With the year he’s been having, I’d definitely say so.

The 2010 NBA basketball season hasn’t been kind to Allen Iverson, once one of the league’s brightest stars. Heck, this season has been that tough for him that he already retired this season only to come back after his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, gave him a second lease in life.

Now, everything is being taken away from Allen Iverson again, as he was forced to put what’s left of his basketball career on hold to attend to his four-year-old daughter Messiah, who is reportedly suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Wow. You really can’t help but feel sorry for Iverson. For a guy who once led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals and won numerous scoring titles with, including league MVP honors, going out this way is definitely a tough pill to swallow.

Just look at what A.I. has been through this year. First he signs a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies looking to redeem himself after such a disastrous outing with Detroit last season. After only three games in Memphis, Iverson wanted out after he figured that he wasn’t on the same page with the team’s direction.

That led to Iverson announcing his retirement last November 25.

Then, his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, gave him a second lease in life. And after a very emotional press conference, Iverson was back playing again for the very team that drafted him to the NBA.

Well, that lasted for 25 games. On February 22, Iverson took an indefinite leave to attend to his four-year-old daughter who was suffering from an undisclosed sickness. That forced the 76ers to announce that Iverson won’t be returning to the team for the remainder of the 2010 season.

”After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion…”

Luckily, these guys know exactly what to do with him.

With the overall no.2 draft pick, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Hasheem Thabeet for the 2010 NBA basketball season. Unfortunately for him, things are not doing so well as far as his rookie year in Memphis is concerned.

You read it, Hasheem Thabeet has been, well, a letdown if you will considering that he was the overall no.2 draft pick in last year’s draft. You know who else was selected that high and turned out to be a disappointment? Darko Milicic. Only God knows where this dude is playing in now.

As for the Memphis Grizzlies, they don’t want to waste a talent like Thabeet. That’s why they’re sending him over to the NBA D-League in hopes of polishing his talents further for a brighter NBA career ahead.

If only Darko was given the same second lease in life.

Thabeet, 23, is averaging just 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game for the Grizzlies. With this move, the Grizzlies will most likely add a late-season free agent. Several players are rumored to be negotiating buyouts, for instance Larry Hughes that could fill a gap for the Grizzlies until Ronnie Brewer’s return.

Hopefully going to the NBA D-League will teach Thabeet that if you can touch the top of the backboard, there’s no need to try to block a shot at the other player’s hands below the rim. Hopefully he’ll learn how to cut through the back-door, and, more importantly, defend against cutters.

Hopefully, and more importantly at that, it will teach him how to…

We already know who are the starters, now it’s time to familiarize ourselves with the reserves.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game is just around the corner as the NBA’s midseason classic will officially shift the attention to hoops with football season officially over. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade lead the East as they take on Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony of the West.

As far as the reserves are concerned, we have a few first-timers. Four first-timers come from the Eastern Conference; Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace and 2009 Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls.

Completing the East reserves are Toronto’s Chris Bosh, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson and Boston’s Paul Pierce.

Rondo is the second All-Star from the Draft class of 2006, joining the Blazers’ Brandon Roy, who earned his third All-Star selection this year. Horford joins the Thunder’s Kevin Durant as the first All-Stars from the Draft class of 2007 while Rose is all alone as the first All-Star from the class of 2008.

Derrick Rose will have a very busy weekend in Dallas. He and his fellow sophomores will take on the rookies in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam on All-Star Friday and as the reigning PlayStation Skills Challenge champion, he’ll likely defend his title on All-Star Saturday.

Another first-timer on the East is Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace. With…

Because in case you did, we’d like you to know that he just signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Allen Iverson’s 2009 NBA basketball season hasn’t gone the way he planned. This was suppose to be the year that he comes back to being the fiery Iverson we knew who attacks the rim with reckless abandon. Instead, Iverson turned into something else.

For all ya’ll who didn’t know, Allen Iverson played this season, for the Memphis Grizzlies. And since Iverson retired before signing back to the 76ers, one can only assume that his brief stay with the Grizzlies hasn’t been a good one.

Instead of resurrecting the Memphis Grizzlies, Iverson ended up stirring quite a mess in Memphis that the Grizzlies ended up throwing him away to free agency faster than a used condom.

And without a team willing to give Iverson starter’s minutes, the former league MVP decided to call it quits, probably hoping that there will still be a team out there that will feel sorry for him and give him what he wants just to keep him in the league.

Luckily for him, the 76ers took the bait.

In Iverson’s retirement statement, he said that he still has what it takes to play at a high level. He also claims retiring will allow him to be with his family. Of course, we all know that he just can’t accept the fact that he can no longer start in this league and his…

But should they really hate the team?

Apparently, the New York Knicks are having a slow start to the 2009 NBA basketball season and need all the help they can get to salvage what’s shaping up to be another lost campaign.

Rumors began to come out that the New York Knicks were trying to sign free agent Allen Iverson, sparking some interest in a franchise that has been going virtually nowhere since losing Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell.

Unfortunately for Knicks fans, their team decided that Allen Iverson wasn’t the guy they were looking for after all. As expected, this created an uproar. Knicks fans are baffled why the Knicks decided against having a former league MVP and scoring champion on their roster.

Reaction by some New York Knicks fans definitely don’t surprise me.

”What do the Knicks have, two wins?” said Jose Valentine, 24, of Manhattan. ”Iverson can win more games than that by himself. He has the heart to play, he loves the game.”

”It’s a bad move,” added Tim Coffey, 25, of Brooklyn. ”They could have at least put people in the seats.”

”I was hoping to have something to watch this year. He would have brought a lot of excitement to the Garden,” 29-year-old Mike Acosta of Brooklyn said. ”It would have been something to watch opposed to waiting until next year. Everyone is waiting until 2010.”

Perhaps these fans are right, perhaps what the Knicks need…

Looks like being benched in Memphis is really getting to Iverson now.

A.I. was really hoping for better things coming to the 2009 NBA basketball season. People following him on Twitter know that. But after an auspicious start to the season and realizing that he will still be relegated as a bench player in Memphis like he was in Detroit last year, Iverson ain’t happy with the Grizzlies no more and now, rumors claim that he’s already contemplating on retirement because of it.

Yes, Allen Iverson, the former league MVP and multi-time scoring champion, is on the brink of walking away from his career. Things haven’t been working out as Iverson had hoped in Memphis and since his new head coach Lionel Hollins ain’t budging, rumors claim that Iverson could take the easy way out, retire.

Still, Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has shot down the idea that Iverson is already considering retirement. For all ya’ll who didn’t know, Iverson took a leave of absence from the Grizzlies for ”personal reasons,” and as far as Heisley is concerned, retirement is not one of ‘em.

”I expect him to come back,” Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said. ”If he does retire, I’ll be tremendously disappointed. I feel bad because I don’t think that’s the way he should go out.”

He’s right. Iverson is only averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per game this season and by Iverson’s standards, those are unacceptable numbers. But hey, at least…

We knew this one was coming.

After all kinds of hoopla concerning Iverson’s move from Detroit to Memphis this 2009 NBA basketball season, A.I. Found out that he’s still coming off the bench, the very thing that led to his divorce with the Pitsons.

You read it, Allen Iverson, at least for the first weeks of the season, is still relegated to a bench warmer after refusing to come off the bench last season for Detroit and as far as A.I. is concerned, he ain’t happy.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Allen Iverson voiced out his displeasure with his nonstarting role with the Memphis Grizzlies, saying that he’s ”not a sixth man.” Iverson also said, ”I had no problems [with the hamstring]. I had a problem with my butt sitting on that bench for so long.”

”I’m not a bench player. I’m not a sixth man,” he continued. ”Look at my resume and that’ll show I’m not a sixth man. I don’t think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It’s just who I am. I don’t want to change what gave me all the success that I’ve had since I’ve been in this league. I’m not a sixth man. And that’s that.”

Haven’t we heard that when he was playing for the Detroit Pistons last year?

Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins has made it clear that Iverson is STILL…

And here we thought the Raptors are really gonna be good this year.

After a smashing start to the 2009 NBA basketball season, the Raptors have returned to their usual selves. Yep, after they came up with a huge win over the jacked up Cavaliers in their season opener, they suffered losses to the Grizzlies and the Magic, bringing them back to Earth, wondering if those two losses were the start of yet another cold season in Canada.

The Toronto Raptors kicked off the season in style with a surprising win over a Cleveland Cavaliers team led by LeBron James and the newly acquired Shaquille O’Neal. The Raptors beat that team convincingly, 101-91, making believers out of Canada and probably most of North America.

But losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic diffused any momentum they had from their win over the Cavs. They lost in Memphis 115-107 before losing again at home to the Magic, 125-116.

It’s clear that the Raptors need to improve on their defense if they want to beat the visiting Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Luckily for them, the Pistons are also on a two-game losing skid after winning their season opener at…

Odds to win 2010 Western Conference 
All wagers have action. The team that wins the conference final in the playoffs will be graded the winner. (This Prop is Closed for Betting)

Competitor
Price

Dallas Mavericks

15.00    

Denver Nuggets
[...]

Odds to win 2010 NBA Championship 

Competitor
Price

Atlanta Hawks
46.00    

Boston Celtics
5.00

Charlotte Bobcats
101.00 

Chicago Bulls
46.00    

Cleveland Cavaliers
4.33

Dallas Mavericks
31.00 

Denver Nuggets
16.00

Detroit Pistons
46.00   

Golden State Warriors
126.00 

Houston Rockets
51.00 

Indiana Pacers
101.00

Los Angeles Clippers
91.00

Los Angeles Lakers
3.00 

Memphis Grizzlies
101.00

Miami Heat
46.00

Milwaukee Bucks
51.00 

Minnesota Timberwolves
151.00

New Jersey Nets
101.00   

New Orleans Hornets
36.00

New York Knicks
76.00

Oklahoma City Thunder
101.00 

Orlando Magic
9.00

Philadelphia 76ers
66.00

Phoenix Suns
61.00  

Portland Trailblazers
21.00 

Sacramento Kings
151.00

San Antonio Spurs
8.50

Toronto Raptors [...]