Iverson Refused to come off the Bench

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Allen Iverson said he was ready to play in Sunday's 85-69 loss to the Detroit Pistons but changed his mind after 76ers coach Chris Ford told him he'd come off the bench.

"I'm a starter. I've been a starter here for eight years. I'm not a sixth man," Iverson said after the game. "I'm a starter. I know in this league ... if someone comes back from an injury, if he's a starter he starts. What's the difference? If you're going to cut my time down, cut my time down. It doesn't make any difference. I'm a starter."

Iverson has been hampered by a swollen right knee, which caused him to miss three straight games before Sunday. The league's second-leading scorer participated in the shootaround before the game but was on the Sixers' bench in street clothes at tip-off.

After the game, he said he "was already taped and everything and had my uniform on. I had to take it back off, so that was rough."

"I feel real disappointed because I told the trainers I was going to play," Iverson said. "He (Ford) said I hadn't run up and down the court, and he wasn't sure about my conditioning."

Ford and Iverson have had a rocky relationship since the coach replaced the fired Randy Ayers on Feb. 9.

"I didn't know he was going to attempt to play until how much time was left on the (pre-game) clock? Not much," Ford said. "From my understanding and what I was told yesterday after his workout, I'm going to look out for A.I. and the team. Somebody's got to make decisions around here

First of all, I think without a doubt Ford should let him play, afterall they have a 28-39 (or 28-40 record after the Pistons game), and as things are going right now, they end is near. I think he should start Iverson and let it make the best out of the situation. But what bothers me the most is that Iverson doesnt even care about his team anymore, sure hes their best player, but if a coach decides to bench you for whatever reason, you should respect that decision, maybe not agree with it but atleast respect it.

But Iversons ego overshadows his talent sometimes, this situation really shows that he cares more about his self then he cares about his team these days.
If he cares bout winning, the least he could do is play. Maybe they still would have lost, but showing effort that you want to win and still lose is alot better then just saying "F it".

What do you guys think? should he play the game? or did he do the right thing?

I can see where AI is coming from, and I do understand his point of view. He's back, ready to play, and he's a starter. As the team's star player he should be starting, playing as many minutes as he can given his recent injuries and how they affect his performance.

But, it's up to the coach, and no matter what level you are playing you must respect the coach's authority and the decisions that they make. Refusing to play in a game because you are unhappy about coming off the bench isn't right.

I'm not going to judge Iverson or be overly critical, but no, I don't think it was the right thing to do. Though I do understand his point of view and appreciate that he might have felt disrespected by Ford, he should have played.

Iverson didn't play...because of his ego...thats not the right thing to do...

To be a MVP...u need to be a team player and what Iverson did was selfish and immature. If he is so angry that he didn't get to start, he should ring Darko Milicic and ask how he feels!

If Iverson didn't play because he wasn't ready- due to injury, that's fine. But because of how he thought today, I don't have no respect for him anymore.

It was the wrong thing to do...

I'm starting getting tired of all those players behaving like Babies ... (Iverson, McInnis, Eddy Curry and so much more ...)

Ford has to be accountable too. It seems like he wants to make a name for himself and to do that he is trying to be hard (and unreasonable) on iverson. No wonder chris ford hasnt had an nba job in a few years. If i was iverson, i wouldnt have played either. This guy has done so much for philly, what has chris ford done for them, other than enhance his own ego...

This shows how much respect AI has for Ford,this kind of thing happend few months back as Ayers benched him.Between wasn't Ford coaching '91 nba all-star team?

Sounds like something T-Mac would do.

pity to here this, i thought AI was suppose to be the hardest working player, but if he ant beb toehred playing coz he dont start what does that show.

What a lazy dawg...
He is a key player to his team but still is grumpy...Thought that Iverson is a hard-workin playa,buutt.....nah

AI is a hard-working playa but he wants to show Ford who's the boss,if you don't respect me as a player you'll see we'll lose,if you don't respect me as a person we'll lose,if you don't respect me then I won't respect you and we're gonna lose...simple as that

AI is a hard-working playa but he wants to show Ford who's the boss,if you don't respect me as a player you'll see we'll lose,if you don't respect me as a person we'll lose,if you don't respect me then I won't respect you and we're gonna lose...simple as that

he's not a hard working player... remember his quote: "Practice??"

AI is a hard-working playa but he wants to show Ford who's the boss,if you don't respect me as a player you'll see we'll lose,if you don't respect me as a person we'll lose,if you don't respect me then I won't respect you and we're gonna lose...simple as that

he's not a hard working player... remember his quote: "Practice??"

Have you watched him play in games?

I agree with the point that AI was trying to make, but for the Sixers, every game is crucial. Once in awhile, you've got to swallow your ego and just play, whether it's off the bench or not.

yes i've seen him play... actually i was big fan during the 2001-2002 season but these days he continue to disappoint me....

I can see where AI is coming from, and I do understand his point of view. He's back, ready to play, and he's a starter. As the team's star player he should be starting, playing as many minutes as he can given his recent injuries and how they affect his performance.

^^

i no alotta people gon hate on me for sayin this but id also say pride over success, its just my opinion so dont even bother quoting that.

yes i've seen him play... actually i was big fan during the 2001-2002 season but these days he continue to disappoint me....

thats just sad, either you are a real fan and like your player in successful AND bad times or you leave it not just like he was this season good so im a fan but as soon as he does sth wrong ill look for someone else to be fan of...

i just have one thing to say:

"Practice??!?!?!!??!! We talking about PRACTICE maaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

AI is a hard-working playa but he wants to show Ford who's the boss,if you don't respect me as a player you'll see we'll lose,if you don't respect me as a person we'll lose,if you don't respect me then I won't respect you and we're gonna lose...simple as that

If you let me play, we still would lose

Just two quick questions:

- What's this "Pracice" your talking about?
- And who's that in our sig gloveGuy?

There was a comment Iverson made some time back, where he said practice wasnt that important, so the coach shouldnt make such a big deal about missing practise.

And I hope Gloveguy doesnt mind me answering, but this is my interpretation:

It's just ironic as to how young this fan is and it's suggested that he's crying because Duke lost. I think he has a Duke jersey on, that's why I'm assuming that that's the reason the kid is crying.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports ... 187911.htm

I'm guessing Ford will be very lucky if he's still around next year.

I think most of this has to do with fustration. The Sixers are a losing team now for the first time in a few years and AI has been injuried all season and been forced to take time off, something he never really did in the past always playing through injuries. He was injuried again and finally was cleared to play.AI was probably thinking:
a. they need me, im playing today
b. i need to lead my team, and gotta take over from the start so I can get my teammates involve if possible later on or visa versa

When Ford said you comin goff the bench, AI felt a bit disrespected.
He wants to play, and he will play through the injuries like he did before. no damn injury will stop me from starting if im playing in thegame. If I can''t start, i can't play, hence coach says off the bench, i say f' it, im not playing. Who do you think you are. you just a interm coach. sure you my coach and all, but you still a interm coach with no good history like larry brown. you have some nerve benching me like this. you know what, i ain't playing. screw you, im AI, the franchise player. We suck so badly this year and you have some nerve not letting me start. you know what, you don't know nothing about ball, f' you i ain't playing today. if you think im too injuried to start then i ain't playing. maybe next game.

It's jus thte losing thats the problem. If there record was flipped around I'm sure AI would of played off the bench but given the situation in philly now, this really pissed him off and it got the best of him. The coach was protecitng AI but AI isn't use to being protected like that.

Tim Duncan, 2 time MVP, 2 time NBA Champion, and NBA Finals MVP comes off the bench for the first time in his career against Minnesota.


Duncan off Bench

That's the attitude the Sixers would no doubt prefer Iverson to have, though as Duncan noted the situation was slightly different:

"It's two totally different situations," Duncan said. "I tried to play a week ago and obviously wasn't ready. It was about getting in live action and seeing how (the knee) reacts. I might want to (come off the bench) more often. My knee feels great right now."

Yea I just like the attitude he has about it, I mean he played pretty good yesterday annoying KG and many other T-Wolves guarding him even with the bad shooting, but he's not even dissapointed or anything, he's just like maybe I should do it more.

I mean I know Iverson felt he was fine, but he had a horrible game the next game when he started and also went 0-7 in the second half.

"I'm a starter. I've been a starter here for eight years. I'm not a sixth man," Iverson said after the game. "I'm a starter. I know in this league ... if someone comes back from an injury, if he's a starter he starts. What's the difference? If you're going to cut my time down, cut my time down. It doesn't make any difference. I'm a starter."

I really hate that guy.