Do the Right Thing: Bench Iverson

Michael Curry is giving every indication that there is room for only one shooting guard in the starting lineup. When RIP Hamilton returns from injury, either he or Allen Iverson is likely headed to the bench. The two shooting guards have both made numerous all-star teams and neither seems too happy about the prospect of watching the first few minutes of action seated by the coaches.

The motivation for bringing one of the two off the bench is clear – defense – but there is another question that is not being asked. Even if Hamilton is taken out of the equation, does Allen Iverson really contribute to the starting lineup?

At this point in his career, Iverson has clear strengths and weaknesses on the court. Iverson is better than most at creating offense; he is 66th among 322 qualified players in “usage rate” – the percent of a team’s possessions that a player uses, based on shots, assists, and turnovers. He also excels at getting to the free throw line. The latter skill has been especially valuable for a Piston team that rarely gets to the stripe. While Iverson’s ability to create open shots and earn free throw attempts is important, it is difficult to determine another strong point of his game.

His weaknesses, however, are more prevalent. While Iverson takes a lot of shots – a team-leading 15.2 per game – he does not make nearly enough to justify his shot selection. Iverson has made 40.9% of his field goal attempts and has the worst adjusted field goal percentage among the 12 Pistons usually on the active roster.

Iverson averages 5.5 assists per game, but his 2.7 turnovers a night negate that production. Iverson is a great ball handler who rarely has the ball taken from him, but he forces passes and often leaves his feet to pass – two habits that lead to his high turnover rate. Iverson is unable to contribute as a point guard, despite his dribbling skills, due to poor decision making. He is incapable of being a team’s floor general and therefore is relegated to playing shooting guard.

Partially due to the fact that Iverson is a shooting guard in an undersized point guard’s body, he is a disaster defensively. Iverson is badly undersized against nearly all of his opponents and usually has to defend point guards while his own team’s point guard checks shooting guards. On plays where Iverson switches or rotates onto a bigger player down low, he is completely helpless. When Iverson is able to match up against a player his size, he gambles far too frequently and struggles to stay in front of his man. Opponents also have little trouble rising up and shooting right over the 5’11 Iverson.

Iverson is still capable of contributing to an NBA team. His ability to free himself for makeable shots can be valuable when he is on the floor with defense oriented teammates. Unfortunately for Iverson, the Pistons starting lineup includes Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, and Rasheed Wallace, three players capable of creating offense more efficiently than Iverson.

The Pistons bench, however, struggles to score at times. Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell, and Antonio McDyess are all capable shooters, but none of the three is proficient at creating open shots. Iverson would complement that group well.

At this stage of his career, Iverson’s game most resembles that of players like Louis Williams, Ben Gordon, Leandro Barbosa, and a younger Monta Ellis. All of those players are undersized shooting guards and poor defenders who have excelled as offensive weapons off the bench. Iverson was a superstar throughout the bulk of his career, but he is no longer capable of leading a successful team anywhere but the lottery. As a complementary piece, however, he could be valuable. Allen Iverson is probably going to start in the all-star game next month. He should cherish that start because his days starting NBA games could be and should be over.

Update: Detroit Bad Boys hit the nail on the head:

No one wants to admit it, but at this stage in his career, Allen Iverson is nothing more than T.J. Ford without a conscience. A useful player who has his moments, but not one who should be shoe-horned into the starting lineup at the expense of a player who actually fits the offense, has a track record of success in the system and will still be a member of the team next year. -- Matt Watson, DBB