about his emotional leader's future, "He's not feeling great and we're just not going to take the chance," Rivers said. "A day of rest . . . it's more just the whole knee strain. We're just going to go day by day. I'd say that because we're sitting him down that we'd probably do it for more than one game. But I'm not sure yet."
Knowing Garnett, even if he had to play on one leg, he would play if it meant helping his team win another championship. He would also sit out for the remainder of the season if he felt he was hurting the Celtics. When you think of the words "teamwork" and "teammate" Garnett should immediately come to mind. It wouldn't hurt if Iverson took a few notes.
As the end of the season draws near, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as favorites for this year's championship. Both have distanced themselves from the teams in their conference and look to be well tuned for the start of the playoffs at the end of the month. Match ups will most likely not be determined until the final week if not the final day of the regular season for the first round of the playoffs, but no matter the opponent, both teams should at least advance to the 2nd round. As for the rest of the teams, it is up in the air how the playoff picture will pan out and how far they will advance. Good luck to all those involved because they will need it.
That's it for this installment! Be sure to check back for an update on the Men's and Women's Final Four. Also, as the regular season comes to an end, we will analyze the first round match ups and discuss the possibilities of upsets occurring. Enjoy your day everyone!
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