NBA: West remains the best; Iverson shouldn’t quit

November 27th, 2009, 10:59 am · 5 Comments · posted by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Phoenix visits 1-14 Minnesota tonight, so it’s likely that eyesore with the Suns leading the Lakers in the Pacific Division will last a little longer.

It’s only a temporary inconvenience, anyway, but the 12-3 Suns have established themselves under Coach Alvin Gentry as solid playoff contenders in the ultra-competitive as usual Western Conference.

Alvin Gentry (Getty Images)

The reigning champion Lakers are still the class of the league, but there are several strong squads who could challenge them if the Lakers bench doesn’t become more consistent in its production. Making the starters return to games they have already won is a bad habit.

Besides Kurt Rambis’ Timberwolves, I would rule out only Memphis (and its strange chemistry brew) and banged-up Golden State as playoff contestants.

The 6-10 Clippers are only slightly better than the Grizzlies and Warriors record-wise, but they have been missing Eric Gordon lately (he returned Wednesday) and super rookie Blake Griffin all season.

A victory tonight at Detroit against the shorthanded Pistons would be a big boost for the Clippers, who threw a game away Wednesday at Indiana against the Danny Granger-less Pacers.

The haves and have-nots are clearly defined in both conferences, with five West teams owning 11 victories or more after one month. The Eastern Conference has four such squads, with 9-5 Miami within striking difference.

Overall, it’s business as usual. A team, maybe two, with a winning record will miss the playoffs in the West, while the East might have two sub-.500 teams qualify.

***

On another front, I agree wholeheartedly with Charlotte coach Larry Brown, who says Allen Iverson shouldn’t retire.

The problem is, most of the teams that could use him, like the Bobcats, have too many small guards who can play.

New York doesn’t have that excuse, but I have already made myself clear on the outrage that the Knicks have become.

***

Kudos to Shaquille O’Neal for his noble gesture of paying for the funeral of a slain North Carolina girl. The spirit of generosity in the world of sports was abundant on Thanksgiving, as Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson made a $2 million gift to his alma mater.

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J-Dizzle says:

November 27, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Earl there is a huge hole in your story man. Not sure if something happened that the portion of it was deleted or what but it’s missing.

“A victory tonight at Detroit against the shorthanded Pistons would be a big boost for the Clippers, who”

It’s that portion about half way down your article.

Post Reply

Earl Bloom, staff writer says:

November 27, 2009 at 7:46 pm

Thanks for having my back. Part of the sentence was dropped.

Post Reply
- J-Dizzle says:
  
  November 29, 2009 at 1:16 am
  
  No worries Earl. I respect ya and the rest of the writers in the group. May not always agree, but everyone has their opinions. I’m not gonna shoot ya in the leg like some unfortunately do here to Janis nor would I to her over something small and menial.
  
  Post Reply

peter tang says:

November 28, 2009 at 5:39 am

lakers sign iverson. let him start in place of fisher. sub fisher for iverson after 3-5 minutes. then when 2nd unit time comes, let iverson work . iverson will make life difficult for most teams. by doing that, everyone is happy. iverson can start. fish is mature and wouldn’t mind. kobe and iverson do not need to spend too much time together in court which could be a problem as each demands the ball too much. small investment considering iverson does not cost much. you will see opposing teams sweating with kobe and iverson taking turns to attack.

November 29, 2009 at 1:15 am

Iverson can’t function in the triangle offense. He can’t play defense because he doesn’t want to, refuses to practice which means he’ll NEVER learn the triangle and he’s a total headcase. He’d make life difficult and wouldn’t be worthwhile on the Lakers. He needs to be on a team such as the Suns or the Knicks to thrive. Maybe even the Warriors. Problem is, he’s going to want to start and he’s not going to play second fiddle to Monta Ellis or Steve Nash.

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