Everybody Hates Allen

When I read this this morning, along with a few other scathing criticism of Allen Iverson's remarks about only playing 18 minutes last night, I got pissed.

I mean, I get it, there are those who hate Allen Iverson and those that love him. You can't sway those opinions on the guy. I happen to love Allen Iverson. I think he's an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime player that I was privileged to witness play for my favorite team most of his career. I understand the critics. He shoots a lot, commands the ball, has a style that is unique and not necessarily the way to a championship. But the amount of heat his haters put on him is ridiculous.

I was going to write a response to the latest attacks on Iverson, but then I came came across this, via The Big Lead, and Dr. Dime said it better than I ever could. Please check it out:

After reading the response in the blogosphere to Allen Iverson’s post-game comments about playing time, after the Detroit Pistons lost a close game to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, I wonder if anyone actually bothered watching the game.

Allen Iverson played a mere 18 minutes, but scored 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Rip Hamilton played 34 minutes and scored only 13 points on 4-14 shooting. When Iverson was on the floor the Pistons were +2 in the plus/minus, when Hamilton was on the floor the Pistons were -14 in the plus/minus (worst on the team I might add).

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I’m not really leaning towards either Allen Iverson or Rip Hamilton being more deserving than the other for the starting nod. I think they both are excellent players and bring something a bit different to the table. What I am concerned with is the media and blogosphere response to Allen Iverson. The guy is a future hall of famer, one of the greatest scorers this game has ever seen. Pound for pound he may be the greatest scorer ever. Allen Iverson has always been considered to be a warrior on the court, playing through countless injuries, bumps and bruises, as a result of his fearless, slashing style of play. The guy takes a beating more than probably anyone in the league. Doesn’t he deserve the benefit of the doubt concerning his back injury?

It is a completely disrespectful, short-sighted, and fickle response to question Allen Iverson’s back injury. Instead Detroit fans and analysts should focus more on the fact that Allen Iverson with the recent lengthy time off he’s had (the longest stretch of rest he’s had in years), it may mean he’s finally ready to return to his level of dominance we are used to seeing. But he will need some minutes to do so. And 18 minutes a game, isn’t going to cut it.

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Allen Iverson is still The Answer, give the guy a chance, I think he’s earned it.