The misconception of A.I. in 2001

[AlphaWolf24]

Good solid team/great defensive rebounding team in 01'...


They don't get past San Antonio, Sacramento , LA or Dallas if they played in the WC.

the east was sorry in the early 00's

[crisoner]

Watching Eric Snow miss wide open midrange jumpers over and over.

[HPye7]

his teammates were not great, but they fit the bill for someone to lead them in the way iverson did

[longtime lurker]

AI absolutely dragged that team to the finals kicking and screaming. Defensively they were awesome but offensively he was option 1,2 and 3

[willds09]

AI absolutely dragged that team to the finals kicking and screaming. Defensively they were awesome but offensively he was option 1,2 and 3

Well put

[willds09]

How come this thread dont get deleted tho? A bunch of haters

[The_Yearning]

You're technically correct about Stackhouse. His averages in '01 were ~30/4/5.

He also shot 40% that year chucking nothing but jump shots and that Pistons team was weak as hell. Surprisingly, that team won 50+ games the following season under the tutelage of Rick Carlisle. Carlisle doesn't get enough credit.

[Jyap9675]

Yea that team really fits Iverson's mould, seems like they will let Iverson shoulder the offensive load and take as many shots that he wants and the rest of the team will take care of the defensive end. Reminds me of the Bulls with Rose.

[ThaRegul8r]

his teammates were not great, but they fit the bill for someone to lead them in the way iverson did

Mutombo did work in the Conference Finals, picking up the slack during the games when Iverson shot 30%, and came up big in the deciding game when Iverson finally had a big game that series.

"He was a monster all series," one of the 76ers said, of Mutombo. I've posted this before on this forum. It's funny how people act like Iverson was the only one who did anything. Kblaze is the only one who said AI and Mutombo. Everyone else when talking about that year act like Iverson was going at it solo. It's like if you're not scoring 30 a game (regardless of how many shots it takes to get there), you did nothing.

[ShaqAttack3234]

He also shot 40% that year chucking nothing but jump shots and that Pistons team was weak as hell. Surprisingly, that team won 50+ games the following season under the tutelage of Rick Carlisle. Carlisle doesn't get enough credit.

Stack could definitely score, but he wasn't a guy you'd want as your first option which is why he was a good fit as sixth man for the Mavs. He could shoot 3s, post up, get to the rim, draw fouls ect. but he was ball-dominant and a legitimate chucker. Word gets thrown around too much, but it fits Stack at that time.

He was statistically similar to Iverson that year, but as players, they weren't close at all. I'm sure Philly is a playoff team with Stack instead of Iverson, but they sure as hell aren't winning 50 games and aren't getting to the finals. No real chance of getting by Toronto or Milwaukee either.

And I agree, Carlisle is a great coach.

[ThaRegul8r]

Mutombo did work in the Conference Finals, picking up the slack during the games when Iverson shot 30%, and came up big in the deciding game when Iverson finally had a big game that series.

"He was a monster all series," one of the 76ers said, of Mutombo. I've posted this before on this forum

Not like Mutombo played any role whatsoever in the Sixers getting to the Finals, right? Not like he averaged 15.6 rebounds and 6.4 offensive rebounds a game in the ECF when Iverson was shooting 34% or anything. Or that he had performances like 21 points on 6/11 FG, 9/9 FT and 13 rebounds to lead the team to a 1-point win and 3-2 series lead when Iverson shot 5-for-27 or anything. Or that he had 23 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks in the deciding Game 7 to help get them into the Finals or anything. Or that he was "a monster in all of the series," as Sixers coach Larry Brown said, or that he "took us to another level," as teammate Tyrone Hill said. No, he was just some scrub who Iverson had to carry as he did it all by himself.

Ah, it wasn't just "one of the 76ers," it was the coach.

[sportsfan76]

How about they played in the JV Eastern Conference at the time as well.

The Juggernauts where all out West.
Back then the real Finals was the WCF.

I think the Bucks and Raptors were pretty good teams that year

[longtime lurker]

Mutombo did work in the Conference Finals, picking up the slack during the games when Iverson shot 30%, and came up big in the deciding game when Iverson finally had a big game that series.

"He was a monster all series," one of the 76ers said, of Mutombo. I've posted this before on this forum. It's funny how people act like Iverson was the only one who did anything. Kblaze is the only one who said AI and Mutombo. Everyone else when talking about that year act like Iverson was going at it solo. It's like if you're not scoring 30 a game (regardless of how many shots it takes to get there), you did nothing.

No one says Iverson did anything solo, but posters on this board really underrate scoring. I don't think people understand how hard it really is to single handidly carry the scoring load for an entire team. Unless you actually watched Iverson that year there's really no way anyone can appreciate what he did.

[DatAsh]

No one says Iverson did anything solo, but posters on this board really underrate scoring.

I'd argue the exact opposite; scoring seems to be all that most on this board care about at all.

[ThaRegul8r]

No one says Iverson did anything solo

False. I've been lurking and participating on sports forums since it took place, and the "consensus" opinion is that he carried a bunch of scrubs there, which also includes Mutombo. Someone on this very thread said Iverson dragged the team "kicking and screaming."

but posters on this board really underrate scoring.

No offense intended, but with all due respect, that's absurd. The number one criteria for evaluating players on this or any other board for "most people" is being a #1 option and being able to "carry the load offensively," "carry a team on his back offensively," and a team being able to give the player in question the ball and tell him to get a basket. I don't know on what planet scoring is underrated when it's the measure by which all players are judged by "most people."