Ohonsi's NBA Blog

Happy late birthday to the pound-for-pound GOAT. It's hard to ignore AI's scoring binges, his filthy handle, and that he was never afraid of contact or taking center stage with the game on the line. But what I admire the most about Iverson is that he persevered even though so many people were against him. They couldn't stand that he was a true representation of real hoop culture. They were so intimidated by him that they made childish rules to protect the comfort of the average paying customer despite the fact that he wasn't hurting anyone. Now, there's too much of a circus and not enough of a middle ground. The rules are clearly being broken but they're hiding the rulebook that they used to permanently kill what he stood for since the circus is an example of the underlying motive, which was created by the people who've always had the power.

Randle loves to go right before pulling up for a jumper around the free throw area. Naturally, it's easier to go in the direction of your weak hand then pull up since you don't have to align your body toward the hoop nearly as much compared to dribbling in the direction of your dominant hand. Anyway, he's been horrible this series and it isn't just because he's missing shots. One thing Atlanta is doing to slow him down is forcing Julius baseline when he's at the left or right wing (not the corner) so he'll meet an extra defender who's waiting near the block if he drives. Therefore, Randle either has to shoot with essentially 2 guys guarding him or pick up his dribble then pass out of a double team. This is why he hasn't been able to shoot his signature shot as often as he needs to. If he and RJ (the Knicks 2 best players) continue to struggle mightily, the Knicks will have a slim chance of winning this series. Despite the Hawks strategy, I'm stil...