It’s been a little sparse here at Mister Faded Glory, and for that I apologize. (I’m sure, however, you didn’t notice. Thank you for that.)
Though the Xmas-Chanukah-Ramadan-Kwanzaa-whatever holiday season certainly isn’t my favorite time of year, that certainly doesn’t make the season any less busy with shopping, work stuff, in-law stuff, family stuff, and simple, rushed efforts.
So, I guess all I’m trying to do is officially admonish Mister Faded Glory – but without promising more frequent updates. Now that’s off my chest, and we have a couple earth-shattering sports developments to catch up on.
Cubs sign Jason Marquis.
Sigh. Actually, I’m not too upset by this – shocker, I know – but I’ll evaluate the Cubs’ offseason after the year turns over. You’ll get your fill.
Allen Iverson? Now a Nugget.
Wow. Rarely are our prayers answered.
Let’s just say Mister Faded Glory is positively giddy (no, wait, that sounds gay. How about effervescent?!) about Iverson joining his current-favorite team. (in case you’re scoring at home, or even if you’re not, I’ve successfully jumped NBA bandwagons from 76ers to Trail Blazers to Rockets to Blazers to 76ers to Nuggets throughout the last 20 years.) Regardless, scarcely has a player as authentic, troubled, and fascinating wound up on my favorite team – the rest of the season will be a joy, or at least extremely interesting, to follow.
And you know what? I think this move works. For all of the media’s frustrations with Iverson’s constant shooting, and his frenetic play, he is, actually, an exceptional team player. His best seasons – 2001 and 2003, for example, came as he made conscious decisions to pass the ball more. He’s a great passer. It’s not that he can’t play point guard – but a scorer as proficient as AI shouldn’t be asked to play a pure point guard. He’s no worse of a chucker than Earl Boykins. And he’s not totally indifferent or invisible, like Andre Miller.
Now, with the Nuggets, he’s either the first or second option, depending on his coexistence with Carmelo Anthony. And there’s no reason the two’s games won’t mesh. Both are constantly excoriated for me-first attitudes (probably because they both have tons of tattoos and cornrows. Gotta love fortysomething white NBA beat writers)– yet both were the two of the most cohesive and committed on the USA team this summer. Both are notoriously hard workers and fierce competitors. Combined with George Karl, probably the perfect, unconventional coach for this situation, there’s no reason the Nuggets’ fast-paced and frenzied style won’t accommodate Iverson. Karl coaches defense. He has two pure scorers to create on the offensive end. This team will run, and score a ton.
Furthermore, if it means Anthony has the chance to focus some more on rebounding and less on his outside shooting game – look out. You all know that Mr. Faded Glory, four years later, continues to harp on Anthony as one of the most gifted small-forward offensive rebounders in college basketball history. Now, we’ll see it in the pros.
Regardless, the Nuggets have a short window to contend for a title. Before the trade, they had no window at all.
Oh, but you wanted answers on the Colts?
