Ballhogers Ltd.

[fgrep15]

^
Well he still hogged when Snow was there, just slightly less because he wasn't setting up the offense.

[Fresh8]

MJ wasnt a hog... he was simply the best player on his team and his teammates acknwoledged that and freely gave up the ball for him. And he, as u guys said shot efficiently from the field.

Looking at AI and Kobe, I dont think their teammates feel too good bout giving up the rock to him.

[fgrep15]

Yea he doesn't fit the definition of a "hog" because he was very efficient, he just dominated the ball a lot, but you don't complain if he's shooting 50% from the field.

[Andrew]

I consider guys like Stephen Jackson to be ballhogs in a worse way. In the few Pacers games I've seen this season, I've been amazed to check the boxscores afterwards and see that he actually registered an assist - especially the recent Pacers/Lakers game when he had five.

Michael Jordan did dominate the ball early in his career, but as has already been pointed out he was pretty efficient in doing so. The difference is, he still passed the ball and he still dished out a decent amount of assists for a guy whose main role was to carry the scoring load. AI is similar in that respect. It seems that every time Stephen Jackson gets the ball he puts up a shot almost immediately. Dominique Wilkins did that a lot too, but the Hawks needed him to score and Nique could flat out score. And that's one that can't be blamed on Michael Jordan either.

[The X]

yep, no one likes to play with ballhogs....I played with an Asian PG who thought he was the shit, and he was a huge ballhog, and it's not fun to play with....I think a lot of teammates need to have the ball going through their hands to be at their best and get a feel for the game....they don't need to be taking shots, just getting touches....most players, like Kenny Thomas, will struggle in that sort of offense....unless you are like my main man Ced Ceballos and can thrive on garbage points off offensive rebounds, then you are in trouble....

[FendeR`]

Thank you for bringing that up X after everyone bashing AI. The guy makes the best of what he has, and he is supposed to carry the load. Let's see... Igoudala can catch the oops, Korver can go on streaks but can also be cold, Webber isn't showing consistency... I don't think I'm leaving anyone with a decent impact out. Iverson has to score most of the points on his team. And don't say "he only gets assists because he hogs the ball so much", that's rediculous.

[fgrep15]

And don't say "he only gets assists because he hogs the ball so much", that's rediculous.

I wouldn't say rediculous, he is a good passer, but when you handle the ball so much you will get assits because 70% of the time he's either the one passing or shooting the ball. His passing also isn't too efficient, but no one is discrediting how good he is, but it's just how his game is.

I don't know how anyone can argue that, even when he has other options, he still plays the same way.

[IronMan]

I don't understand how he was a ballhog during the all-star game. I disagree completely. He dished out the ball quite efficiently and effectively in my opinion. He didn't force up stupid shots when there were men OPEN. The fact that he holds the ball a lot is because he is the playmaker. During the all-star game, he drove in, drew the double team and dished it out... so yes, he does need to hold the ball to do such a thing.

And that is what the Philly offence is like. The offence is centered around Iverson. Here's the difference between Kobe and Iverson. On the scoresheet, you barely see another player on the Lakers getting over 20 points. On Philly, you'll always get at least one other player getting in the 20 range and another few players scoring in the double digits. If I was a coach, I'd want to get the ball in Iverson's hands as much as possible too. I don't see why not. As for the number of turnovers, you'd probably cough up the same amount if you got the amount of coverage on you as well.

[FendeR`]

I wouldn't say rediculous, he is a good passer, but when you handle the ball so much you will get assits because 70% of the time he's either the one passing or shooting the ball. His passing also isn't too efficient, but no one is discrediting how good he is, but it's just how his game is.

I don't know how anyone can argue that, even when he has other options, he still plays the same way.

He's supposed to, he's the center of a relatively weak offense (compared to others). Who on Philly would you rather have leading the offense? It's not his fault that he's the point guard running the offense and he also is a star player who puts up big numbers to help his team win. Win you look at the other Sixers players, can you say that any of them could be the center of an offense and be successful? Chris Webber is borderline, but he isn't being consistent right now.

[jwill2]

iverson played great during the all-star game. the 7 turnovers didn't come off mishandles, but fancy passes that didn't work. the all-star game is usually a snorefest, it's more for entertainment than good basketball. tack on the fact that iverson's only 6'0" and gives up on average 3-4 inches against his defender. as a pg, iverson's height plays a key in his TO stats.

in my opinion, there's way too many ballhogs in this league. kobe, iverson, t-mac to a certain extent, carter on the raps, marbury, cassell and spree on the wolves, gerald wallace with the amount of minutes he gets, webber on the kings, etc. i can go on forever. but what differentiates kobe and iverson and all the other ballhogs is how well they handle the ball and keep their teammates happy. efficiency is key. kobe doesn't deserve to ballhog as much as iverson does. hell, if iverson was on my team and i feel that he can put up #s to help us win, i'd let hit jack up all the shots he wants. if he gets cold and starts doing stupid sh*t, i'll tell him to pass the ball. in the meantime, do whatever you wanna do, AI.

iverson's enjoying his best season and philly's enjoying moderate success. the lakers are going down fast. kobe still doesn't know how to play team ball. sure he'll try to get his teammates involved, but only for the first 5 minutes of the game. if his teammates don't get hot, he'll just start hogging it.

[J-Rich Fan]

Kobe, Melo, AI, Sprewell, and Peja St.

[COOLmac©]

wow peja a ball hog?

[The X]

Thank you for bringing that up X after everyone bashing AI.

I wasn't really backing up Iverson there....I was bagging him....I meant that guys like Kenny Thomas and co. NEED to get touches (which they don't get) because Iverson is dribbling the ball around to be somewhat effective....I was just relating topic to my own life experience....

maybe Philly should hunt down Ced Ceballos....he'd be awesome in their offense....grabbing all of Iverson's misses and scoring trash buckets

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

maybe Philly should hunt down Ced Ceballos....

And you said I had a Luke Walton aversion...

[Ataraxia]

Kobe, Melo, AI, Sprewell, and Peja St.

Peja?
No way if thats the case then Shaq's a ballhog aswell...and a host of other players...like Michael Redd...Amare Stoudemire...

U cant just go by the APG they have.....theirs a difference...

[Maaarf]

Any other annoying selfish guys in the NBA right now?

Say your own player, most guys here saying yeah Iverson, Iverson.
BESIDES Iverson and Kobe

[John WB]

Peja doesn't shoot enough. He can't be a ball hog.

And T-Mac might have been a ball hog on Orlando, but on Houston he's been much more of a passer.

I wouldn't say Marbury's a ballhog because soemtimes he's too passive. He just doesnt know when he should hog the ball.

[ShivaSquad]

jamal crawford can force up shots... sometimes antoine walker does... not on boston but last year on dallas he liked to keep it comin up the floor and tried to jus take it the hole every time wit the limited dribbling skills he has... created lotsa TO................... and jorge posada

[cyanide]

I don't understand how he was a ballhog during the all-star game. I disagree completely. He dished out the ball quite efficiently and effectively in my opinion. He didn't force up stupid shots when there were men OPEN. The fact that he holds the ball a lot is because he is the playmaker. During the all-star game, he drove in, drew the double team and dished it out... so yes, he does need to hold the ball to do such a thing.

And that is what the Philly offence is like. The offence is centered around Iverson.

That's exactly why I didn't enjoy the All-Star game. The ones I highlighted in bold answers your "question." The game shouldn't be centered around one player, especially a "playmaker" whose first option is to shoot But what my point is, I would enjoy the All Star game if it was a team game, because Iverson isn't the only star on the team. If they played 80's style basketball with efficient movement and unselfish passing, there will be a lot of great plays and easy baskets.

[John WB]

and jorge posada

What??

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

and jorge posada

He's a baseball player, right? Yankees? How can someone ballhog in baseball is beyond me...

[FendeR`]

But what my point is, I would enjoy the All Star game if it was a team game, because Iverson isn't the only star on the team. If they played 80's style basketball with efficient movement and unselfish passing, there will be a lot of great plays and easy baskets.

Maybe this is just my opinion, but I think many people will agree that the allstar game is about throwdowns, flashy passes, fancy dribble moves, etc. It's by no means good basketball, but it's fun to watch. I think almost everyone hear would rather watch some guy really throw down a nice dunk, then see the same guy flutter in a layup.

I wasn't really backing up Iverson there....I was bagging him....I meant that guys like Kenny Thomas and co. NEED to get touches (which they don't get) because Iverson is dribbling the ball around to be somewhat effective....I was just relating topic to my own life experience....

My fault, I mean to say thank you to Andrew, the post above you.

[The X]

Quote:

maybe Philly should hunt down Ced Ceballos....

And you said I had a Luke Walton aversion...

haha....I've been caught out

[Goldberg]

Explain this to me... how come in hockey, there has never been a puckhugger discussion ever... yet in basketball its a common discussion... maybe if players were allowed to punch the other guy they would pass more ...

[J-Rich Fan]

wow peja a ball hog?

I dont watch Peja that much, but when I see him play, hes always got the ball, it never leaves his hands, and he takes tons of shots.