| 06 December 2009
(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets will see an old brother in arms when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers in Allen Iverson’s homecoming back to the City of Brotherly Love. In what I’m sure is going to be a heartfelt re-introduction of one of the 76er’s most beloved stars the key for the Nuggets is to stay focused on the task at hand and not get caught up in Iverson’s moment.
The ten-time NBA All-Star is presumed to start for the first time in three years for the 76ers since Philadelphia traded him to Denver for Andre Miller. While a Nugget, Iverson was an All-Star, but Denver failed to make it out of the first round and after losing to the Lakers in 2008 the Nuggets didn’t waste much time last season before trading him to the Pistons for Chauncey Billups.
However, since leaving Denver all the headlines concerning AI haven’t really been good. He struggled to find his role in Detroit with young point guard Rodney Stuckey playing the starter’s minutes and only appeared in three games for the Memphis Grizzlies this season before taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team and eventually retiring from the NBA.
Here’s where things start to get good…
Iverson, the consummate scorer, still believes he’s got something left in the tank and starts entertaining ideas of coming back to a team where he can play his game in his desired allotment of minutes. Then, in a twist too good to have been written in Hollywood, Iverson was brought back by the struggling Sixers last Wednesday, signing a non-guaranteed deal after announcing his intention to retire the previous week, and delivered this humble tear jerker of message to the city and franchise that embraced him coming out of college.
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It’s a great story, and I’m happy for and believe that Allen Iverson is still capable of putting up somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 points per game, but with all that aside this is a game the Nuggets should win. The Sixers have lost nine straight games and are not a very good team defensively. Philly allows 102 ppg and is the worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA with a nightly average of just 28 defensive rebounds per game.
The Nuggets on the other hand…
They are really hitting their stride offensively. Denver comes into tonight’s game having averaged 115 ppg over their last eight games and are leading the NBA overall with an average of 110.6 ppg on the season with the NBA’s top scorer, Carmelo Anthony, averaging 30.4 ppg.
Furthermore, Denver’s won seven of their last eight games with an average margin of victory of 14.5 points per game. And in those wins Denver has reaped the benefits of some great play by Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin in particular.
‘Melo was named Western Conference Player of the Month for the month of November and has been on a tear over his last five games with the league’s top scoring average and 5.8 boards and 2.8 assists per contest. Also of note, Carmelo hit 39-43 free-throws over the same span and scored a career-high 50 points against the Knicks. Kenyon has also been special over his last five games averaging a double-double of eleven points, ten rebounds, and better than two blocks per game. Martin has four double-doubles on the year.
Against the Sixers, both men will have challenges on either end of the floor. Carmelo will most likely get a ton of his possessions offensively with Thaddeus Young matched-up on him. Young is about as close to Carmelo’s physical size as you can come by in players not named LeBron James and has shown signs that he is committed to playing solid defense.
Kenyon Martin will get the honor of matching up with one of the former top power forwards in the league, Elton Brand, who since coming to the Sixers has had nothing but problems, but is still capable of hurting the Nuggets inside. Brand is averaging career-low numbers in points (12.3) and rebounds (6.7) this season.
Overall, and like I said, this is a game the Nuggets should win. They go far deeper (and with more talent) on the bench and have the man they traded Iverson for, Chauncey Billups, leading the way. Be happy for Allen Iverson’s return to Philly and wish him all the best while handing the 76ers their tenth straight loss.
Go Nuggets! 
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