Why I Love AI

AI IN GREEN IS ALRIGHT BY ME

Here’s why Allen Iverson is exactly what the Sonics’ need (from foxsports.com):

“[Allen Iverson] was taking a blow when the U.S. was trailing Australia by double-digits, and he showed his competitive intensity and his fiery disappointment by cursing after the Aussies scored again.

“Meanwhile, two seats away, [Carmelo] Anthony was laughing.”

That’s Iverson in a nutshell – off the court he’s up and down, from friendly to glowering in the time a light changes from red to green. On the court, though, he’s a demon, giving every last desperate breath for his team, extracting 30 points out of a body that’s too small for junior college, let alone the NBA. If Rashard Lewis pushed himself as hard as AI does, he’d be replacing Tracy McGrady on the cover of SLAM. Hell, if I pushed myself as hard as AI does, I’d be living in the south of France right now, living off all the money I’d made in the last 10 years.

Does he take too many shots? Debatable. Know this: when AI scored 30+ last season, the Sixers were 11-8. When he failed to notch 30, they were all of 22-41. Does that sound like a team that needed him to shoot less?

I know, in the long run, we’re better off with Allen. He’s the safe choice. The Seattle type of choice, that mentality that it might rain so we should bring an umbrella, even though it’s 70 degrees outside and it’s late September. But, screw it, man, I’m sick of safe choices. Let’s roll the damn dice and go with the guy that carried a crappy Sixers team to the NBA Finals. Yeah, he might implode and cost us the season and the next four years. But he might learn to love Nate’s system of pushing the ball and carry us to the playoffs and a level of excitement this town hasn’t seen since George Karl scowled his way off to Milwaukee.