Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The Answer is unequivocally yes. As I watch the NBA these days I cannot help but become disenchanted with the poor play and uneventful nature of most games. It boggles my mind that in an age where athletes are pretty much all  prima donna’s, that a player of Allen Iverson’s stature cannot find employment. Why should we even be talking about how a player is in the locker room or how good of a teammate he may or may not be? Are most people afforded the luxury of choosing their coworkers in the real world? The bottom line here is that most professional sports leagues are so diluted that it is almost impossible to field  competitive first teams, let alone reserves. Aside from A.I’s undeniable stats, he is also regarded as a player who always shows up and gives maximum effort, which is more than we can say for countless professional athletes.

Watching my beloved Orlando Magic, it is painful at times to watch the cavalier manner in which some of the Magic players approach playing the game. Dwight Howard’s constant grinning and Vince Carter’s half hearted drives to the basket and nonchalant passing down the stretch of games makes me wanna jump through the screen and yank him off the court myself. It is no wonder Jason Kidd couldn’t wait to get out of New Jersey. He hated playing along side a player who didn’t compete night in night out. Don’t get me wrong, I value sportsmanship, being a good teammate and citizen. However, those things alone aren’t going to win you any prizes at the end of the day. We are paid for production in all professions, so why should sports be any different? Especially, when the salaries are so astronomical.

Allen Iverson is still capable of giving a team 20 points and 7 assists every night. Look around the NBA at the starting guards for some of the so called elite teams and tell me how many players you find capable of coming close to that. Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics just signed a $55 Million Dollar contract and is shooting 20% from beyond the arc and a mere 25% from the free throw line. With the Big 3 aging rapidly, his deficiencies are glaring and can no longer be hidden. I’m going to love watching Danny Ainge try to trade that albatross of a contract in a few years for spare parts. Derek Fisher, a clutch playoff performer at times, is a low percentage shooter, inconsistent and vastly declining. Mo Williams in Cleveland is another example of an inconsistent player who pulled one of the greatest disappearing acts of all time in last years playoff series against Orlando. I could go on, but I’m sure you get my drift.

Unless there is something we are not privy to as fans, I cannot fathom how teams aren’t chomping at the bit to sign a sure fire first ballot Hall of Fame player, who still has some gas left in the tank, for a pro rated veterans minimum of $1.2 Million Dollars. If the experiment doesn’t work, you simply cut him and move on. Even the magic can afford to eat such a pultry sum of money. Not to mention he will probably increase there initial ticket sales to defer any loss in salary that could occur. I cannot help but think there are other things at work here that either the media, GM’s or coaches are somewhat responsible for. We saw it happen with Barry Bonds, a still capable star left for dead because of the stigma that went along with him.

Iverson is not without blame in this equation either, and he should stand up and take some responsibility for where he stands right now. Acknowledge that you are aging, stop worrying about stats, since we already know you can fill a box score like few others, and join a contender in whatever role they see fit. If he is willing to accept that, which ultimately I think he would, since he did come off the bench in Detroit before the deceitful coach Michael Curry manipulated  him and Rip Hamilton, then one of these mindless GM’s needs to step up to the plate and get this man a uniform. This is not Stephon Marbury part two, Allen Iverson actually has a ton of game and puts it on the line every night. So lets hope he gets back in the NBA soon, since I’m sure there are many like me who still miss watching him perform.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Barry Bonds, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, danny ainge, Derek Fisher, Detroit Pistons, Jason Kidd, michael curry, Mo Williams, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, stephon marbury, Vince Carter

   The Orlando Magic have looked pretty good so far this year. A 9-3 record is good enough for first place in the Southeast. Quality wins over the Sixers, Mavericks and Bulls help build some confidence toward the long road ahead. The real season starts for the boys in blue next month though. That’s when we’re going to find out how much progress they’re making as a team this year. They start off on the road in Boston to face the defending champs. Then, after two games at home, they head out on a very tough West Coast swing that includes the Clippers, Blazers, Suns, Jazz and Warriors. They then come home to face the Spurs and Lakers among others and finish off the month on the road again to face the Pistons and Bulls. It’s gonna be a tough month however it winds up and we should know a lot more about this team before New Year’s Day. The key matchups are obviously the Celtics and Pistons. Both are away games and both teams are the elite of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics returned most of their team and have looked like they haven’t taken any steps backwards so far. The Pistons have struggled a little, especially since the Iverson/Billups deal, but are still among the best. They carry the intimidation factor as well when they face the Magic. Teyshawn Prince has been sick so far this year and Rip Hamilton still poses nightmares for the Magic. We’ll have to see how big a difference Mickael Pietrus can make. Pietrus was brought in with Hamilton in mind. The Magic have had no answer for Hamilton in playoffs past and now have to contend with Iverson as well. I don’t want to pass judgment on anything until we see, but it’s hard to see Magic containing the Hamilton/Iverson/Prince trio come playoff time. There’s no need to break down the Celtics big three, we already know what they can do. Jameer Nelson looks to be improving the way we had hoped (finally) and Mickael Pietrus has been a little better than expected so far. What’s troubling to me is the fact that Pietrus and Howard have been getting in early foul trouble a lot. What happens when they deal with the tougher matchups that are really gonna beat up on them? It’s also been a rough offensive start for Turk and Lewis. We know my opinion on Lewis already so I’ll leave it be, but the Magic need Turkoglu to maintain his presence on the offensive end. He’s uhh, how you say, the straw that stirs the drink. It’s going to be an interesting month for these guys and I personally can’t wait to see it.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Boston Celtics, Chauncey Billups, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Golden State Warriors, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Rashard Lewis, Richard Hamilton, San Antonio spurs, Teyshawn Prince, Utah Jazz

   What an outstanding victory for the Magic tonight. It doesn’t matter if the Mavs have been struggling and it doesn’t matter that Josh Howard is either blind or stupid. A road win is a road win and the Magic hadn’t won a game in Dallas since 1997. Jameer Nelson, Mickael Pietrus and Rashard (yes Rashard tonight) Lewis stepped up big in Orlando’s 102-100 victory tonight. Big Dwight only scored 18 and the rest of the boys stepped up to help out tonight. The Magic trailed to start the fourth quarter 80-72 and outscored the Mavs 30-20 behind Pietrus, Nelson and Lewis. Pietrus, Nelson and Lewis had 20, 21 and 23 respectively which included 6, 8 and 8 in the fourth. Pietrus had that sick killer look on his face when he hit those two late threes and Lewis hit 2 of the final three (Nelson went 1 of 2) put away free throws to finish it. Lewis actually played some good defense on Dirk Nowitzki (no really, he did) and the Magic pulled out a nice come from behind victory. Hedo Turkoglu fouled out with just over two minutes left after another off night offensively for him. The Mavs reporters will have a field day with Josh Howard in Dallas after this though. With around 10 seconds left and the Mavs down 101-100, Howard threw an awful inbound pass in Jason Terry’s direction that went straight into Jameer Nelson’s arms as if intended for him. Nelson held on, hit 1 of 2 free throws and that finished it off. To me it doesn’t matter that the Mavs are now 2-7 on the season, this was still a big win for Orlando and they should feel good about themselves tonight. The best part of the comeback was the fact that it wasn’t the annoying ‘foul everyone down the stretch and bomb three point shots’ kind of comeback that’s so typical on today’s NBA. It was a straight up tight defense, good shooting victory. The Magic have another tough road game coming on Sunday in Charlotte so they better not party too much, but they need to enjoy this one.

Technorati Tags: Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis

   Sorry it’s late but it was a long workday yesterday. The Magic beat up the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Wednesday 109-92. Dwight Howard got off something fierce, he had 30/19 to go with 10 blocks that put his league leading total at 35 and gave him his first triple double of the year. He got help from the other four starters who scored in double digits, led by Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus who both scored 17. Turk was off a little while scoring 15 and Rashard Lewis hasn’t come out of his “slump” yet either. This is what the Magic were looking for from Pietrus and Nelson. This team needs these guys to step up outside, especially when Turk is off. Just imagine how good the offense could be if Ra-Soft Lewis ever started scoring consistently like he’s been expected to since coming over in the sign-and-trade deal that got him six years and $118 million. I don’t think we can label him a bust and it’s too early to really call him a true disappointment yet, but he’s working on it. It was a nice victory on the road but we can’t get over excited about, let’s see how the boys do in Dallas and Charlotte.

Technorati Tags: Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Mickael Pietrus, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis