The Philly Phanatics

"Practice? You talkin' 'bout practice?" Anyone who has paid any attention to the Sixers or Allen Iverson over the past decade plus knows that story already. But are the Sixers foolish to think about writing the next chapter in the Philadelphia-Iverson novel? or even the next chapter in a fading career?

From a business standpoint, maybe not. Allen Iverson, when on top of his game, is a prolific scorer. He has the fire and determination to put point on the board, even if he doesn't want help doing so. He can take over games and put the ball in the basket, which will put more spectators in the blue chairs at the Wachovia Center, which might bring excitement to a team who now ranks in the bottom 2 in attendance so far this season and after a disappointing 104-102 loss to the Mavericks, are now on a 7-game skid.

From Allen Iverson's point of view, it's also not a bad decision. The man doesn't want to ride the bench and with Lou Williams out of action for at least 8 weeks, he would fit into the starting 5 perfectly. He could also see a rebirth in his career coming back to the team that drafted him and allowed him to explode into the superstar he soon after became, where he won an MVP and took a trip to the NBA Finals. Allen has not averaged 30 points per game since his last stint in Philadelphia, has seen his playing time drastically decrease (hasn't averaged 40 minutes a game since his Nugget days), and has seen his steals and assists per game also fall off since Philadelphia. The last statistic proving that he lost the little idea of a team effort he may have had at one time. He most likely will not have too much leverage on an asking price due to his declining production, age, and rough departures from his previous 2 teams, but if he can settle for not much above a veterans minimum, he may prove that he does have "a whole lot left in (his) tank."

With the Eagles now wearing on every Philadelphia fans last nerves and no baseball until March, the Philadelphia Phaithful need something to rely on besides the Flyers. A town that once buzzed about basketball and was ever present near the top of the East standings is now 5-13 and in desperate need of a change. Fans would most likely be happy to see Iverson. He did receive an amazing ovation when he returned to Phladelphia with the Nuggets. Fans would have a player who should potentially be able to scare 22 to 23 points a game based on his playing time and average scoring in Memphis but with more consistent time on the floor you should be able to see better numbers even than those.

Of course, with a superstar like Iverson, there's always a downside. I personally am worried how he and Andre Iguodala will get along after their rough patch while Allen departed for Denver. Some are thinking ahead to when Lou Williams returns and Iverson sees a cutback in playing time, will he react professionally? Most likely not. He wanted to start in Memphis, didn't get his wish, and 3 games into the season decided to take a personal leave and then announce retirement. Also, what kind of influence will he be on younger players like Marreese Speights, Thaddeus Young, and the youngest player in the NBA, 19 year old Jrue Holiday. Is this really a guy you want around players who are trying to come up and just be good team players?

There are a lot of questions to ask yourself when considering the idea of Iverson reuniting with the 76ers, but there is one that stand out above them all, is A.I. once again, "The Answer?"