John and Maria (two fictional characters) have been dating for about three months and see each other every day. Maria thinks that John has a lot to offer but that there are other things that he could improve on. Indeed, John’s biggest area to improve on is his penchant for thinking he can break Wilt Chamberlain’s record. For those of you that are unaware, Chamberlain has two records:

1. 100 points in an NBA game

2. He claims to have slept with about 20,000 women (how does he not have a his own condom brand?).

One day, Maria asks John to commit to her and have a monogamous relationship. John is 34 years old, and is a little tired of all the meaningless sex that he keeps experiencing; because it bugs to him to constantly have to kick women out of his place. John agrees to commit. Maria thinks that the relationship should go to another level and proposes a trip to Brazil during carnival time. Once they get there, they check into a hotel with a slew of amazingly hot women prancing around semi-naked that keep having eye sex with John. Maria decides to go shopping and comes back four hours later, only to find John having intercourse with three women in their hotel room. Maria proceeds to cry and then leaves. She loves John but feels betrayed and does not think that she should trust him. This begs the question: is it her fault for not expecting such behavior from John? Obviously we cannot fault Maria, however she still should have known that the possibilities were out there right? In a nutshell, I just described to you the whole Allen Iverson – Memphis Grizzlies saga. Both parties said all the right things about how the union would work out beautifully; only to realize that the marriage is completely flawed.

Allen Iverson wants to win in the worst way possible. His problem however is that he feels that his best way to win is to go through him. No one else matters, no one else can help him and consequently he relies on himself only. That’s the thing about people who beat the odds; they end up believing that they will always do so and that nothing or no one can stand in their way. In related news, Iverson is unhappy with his role as a reserve player for the Grizzlies.  The man is competitor and wants to play to give his team a shot to win; but there’s one small detail that no one seems to be talking about: if Iverson doesn’t get enough playing in time, he will not be able to score a lot of points. Did it ever occur to anyone that A.I. accepted to go to a losing team specifically because he wanted to keep scoring and add more points to his career resume? Instead, Iverson is stuck in a reserve role for the Grizzlies, and his points per game average keeps taking a hit with every game. Back when A.I. was with the Sixers, he was third all time in points per game. Today, A.I. is sixth with 27.02 points per game. Look at the list:

After three games with the Grizzlies, Allen Iverson is averaging 12.3 points per game. Why is this significant? If he continues to score at that same scoring rate for the remainder of the season, Iverson’s career scoring numbers will slightly drop to 25.76 ppg. So A.I. would drop to the seventh spot, but keep in mind that Wade’s scoring this year might move him up the list; hence Iverson might actually be eighth on the all time points per game list. Do you really think that he wants to take that fall?

As for the Memphis Grizzlies, owner Michael Heisley and GM Chris Wallace should have been in Rick Ross’ Hustlin’ video. Knowing fully well that they wanted to give their young guys some minutes and that they probably were not going to contend for a playoff spot with their roster; they were able to get Iverson to sign with them at a huge discount price in an effort to sell tickets. In addition, if the owner really really really wanted for Iverson to be on the court; wouldn’t he have instructed head coach Lionel Hollins to give him more minutes? It’s like that old saying I have: don’t hate the player, hate yourself for getting played. For years A.I. has terrorized defenders with his quickness and crossover, but he has finally met the defender that he just cannot seem the shake: the owner that does not care. Iverson is no longer the future; therefore his antics will no longer work and his demands will no longer be met. How will Iverson be able to cope in a league where no one is willing to bend over backwards for him anymore because he is no longer the main attraction? Tune into the 2009-2010 NBA season to find out