D12: DPOY: MVP Candidate: Dwight Howard Unnoticed?

Clark Kent Has Left The BuildingI'm not going to pretend that Dwight Howard is not getting attention. He's slated to win DPOY and discussed in the MVP talk but not nearly the way he should be. The Magic won 59 games this year, good for third in the east with a PG who was never taken seriously, going down, and replaced with a playground baller turned pro. The team features other such 'stopper staters' as Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson/Raefer Alston and Mickael Pietrus. Orlando Magic defensive rating: #1.

With the Celtic's latest KG news the Magic have to be considered favorites to reach the eastern finals: Philly/Chicago/beat up Celtics can't be considered a bigger challenge then Detroit/Miami/Atlanta, right? Not when the Magic have handed it to the Greens all season.

The media has anointed him 'most dominant big in the league'. Right? The magic came together as a team and he's getting all the credit he deserves. Right?

Wrong. I follow the league. Dwight Howard is the center piece of my (first place, rock!) fantasy team. I check his box scores nearly every time he plays. In a recent ESPN MVP writer's poll he got paltry results... 1 second-place vote, 2 third, 10 fourth, 1 fifth.

I follow daily yet I was not aware of his progress. The capacity of the leap is astounding. I took a look, and a double take, at the numbers. This year is not a campaign for most dominant player in the league. This year is the start of a campaign for most dominant big in history. This includes you, Big Shaqtus.

Three disclaimers.

1. I'm not comparing Dwight to Shaq Daddy today. This is Shaq in his prime vs Dwight before he enters his.

2. I realize rules have changed recently increasing things like scoring. But its also made it harder for bigs to defend and board. Move over league history. Dwight is here and will be most dominant ever.

3. Only having access to stats from 1986 on I know this leaves players out of the mix. Honestly however basketball before this time was a different game. Sorry if it offends you but Wilt and Russel would not be anywhere near the players they were after 1986 on. That's my opinion I suppose, and I cede that on sheer dominance, Wilt would blow Dwight away on these lists, but I literally don't have the resources to show that era's stats or I would. So this is really just about the more modern era of ball. On with it!

Edit: One more disclaimer. Got into a discussion on a forum about this post and a litany of incredibly angry ball fans appeared to be mortally insulted that I could suggest Shaq was anything but the most dominant player ever and Dwight his little bitch. So people should note (or perhaps you know, just read the following definition that should have taken care of this in the first place) that I don't actually claim Dwight is better then Shaq. Nor do I think he's better, greater or more acomplished then Shaq. He's too young to be compared at that level.

I claim he's more dominant which is a measure of how good you are in relation to your peers and I back it up fairly well. Shaq was great and dominant but played in an era with peer big men who were periodically above him, below him and close to him. So, to the edumacated among us, here's a place you can get help and I have some great Dr. Seuss books... lets continue.

Nature's Version Of Dwight Howard

Dictionary.com says

Dominate:
–verb (used with object)
1. to rule over; govern; control.
2. to tower above; overlook; overshadow: A tall pine dominated the landscape.

Stats too often focus on a single category over a season and miss the forest for the trees. Its how a player combines all cats in a single game that counts. I define center dominance as points, rebounds and blocks. Comparison is not really what the dictionary wants here either. He must dominate the landscape as the mighty pine. So, lets compare Dwight, one player, to the entire league, of 432 of players.

First up, a double double. For bigs it only indicates you are doing your job. Its not dominant. If you block 5 shots in the process however you're starting to own the paint. How many games is Dwight's mark?

10/10/5 Club

Years Pro	Player	Pos	10/10/5 Games
1	NBA	A	32
2	Dwight Howard	C	14
3	Marcus Camby	F	5
4	Andris Biedrins	C	3
5	Tim Duncan	F	3
6	Chris Andersen	F	2
7	Yao Ming	C	2
8	Josh Smith	F	2

Not so great Dwight. The entire league has 18 more 10/10/5 games while you only have 14. Never mind that its 3 times number 2 Camby, nearly 5 times Duncan/Biedrins and 7 times everyone else. It takes the next 5 top players in the league to equal your total Dwight. You can't dominate a girl scout.

Dwight's Response: 10 points nor 10 boards are anything to get excited about. I'm all man now so get those child stats outta my house.

We'll oblige the big fella. Lets add 5 boards to that total.


10 points, 15 boards, 5 blocks

Rk	Player	Pos	Games
1	Dwight Howard	C	10
2	Entire NBA	A	4
3	Andris Biedrins	C	1
4	Marcus Camby	F	1
5	Tim Duncan	F	1
6	Al Horford	C	1

Once the numbers reflect raw pwnage inside, Howard more then doubles the entire NBA's production. Individuals only have 1 such game a piece. Lets keep going, but its not fair to list them anymore. Sorry Timmy... you didn't make the cut. Just to show whats happening with Dwight Howard vs. the world the numbers have to be increased.

15/15/5

Years Pro	Player	15/15/5 Games
1	Dwight Howard	8
2	NBA	2

20/20/5 Games

Years Pro	Player	20/20/5 Games
1	Dwight Howard	2
2	NBA	0

4 times the whole NBA in 15/15/5 games? INSANE! Did you notice? In the 20/20/5 club of "I am center, hear me roar" Dwight Howard is putting up infinity percent more then the rest of the league. Infinity percent, times two, to be precise.

Which leads us to history. For a BIG the 20/20 personifies the separation of good and great. The marker of a truly dominant player. Dwight is on pace to own the record for most 20/20 games in about 1.5 years. Maybe sooner as he is still developing. The top of the 20/20 list looks like this.

Years Pro	Player	Pos	20/20 Games
1	Charles Barkley	F	37
2	Hakeem Olajuwon	C	35
3	Shaquille O'Neal	C	34
4	Kevin Garnett	F	27
5	Dwight Howard	C	23

People Are As Close To Howard As AI Is To Making This shot
Considering potential, time remaining and all that jazz, there are no active players who are realistically close. Al Jefferson has 20/20 skills except in his fifth year he only has four 20/20 games to 23. Big Al is preobably the closest to compete!

By the time Howard is done wreaking his brand of havoc he could easily have 60 of these games. Unheard of in the modern era of basketball.

To put it yet another way: only 9 players have topped Dwight Howards 9 20/20 games this season, wait for it, in their entire cumulative careers. And none before they were 23.

As I write this Howard is not yet finished his fifth year of pro ball. He already has more 20/20's then this bunch in their whole lifetime. Be sure to note the number of years each player took, multiply by 'star power' and consider how in less then 5 years he's overtaken them.

Years Pro	Player	Pos	20/20 Games
16	Charles Barkley	F	37
17	Hakeem Olajuwon	C	35
16	Shaquille O'Neal	C	34
13	Kevin Garnett	F	27
5	Dwight Howard	C	23
22	Kevin Willis	F	22
11	Tim Duncan	F	19
16	Patrick Ewing	C	18
13	David Robinson	C	13
19	Karl Malone	F	12
17	Dikembe Mutombo	C	9
18	Chris Webber	F	9
12	Marcus Camby	F	7
20	Moses Malone	C	7
20	Robert Parish	C	7
7	Yao Ming	C	3
15	Alonzo Mourning	C	2
7	Arvydas Sabonis	C	2

Sabonis gets a pass. Had he played in his youth he would have torn the NBA to pieces. He was so good that the NBA would have been an entirely different era with different players winning championships.

Years Pro	Player	Pos	20/20 Games
78	Mike Dunleavy	G	1

Mike's Typical Day In The Paint
Mike Dunleavy also gets a pass cuz Mike Dunleavy is a FREAKING GUARD! Have you seen him? He's a rail. "BIG WOW" to you Mike Dunleavy!

Can I repeat again that he is only 23 years of age??? 50 or 60 20/20 games is actually Dwight's low mark. At 25 he should be sitting neatly at 40 and first place all time. Should we expect 80? 100? If his body can keep up like TD's (who had a 20/20 this year at 34) 100 20/20 career games might be his ceiling with 60-80 being his likely result.

Forget scoring. For a center points are the easy work. Focusing on boards alone Dwight is 10'th all time in 20 rebound games. Here's the list.

Rk	Player	Pos	Games
1	Dennis Rodman	F	159
2	Dikembe Mutombo	C	52
3	Charles Barkley	F	48
4	Ben Wallace	F	41
5	Hakeem Olajuwon	C	40
6	Kevin Garnett	F	36
7	Shaquille O'Neal	C	35
8	Kevin Willis	F	35
9	Marcus Camby	F	33
10	Dwight Howard	C	31

Yes! 159 More Excuses To Put Up Weird Dennis Rodman picsProps to the Worm. Maybe the most under-rated player of all time and the undisputed best pure rebounder ever. I digress: that's another column. He didn't put up points or blocks like D12.

What should be noted is that at age 23 Dwight is in 10'th place with 9 more 20 board games then Duncan and 10 more then Ewing. If he continues having 10 20 board games a season (like this one) he'll pass everyone except Rodman before he's 25 and again just entering his prime.

That's historically. Measures of domination are not against history but by outperforming peers. Why can we safely assume that baring injury he's going to continue pulling down 20's so frequently? Lets look at the list of active players who have had even 1 20 board game and is under 30. No offense to TD et al, but they're in the twilight of respective brilliant careers. This is the competition.

Rk	Player	Pos	Games
5	Dwight Howard	C	23
25	Chris Kaman	C	5
28	Dirk Nowitzki	F	5
29	Carlos Boozer	F	4
32	Al Jefferson	F	4
36	Amare StoudemireF	4
44	Yao Ming	C	3
46	Emeka Okafor	F	3
49	Andrew Bogut	C	2
50	Chris Bosh	F	2
51	Tyson Chandler	C	2
61	Zach Randolph	F	2
72	Nick Collison	F	1
87	Al Horford	C	1
90	David Lee	F	1
96	Troy Murphy	F	1

There's not a lot of competition there. Only 16 have even one 20 board game and #2 is 25'th all tim with 5 of them. When you consider that most of them are closer to 30 then 25, much less 23, and most of them have already started to break down, the list is actually shrinking and this league is Howard's. A few other views to consider.

The 15/15/5 club, active and under 30, is a small club.

Rank	Player	Pos	Games
1	entire league:	A	17
2	Dwight Howard	C	12
3	Emeka Okafor	F	6
4	Yao Ming	C	5
5	Chris Kaman	C	2
6	Andris Biedrins	C	1
7	Tyson Chandler	C	1
8	Al Horford	C	1
9	Josh Smith	F	1

Lets talk blocks. (3 times fast!) D12 vs. the league. Starting at 3/game: everyone has a game with a block or two. It goes without saying: Howard is in first place for every row until you factor in the league thing. I factored in fluke games for this one. If a guy has a solitary >5 block game in an entire season that's a statistical burp; not a peer of Dwight Howard. I included some percentages on who owns what as well.

x Blocks	Howard	Entire League	Non-Fluke Games	# Of Others	# Of Non-Fluke Others	DH's % Of Total Games	DH's % Of All x BLK Games (Non Fluke)	% Of DH Games With x BLKS	% Of 432 Who Can't	% Of 432 Who Can't Or Fluke
3	42	879	830	167	112	5	5	53	61	74
4	24	312	268	100	56	7	8	30	77	87
5	15	103	72	52	19	13	17	19	88	96
6	8	33	20	21	7	20	29	10	95	98
7	2	11	7	7	3	15	22	3	98	99
8	2	4	0	4	0	33	100	3	99	100
9	1	1	0	1	0	50	n/a	1	100	100
10	1	0	0	0	0	100	n/a	1	100	100

I'm not sure what is more astounding considering any position is totally capable of having a few blocks in a game; that 5%/8% of all 3/4 block games or 30% of all 6 or more block games (non-fluke) in a league of 432 players are his.

x Boards	Howard	Entire League	Non-Fluke Games	# Others	# Non-Fluke Others	DH's % Of All x-Board Games	DH's % Of All x-Board Games(Non-Fluke)	% Of DH Games With x BLKS	% of 432 Who Can't	% of 432 Who Can't Or Fluke
10	63	2041	2005	200	170	3	3	80	54	61
11	59	1440	1379	186	130	4	4	75	57	70
12	55	990	942	147	99	5	6	70	66	77
13	51	679	645	117	83	7	7	65	73	81
14	45	435	401	95	61	9	10	57	78	86
15	34	284	259	75	50	11	12	43	88	83
16	23	169	145	54	30	12	14	29	88	93
17	19	118	100	42	24	14	16	24	90	94
18	17	75	57	36	17	18	23	22	92	96
19	14	45	28	26	9	24	33	18	94	98
20	10	27	16	18	7	27	38	13	96	98
21	6	13	7	9	3	32	46	8	98	99
22	3	9	3	7	1	25	50	4	98	99.7
23	2	5	3	2	1	29	40	3	100	99.7

Again, whats most impressive? He's responsible for almost 40% of the non-fluke 20 board games and 46% of the non-fluke 21+ board games or that half the league is not even capable of having one 10 board game while Howard has 63 of them. That's a 75% chance every night. Maybe its a nearly 60% chance he pulls down 14 boards, every, single, night. There is no player like this today. There are very few players like this in the past. Once Dwight Howard actually reaches his prime there will be no player in history like this.

Last point. Lets consider something other then stats. In the ESPN voting page I linked to one of the writers said "Dwight needs to improve at the offensive end. 20 ppg won't win MVP." Being a good offensive player is not always about putting the ball through the hoop and its not always about being the player to have the ball right before another player scores.

Dwight's presence inside demands a constant double team/team defensive strategy. Opponents collapse on Dwight which gets easy open looks for others. Go inside, the defense collapses, pass back out and swing it to the weak side for a great look. That IS the Magic's offense. Anyone paying attention when watching realizes that Howard is involved in nearly every single scoring play. Free looks and open lanes for everyone aboud and thats because of him... not Hedo and Lewis.

He's been so effective he made perennial laughing stock Jameer Nelson an all-star. The fact he scores 20 PPG only indicates his willing attitude to work within the structure of the offense to create the best opportunity to score points instead of getting his. He's happy playing for 59 wins despite downgrading his point (and losing his bench point) then for 50 and 30 PPG.

Howard is ranked 7'th or 8'th on mock MVP ballots behind players like Billups, Kobe, Pierce and Brandon Roy. I challenge anyone doing so to look at these numbers and honestly tell me he's not top 3. Dwight is unmistakeably on a historical tear starting this season and ending approximately 5-10 years later when micro fractured knees meet kryptonite edged scalpels. If they hold off till then he'll also shatter nearly every important stat for a big man in the modern era of basketball. In many cases, doubling the current all time mark. The Magic have the best defense in the league and not because #12 is really entertaining in the dunk contests. Its time for people to take notice. Superman has landed.

Is The Wizards Ceiling Higher Then The Basement?

Remember When Agent 0 Did Things Like ThisI was recently listening to Bill Simmons discuss the Wizard's front office futility with his buddy House, a die hard Wizards fan. The risky contract they gave to Arenas, refusal to break up the team or make trades after multiple seasons in the basement are getting panned universally. This was no different.

"Whats their ceiling? Going out in the first or second round?" was Bill's estimate.

Its overly harsh. Their handling of Lebron and the Cavs showed lots of promise that maybe was not such a surprise to the front office. What is the ceiling of the healthy Wizards? Is it really just first round exit? There's a few questions that people should be asking.

Should Arenas even be playing?

Maybe its a risk. His come backs have all been rushed and resulting in re-injury. This time he's waited over a year and reports say his leg is 8 times stronger then his last attempt. I doubt he's going to spend his summer trying to make 100,000 jumpers this time either. The most retarded rehab effort I've ever heard of... he had to stop when his knee started to swell. I'm sure he's learned his lesson. The Wizards are taking a chance but I think Gil needs to go into the summer knowing he's still capable to enter next season confident.

The following savy front office move goes unacknowledged too. Season almost over, team has the worst record, upcoming renewal for season tickets and the worst economy since the great depression. Washington swung for the fences and made contact. How many season tickets do you think will be renewed on the basis of that solitary super charged home win against their rival and best team in the NBA? I'm betting a whole bunch. In one game Arenas/Washington gave their fans something to hope for and believe in. Basketball moves don't always make money. More money always puts you in a position to win more games if your owner cares. Money is always the difference between a team staying or leaving.

So where was this team the last time they were healthy?

People's memories are short. Less then a season after the Spurs lucked past Phoenix people say "they just can't beat the Spurs without playing D." No mentions that Nash was out for the end of game 1 because of a bloody nose and/or the Amare suspension.


Bet you Steve Nash Remembers!
Thats only linked with their string of bad luck. They've been labeled not good enough to beat SA and the reason is always no defense instead of the things that caused their losses. People call the past Lakers three peat team unstoppable except they were bailed out by the refs against the Kings/Blazers and the Charles Barkley injury in successive years. No one mentions their 3 straight were not earned. Short memories.

In 05/06 the Wiz had the sixth best offense in the league and took Cleveland (who made the finals) to an incredibly tight 6 games. It says something that they almost beat the team that did beat Detroit. In 06/07 when last healthy they had the best record in the Eastren Conference, were 10 games over .500 and playing over .600 ball. Things were looking up, way up.






What happened... did they lack the talent to win?

Then the problems started. Caron Butler missed 20 games that overlapped Jamison's own missed 12 games. Once back they lost Arenas and the season was over. They managed to salvage a .500 record and make the playoffs but got swept in the first round by Bron Bron and the Cavs.

In 07/08 Agent Zero rode the IR for a full season (consequently destroying my fantasy team's first place hopes. :( 2'nd) Solace: Caron Butler started to blossom into a big time player. Taking and making game changing shots he and Jamison led the Wiz to a 43-39 record and the playoffs without their best player. They couldn't handle the Cavs but they were playing without a player who produces 30 points, 6 dimes, 5 boards, 2 steals and is their unquestioned game closer. If the Cavs played without James I bet they don't beat Washington with Arenas either.

Should they have resigned 'The Hibachi'?

They re-signed their injured cornerstone hoping the medical staff was right when they said he could make a full recovery. People spout opinions but never have the sensitive data from team doctors about health. Statements are almost always conjecture amid the ballyhoo of the armchair athleate.

Denver got slammed for giving Nene a contract and now he's the best defensive NBA 5. Wade got written off too: he's an MVP candidate. Arenas has entered the Wade zone and is hoping for redemption. You have to recgonize that teams employ the best sports medicene specialists in the world to help them make decesions 'not' based on conjecture. So at least give a little slack. It sounds risky to me too: but if Arenas is fully back he is a max deal player without doubt.

So what can they do now... has the team gotten better or worse?

Move to the present. In the draft they picked up super athletic Nick Young and solid big Javale McGee. Brendan Haywood continues to develop as a dependable rotation player. Add a bonefide superstar to the mix (pending full recovery by Arenas) and the Wizards are looking like a legitimate sleeper to come out of the east.

Sooner Then Later: Griffin's Going To Make Impact Wherever He Lands
That's now. Consider this year's draft prospects: a serious shot at Blake Griffin. After watching Griffin in the tournament his addition to the Wizards roster would push them to contender and improving status. If the balls don't go their way however they still get a very high pick and can grab a solid point guard from whats left in a weak draft year for every other position.

Whats their ceiling? I'm not sure they have one. A team with a legit superstar in his prime if Arenas can complete The Wade next year. A legitimate second scoring option who can and has been #1 on a winning team. Talented youth. Experienced vets. Bring in a decent coach from the large pool of qualified non-working coaches. Lots of options for trades.

That's a winning combination for a very successful team and you've got to at least say they could make the East finals. Without Arenas Butler/Jamison took them to 43 wins. 3 or 4 more puts them in 4'th place matching up against a very beatable Atlanta Hawks. Could they challenge the Cavs in a series like they used to? It looks possible.

Back to that game. It meant way more to Cleveland then they let on. Dates with Orlando, San Antonio and Boston are on the schedule. Half of their remaining games are on the road and Celtics/Lakers have favorable schedules. They needed this game to secure home court in a tight race.



They Didn't Just Win , They Beat Lebron James
Washington didn't just win this game. And it wasn't a matter of the Cavs expecting to coast and being caught off guard. James was quoted saying "Records don't matter when we play eachother." The Wizards controlled the game against their rival from the opening tip with the first healthy Arenas in 2.5 years. The Wizards' have 17 wins. The Cavs have 60+ and came into Washington riding a 13 game winning streak.


Too many make their names by jumping on teams/people who are down. Its easy to kick people with bad luck: they already look like losers which puts them right at boot height. How many tough breaks a franchise can get in a row? The Wizards are still wondering what happens to their team when that luck finally starts to turn back to positives. I think a little faith is admirable in today's sports universe. Sometimes faith pays off. Ask Lebron James what happens when the down and out kicks back. They play again at home and you can bet its going to be a barn burner.
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Could Iverson/Pistons Dilema Have Been Fixed?

Easy To Take Shots At; Hard To UnderstandI just read the following from JA Adande on ESPN.com:

If Allen Iverson means it when he says he'd rather retire than keep coming off the bench then this isn't an issue for Pistons coach Michael Curry or president Joe Dumars to resolve. This is a matter for Dr. Phil, because this is about Iverson's love of the game, his commitment to a relationship that's lasted for a quarter of a century.

Even this AI fan is falling for it. Allen Iverson has just shut it down for the season due to a 'back injury'. He's played through sprained ankles, debilitating sickness and broken bones. Its not his back people. He's encountered a strain to a part he just can't cope with: his heart.

I appreciate JA's analysis and perspective but he has this call wrong. There's 3 basic jobs in the NBA. GM's assemble teams for success. Coaches take players and create the best possible team/individual system and shows people how to play in it. Players follow the direction of the coach and execute that system to win games.

When 2 of these 3 institutions do a good job the result is success: two groups will motivate the third. When only one of them do their job an organization becomes disjointed and all three show frustration as it's sucked into the void. View any clippers season (except the one before Livingston got hurt and the Larry Brown year) and you'll see examples.

Is Iverson to blame? Partly, for sure. But JA is wrong when he thinks its only Iverson's issue.
Some Coaches Solve Problems, Some Sulk And Blame Their Players
Dumars brought Iverson into a system that was an obvious bad fit before the ink dried on the dotted line. Michael Curry failed in developing a system he could sell to his top 3 players and the team as a whole. Iverson? I truly believe Iverson has tried to work with the Pistons. His statement is honest: his game is dominating the ball and doing this is how he's most effective. Its not his fault: it's just who he is and he's saying he's not being competitive. Remember: the Pistons chose him... he did not choose the Pistons.

That's Dumars' fault but realistically the Iverson trade was a money dump which makes sense for the future of the team. He has done his job but it will just take a few years to show up in the W column. Iverson would love to do his job but can't and is a little past his prime to win lots of games with his style. These are facts. That leaves us with Curry. Curry really has not done much but try and slot Iverson into different roles of the team he used to coach before the trade happened.

No wonder he's had trouble selling it to the players. How do you really sell a game plan to the players that takes an all-star guard and puts him on the bench so the new guy can try and outperform him in that role? How are the other starters who went to war, won a title and made 7 straight conference finals with Rip at the 2 going to react to that? Badly. Iverson clearly does not fit Rip's role in the starting system anyway. Rip played it at a championship level so how does changing something that's not broken improve your team?

Plan B failed too. Take a player who's entire game is working with the ball in his hands and try and make him fit in as a reserve. How do you sell that to the team or Iverson? An all-star with the ball in his hands who made the finals that way. Now you expect him to excel hitting spot ups off the bench? Iverson feeds off of competition, playing hard and above all else contributing to his team's success. He's a hero player. Its his game.

I say kudos to both Rip and Al for trying both attempts over this season but hand Curry a big boo-urns for sulking that Billups is gone. Both minimally complained and expressed personal frustration that coming off the bench is not helping them help the team. Only Iverson took heat however when he complained that him being on the bench does not help the team and not adjusting. The man no one is talking about though, the coach, has been trying to fit square pegs in a round holes all season long.

Instead of creating a maximizing approach for his team's abundant talent Curry he's hanging onto his past team like Britney holds onto her past career. Its to the point now where Iverson is considering retirement openly. Curry gave up on a still prolific and capable player before he got there. In doing so he gave up on a season as well.

Whats needed is a game plan. One built around the pistons on the roster. One that keeps everyone happy. One that has a role for everyone to contribute. Whats needed is some compromise. So why not give Allen Iverson this challenge.

You say: "AI, we know you've got trouble playing with our team. We know you need to be the star to be effective. Lets try something no one has ever done with you before."

I guarantee you, I'd bet a year's salary on it... Iverson's ears would perk up at this sentence. Instantly. What he told the press was not "I want to quit basketball" but that he's starting to think basketball is quitting on him. That everything has been tried and he just does not work on winning teams anymore. AI is saying he's not in it for the money.

Throw down this plan on him. Instead of trying to make Iverson change his style create a separate system for him. Build a second unit around his skill sets, then use it to crucify opposing team's benches and starters alike. It would be feared in the league. Say "We don't want to change how you , AI, we want you to change games."

Iverson is absolutely listening now. Iverson is still coming off the bench but because of the packaging rather then insulting his talent its challenging him. Show him clips of the Knicks team that made the finals with Spreewell leading a second charge off the bench that would change up the looks the opponents saw and often blow them away as the defense tried to adjust to the style switch on the fly. Teams were constantly caught with their pants down when Ewing went off the court the tempo changed.

It makes sense. The starters are too good together to change their system. Iverson is too Iverson to be effective playing any other way. Its a way to be himself, be proud of the way he contributes and not distract the team. It absolutely makes the Pistons much tougher to scout and match up with. Using the 'bad boy' unit you can lock down and dig in. Then switch to AI mode and run them off the floor and no team will know when its coming. Check out the line ups.

"Bad Boys"

5 Sheed

4 Dice

3 Prince

2 Rip

1 Stucky

That is what the Pistons are winning with right now. Great starting 5.

"AI Mode"

5 Kwame Brown (who did prove he can play a little in LA in the playoffs)

4 Jason Maxiell (who's also under used)

3 Amir Johnson/Hermann

2 AI/Afflalo/Bynum

1 AI/Afflalo/Bynum

Unit 2 is not going to win 50 or 60 games. But they could win 5-10 minute stretches. No sweat. There is not a leader who plays with more heart then AI. Its right on his sleeve and it WILL get Kwame going. It will get their bench guys going who thus far are severely under-performing.

Lots of combinations and possible tweaks exist too. Move Maxiell or Johnson to center and go small. Take prince and put him at the 3. Take any starter and move him to play with the second unit. The main point is that when the second unit is on the floor you play with a different game plan that utilizes Iverson's skills to put points on the board.

Its a match up nightmare. Your team gets ahead in the game D'ing up Detroits systematic offense. Your 2 is fighting Rip off screens. Your 4 or 5 is getting help to contain Sheed's inside/outside game. You're defending the pick and roll and Detroit's other half-court sets well. Then Iverson comes in and your point guard is getting isolated on the wing while the rest of the players are clearing out the strong side to run back in off screens while Iverson creates. Do you really think Daniel Gibson could have handled this in the Pistons last Cavs loss? Nope and I'll prove it.

Curry's ineptitude was shining bright recently in Cleveland. Iverson was finally given some minutes in the fourth. That is after running the offense throuugh Will Bynum created a 7 point deficit in the quarter. 9 plus/minus if you include the Bynum shot that Joe Smith swatted. 11 if you include his missed dunk. 13 if you count his bricked jumper. 14 because he could not stay in front of Mo Williams who hit Bron for an clear path pass on a back door play. The Cavs announcer needed extra dry cleaning to say the least after that.

So at the nine minute mark Iverson was allowed to use the ball. Every time AI pushed, this happened. Drained a pull up. Uncontested jumper in the key. Shot a pass to Maxiell from the 3 point line under the hoop for an easy lay in. Will Bynum missed a point blank lay up in transition. Shot Sheed a pass from under the hoop to the 3 point line for a wide open trey. (missed) Split the defense, drove the lane, easy lay up. Will Bynum threw a pass away then promptly raced down to foul 23 for the and 1. (at least he got a dime!) Drew a foul on Big Z trying to contain AI. AI got blocked. Good D by MO. Stuck on MO like glue forcing him to miss a shot. Gave it to McDyce for a wide open jumper. (missed) Almost turned it over driving to the hole but ripped it away from Varajeo and called time too quickly for him to react. Then as a reward for saving the possession Curry used the timeout Iverson fought for and called to take him off the floor.

For that 5:50, with the ball, they were down 7. Iverson responded with 9 points on 4 of 5 shooting, two assists, two wide open looks for teammates, 1 drawn foul, got the lead, and was pulled from the game. They were down 3 when Curry pulled him. They lost the lead when Bynum threw the rock away and fouled Bron. In fact, the only scoring plays Bynum was involved in during the stretch was when he passed it to AI and got out of his way. Curry put the starters back in and they promptly let the lead balloon to 8 before losing by 6. Oh yea, he also took a slap-in-the-face sized stake and drove it through the most exposed heart in the league. (its on his sleeve) In 18 minutes AI outscored everyone except Rip's 13 with 11 points. 9 in that 6 minute stretch when they, you know, let him play.

It was Iverson's second game back after not playing for over a month, after he rushed back from his back injury to contribute. Whats inside the mind of Curry? Well, this was his thinking before Iverson came back.

"Maybe Allen comes in and plays a lot of time at Will Bynum's spot," Curry said.

Now legions of fans, writers and anyone else are saying Iverson's horrible attitude and selfishness is why the Pistons are not doing well. Then questioning his heart. Then saying its his fault. I'm sorry, but that is bullshit. Iverson blamed 'himself' for his frustration, 'himself' for his failure to compete, 'himself' for everything. Even when its blatently Curry's arrogance and or incompetence thats directly to blame.

Put Iverson on a stationary bike like PJ did with Rodman. Or put him in the back hitting jumpers to keep in rhythm. Just make it work. If the starters start having an off quarter you throw AI in to play at top speed with his heart on his sleeve, get the fans into it and see what might happen. Maybe the goal of the AI crew is to run Iverson at another team's bigs and tally up a few quick fouls.

The Pistons Can't Comprehend 'Crazy For A Championship' Like They Used To
Rodman is a great comparison. He wanted special treatment and the Bulls gave it. In return he gave them a 72 win season on the GOAT NBA team. Teams too caught up in cliches about attitude often forget that winning is the bottom line. Winning is 'always' the team concept and when you're playing at the highest for all the marbles its all any winning teams care about.

Rodman worked on Chicago because Jordan cared about nothing, absolutly nothing, besides winning. He was willing to give Rodman special status. I guarentee you Jordan would have cleaned his toilets if it meant the Worm was going to pull down 20 boards that night. Except thats not happenomg here because , faults that he may have, came to a team/coach with a few other bottom lines. Instead they're scapegoating him as "The Answer" to the question "why are you underachiveing."

But its actually not too late. If the team gets mentally together and approaches Iverson with a direct plan. If they say we need them to shut up our doubters. AI doubters and Pistons doubters. If they say Allen Iverson: you can be the difference between us wining and losing. We can come together then they could still make the season work if you're up for it. No doubt Iverson's treatments will be magical and his back will heal overnight. Its not likely though as egos are probably too big to admit a mistake but the Pistons just don't have enough to get past the first or second round. Possible but a crazy long shot.

Anythings better then just giving up in my books. It says silently that the Pistons are not trying to win this year and says it from the top down. Many can't recover from a move like this. The suns could never recover from the forced style change the Shaq trade brought and the knowledge the current players had that their management had given up on them. Didn't believe in them. Now Iverson has quit on the Pistons and I fear its the beginning of the end for one of the present era's best and unheralded teams.