here is the deal with iverson vs billups:
in a vacuum, iverson is a better player hands down no contest. but in the context of a team give me billups every day of the week. iverson is NOT a point guard, i dont care how many assists he gets. He does not run an offense like a point guard. when iverson plays point the offense gets bogged down and you end up with everyone standing around while iverson creates. the assists he gets are rarely in the flow of the offense. the difference between scoring point guards like billups, parker, harris and iverson is that those guys points can come within the flow of the offense without taking away from the other guys. iverson's points come when he isolates at the top of the key while everyone else stands around.
i think that iverson is one of the greatest individual players in nba history, first ballot hall of famer for sure. but he is not someone you can build a championship team around, and to be fair neither is billups. the problem with iverson is that he needs the ball to be effective, and in doing so he renders the rest of the team ineffective. you put a point guard on the floor with him and iverson isn't quite as good because he is better with the ball in his hands so he can run iso plays and create offense. you move iverson to the point and everything bogs down. no matter what you do with him the offense doesnt run as smoothly as it should.
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