Philadelphia 76ers '97-98

THERE ARE THREE GREAT LIES about Allen Iverson.

1. Allen Iverson never passes the ball.

Iverson had more assists than Penny Hardaway had in his rookie year. Iverson did not have anyone like Shaquille O'Neal to pass to either. Iverson led the Rookie Game played at the All-Star Break with nine assists. Iverson assisted on a higher percentage of his team's scores than Stephon Marbury.

2. Allen Iverson should pass the ball more.

A point guard's job is to identify the best way for his team to score, whether that is by finding an open man or by scoring himself. On this Philadelphia team, Iverson was probably the most effective at getting a good shot and, despite his still errant shot, was one of the team's most effective at converting.

Michael Jordan was criticized for not passing enough when he was younger. He is no longer criticized for that because his team wins. Jordan actually had fewer assists per game last year than he had in any of his first full 10 seasons in the league.

3. Philadelphia would be better if the scoring were more balanced among players.

There is research to show that the best offenses are well balanced. However, if someone were to make an effort to study the worst offenses of history, they would also find very balanced scoring among them. As a simple example, the three worst offensive teams last year were Vancouver, Dallas, and San Antonio. These teams were 2nd, 6th, and 3rd, respectively, in terms of balanced scoring. The three best offensive teams last year were Utah, Chicago, and Seattle. These teams were among the six least well-balanced scoring teams in the NBA. Interestingly, Philadelphia was the only unbalanced team with a poor team offense last year.

I welcome any research or comments on this topic.

The near future of the 76ers lies in Allen Iverson's very quick hands. Though he was not particularly good as a rookie, he showed more improvement than any other rookie. He improved a lot from his freshman to his sophomore year in college. Philly is going to get better as quickly as Iverson does. On that basis and on the fact that he is now the most exciting player in the league, I am buying tickets for when Philadelphia visits my hometown. He is the only player in the league I'd pay much to see.