NBA: Are Things About to Get Interesting in Philly?
Things could start getting interesting in Philadelphia now that Lou Williams is back in the lineup and ready to re-assume his role as the starting point guard. Williams’ return coupled with Jrue Holiday starting to play better of late one wonders if there room in Philadelphia for Iverson’s ego?
Allen Iverson had been starting prior to arthritis in his knee flaring up causing him to sit out the past couple of games. Iverson’s arthritic knee is why he needs to consider a bench role where he plays 25 minutes per game instead of insisting on being a starter. How often is this going to be an issue for him if the Sixers choose to hang onto him?
Iverson has been solid for the Sixers giving them 15.6 points per game in the five games he played. Williams, however, is scoring 16.6 points per game and is shooting at a much higher percentage than Iverson is, but, Iverson is getting to the line more than Williams is. Surely head coach Eddie Jordan knows Williams’ development is a key to turning the franchise around.
What potentially makes things even more interesting is the development of rookie point guard Jrue Holiday. Now I realize that Holiday is in no way setting the league on fire right now, but, one can see his play is starting to improve. Over the Sixers last four games, all starts, Holiday has averaged 33.8 minutes, scored 33 points, grabbed 12 boards, snared 9 steals, dished out 25 assists, and only turned it over 7 times. While his shooting and ability to score leaves something to be desired right now his ball handling and defense are what catches one’s eye.
In those four games he had a +/- of +20, -3, +2, and +1. The Sixers are at least competing when Holiday is in the game and his defense has not been a liability which tends to be the case for young guards in the NBA. His assist-to-turnover ratio has been excellent and it is pretty rare to have your point guard end up with more steals than turnovers.
So, now, the question is whether Jordan takes minutes away from Holiday to accommodate Iverson and keep him happy. When the Sixers signed Iverson to a non-guaranteed contract I always assumed it was to guard them against the inevitability of potentially needing to cut him loose once Williams got healthy again.
The Sixers were hoping the addition of Iverson might spark them into making some kind of playoff run, but, since that has not happened, and, since they have no real prospects of making a championship run it may be time to bite the bullet and let Iverson know that the team is not going to take minutes away from Holiday and Williams just to mollify him.
That is not say that Holiday is going to win the rookie of the year or that he and Williams are going to lead the Sixers to the promised land this season. But, Holiday is showing signs of gaining the confidence in his game to play at the NBA level and his production is getting better. His game is starting to adapt to the NBA game and what purpose would be served by messing with his confidence by cutting his playing time back down to the 8 to 10 minutes he was playing prior to Williams getting hurt.
The time has come for Iverson to own up to the fact that he is no longer a game-changing elite player in the NBA. The time has come for him to suck it up and do what is best for his team as opposed to what is best for him. He has to know that there is no real market out there for him and this is it. The Grizzlies were not interested in him starting and the only reason he is starting for the Sixers right now is out of necessity.
With Williams getting back to full speed Eddie Jordan and the Sixers need to let Iverson know that his options are coming off the bench or going home. The Sixers need to start thinking about next year and developing their younger talent rather than the swan song of one of the great players the franchise has ever had.
