| | PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson had a bounce in his step as he
walked into the Philadelphia 76ers locker room Saturday night. The obvious question was, "Are you playing?"
"Rock and roll," Iverson said.
| |  | |
| Iverson |
And with that, the defending NBA scoring champion returned from
a tumultuous stay on the injured list. His return was equally
dicey.
Playing for the first time in more than two weeks, Iverson tied
his season-low with 11 points in the Sixers' worst loss of the
season, 106-84 to the Charlotte Hornets.
He got a technical, committed four fouls, missed nine of 16
shots and didn't talk to reporters after the game -- claiming they
didn't give him enough room.
"I said I'd talk to everybody, I got no problem with that,"
Iverson said. "But give me some room to put my clothes on."
He returned a while later and issued one quote: "Shots weren't
going down. Just one of those nights."
Before the game, Iverson said, "It's amazing the things that
you see on the floor as just a spectator. I learned a lot about my
teammates and how much talent we have on this team even without
me."
Iverson got off to a rough start, missing six of his first nine
shots and getting a technical with seven minutes left in the second
quarter. Iverson, who thought he was fouled on a layup attempt,
walked up to referee Mike Callihan during a timeout and got the
technical with the Sixers trailing 41-24.
Iverson picked up his third foul two minutes later and went to
the bench during one of the Sixers' worst first-half showings of
the season. He got his fourth foul 14 seconds into the third and
didn't play the final 17 minutes.
The 24-year-old Iverson was leading the league in scoring when
he broke his right thumb against San Antonio Nov. 22. The Sixers
were 6-4 without him, but that was only part of the story.
Iverson called in sick Wednesday night for Charles Barkley's
final game in Philadelphia -- which ended up being the last game of
his career due to a career-ending knee injury. Afterward, Iverson
was seen at his favorite restaurant, prompting speculation that he
deliberately avoided Barkley because the two have feuded in the
past.
The next day, Iverson saw Barkley at team doctor's office. The
two embraced and exchanged pleasantries.
But the incident put coach Larry Brown in an awkward position.
Brown went on local radio Wednesday night and defending Iverson,
saying his star player was too sick to attend the game. Iverson
said, "It didn't look good. I understand that. To be honest with
you, I'm sorry the whole thing happened."
Then, Iverson didn't go to the Sixers' shootaround Friday
morning or travel with the team to New York for a game against the
Knicks. Instead, he showed up on his own and informed general
manager Billy King and Brown that he wanted to play.
Iverson didn't play in the Sixers' 85-78 loss, but he did return
to Philadelphia on the train with his teammates.
All in all, it was just another week in the life of one of
basketball's most sensational, enigmatic players.
"It was hard," Iverson said. "I never like to sit out
regardless. I never had to sit out two weeks in my career before,
ever."
Iverson had a cast removed from his hand Thursday and had it
taped for the game. He'll continue to wear a splint when he's not
playing.
"They told me he's ready to play," Brown said. "Allen wanted
to play two weeks ago. He wanted to cut the cast off then."
Iverson's battles with injuries, though rare, are always a
concern for the Sixers because he gets ornery when he doesn't play.
While trying to play with a thigh injury last season, Iverson
cursed Brown after the coach tried to put him back into a game
against Cleveland. Iverson skipped a road trip, but quickly made
amends with Brown. He went on to claim his first scoring title and
led the Sixers to the playoffs for the first time since 1991.
Before this season, Philadelphia was 2-8 without Iverson in his
three-year career.
To make room for Iverson, the Sixers placed guard Kevin Ollie on
the injured list with tendinitis in his right knee. | |
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