Allen Iverson loves basketball. He loves the feel of the ball. He loves the competitiveness. He loves being the underdog. He loves the feeling of swishing a shot over tight defense. He loves the blacktop and the hardwood. He loves all 94 feet. His love goes 10 feet up. He loves backboards and meshes, be them plexiglass/cotton, metal, aluminum, or any other creative replacement. He loves the jersey on his back and the sneakers on his feet. He loves the game. Allen Iverson does not love the NBA, though, because the NBA does not always boast real basketball. Playing better basketball does not always guarantee a victory in today's NBA game. Instead, the team who can persuade the game the most usually comes out on top. Instead of the old textbook saying "offense wins games, defense wins championships", it has become "charges win games, flopping wins championships".
Many believe this new style of play to be a result of the influx of international players. We are seeing less "Williams'", "Brown's" and "Smith's" in the NBA and more "Kirilenko's", "Ginobili's" and "Varejao's". Some say they bring a softer mentality to the game that cannot compare to the mentality of an African American from a rough hometown. Guys from Italy drink wine at fancy restaurants. Guys from Baltimore drink kool-aid outside the convenient store. Other people say that it's because of the popularity of soccer overseas. The abundance of faking and flopping has carried over into basketball with the integration of all these European players. In fact, both these theories are wrong. The majority of the international players have absolutely taken to this technique, but they shouldn't be the ones to blame. In fact, flopping dates back to way before the recent influx. Guys like Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer, then tagged as "cheap" and "physical" players in the mid-to-late 1980's, were faking fouls and using unrecommended tactics in order to gain any edge they could. The main difference between the two era's, though, is that the earlier generations would flop in order to get into their opponent's head and to try and throw off their adversary's. Today, players flop in order to manipulate the referee's and simply get cheap calls in their favor. It's weird to think that some of my all-time favorite players started the trend which I hate so much today. A trend that is slowly killing real basketball. I suppose it's a case of the oddity becoming the norm, and therefore destroying its sanctity.
For example, let's say that Manu Ginobili walks by a player like, say, Stephen Jackson, during a game. If they bump shoulders or slightly run into each other, Manu would probably fall down faking some sort of harsh contact. Jackson, known as a rough player, would most probably get called for a foul simply because the referee sees the aftermath of the situation. He will end up being penalized when it was in fact Ginobili who fabricated the entire thing. On the other hand, lets say Dennis Rodman is going up against a player like Karl Malone. He knows Malone is a great player who plays with emotion and, because of his superstar status, doesn't enjoy being 'fucked' with. Rodman would absolutely do anything in his power to try and throw Malone off, any way he could. Rather than bumping into him and falling down like Ginobili would, Rodman would, instead, fall and bring Karl down with him. He would probably also tangle up with him in order to keep him down for as long as possible. You see, there are differences between the floppers of today and the floppers of yesteryear. Today, guy's flop to gain an unfair advantage, to utilize rules which are favorable for a cheater and to manipulate poor officiating. Where as the player of the late 80's, rather than flopping to gain an advantage, would flop to put the other team at a disadvantage.
Another drastic difference between the two era's is that the floppers of today's NBA prey on the weak. They go after the player's who normally have trouble with referee's or who are young and don't garner any respect league-wide yet. Anderson Varejao would prefer to tangle up with a guy like Glenn Davis rather than Kevin Garnett because he knows he has a better chance of getting the benefit of the doubt. When Laimbeer was looking to throw someone off their game, he would choose one of the opposing team's best players. When going against Chicago, he'd obviously give Mike Jordan the hard foul instead of messing around with Dave Corzine. But, like everything else, the art of flopping has evolved. In a league that hasn't called a 3-in-the-key or traveling call since 1995, offensive fouls have become the most frequent and imperative calls. Good help defense is no longer the guy who comes over and either alters or changes a shot, it's the guy who slithers under the ball handler and draws a charge. Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier are two of the standout perimeter defenders that the league has to offer. One tries to get a hand in the face of the shooter and not let anyone get past him, while the other, who is considered an equally good defender, enjoys tripping players while running and sticking his foot under jump-shooters. You see, I have no problem with this. This is what I have a problem with. This is today's NBA. This is not basketball. This is what torments Allen Iverson.
I was watching a Denver-Los Angeles playoff game recently. Game 2, I believe. Iverson inbounded the ball to teammate and fellow all-star Carmelo Anthony. Melo, backing down Luke Walton, took one power dribble around his defender and made his way towards the rim. Walton, seeing Melo fly right past him with a skillful and powerful maneuver, needed only to fall on his ass to win the battle. Melo, the better basketball player, ended up being penalized because the referee's chose to buy Walton's flop. This was not the only time a play like this happened. Actually, these types of plays were quite frequent throughout the series, specifically from LA's side. Coincidentally enough, LA won the series in a frustrating 4-0 sweep. This one particular play, though, was the one which stood out most to me. After the ref made his disastrous call, the camera zoomed to Allen Iverson's facial expression. It was one of such frustration disturbance and frustration, as if the thing he loved most in this world was being butchered. And that's exactly what was happening, and has been happening over the past several years.
Competitiveness is fine and well, but when competitive tactics reach the point where it is destroying the sanctity of the game, then it has gone too far. You see, flopping has ruined the game of basketball in the NBA. It is of vague resemblance to the sport which Iverson fell in love with. Real basketball does still exist, though. It is played in many leagues, on driveways and in parks worldwide. The sport where heart and hustle counts just as much as talent still has it's pulse, but at the brain of it all, on the grand stage of the NBA, is where the cancer is forming. Nothing sums up the situation better than the look on Iverson's face after that Walton charge in Game 2. You could see in his eyes the frustration, of the ref's allowing such actions to be rewarded, the anger, towards Luke Walton for sullying the sacred game which he loves, and the breaking of his heart as he witnessed his one true love being massacred.
