Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) -
Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson has never been one to mix words. After his squad endured a dismal 93-80 setback to Toronto on Tuesday, the club's sixth loss in its last seven contests, Iverson accused his teammates of playing without heart.
"We don't play with no heart, we don't take a challenge," the tough nosed All- Star declared. In the loss to the Raptors, Iverson finished the game with 36 points on 12-of-27 shooting from the field, giving the club a scare when he drove into a crowd near the basket and fell on his left elbow. Iverson left the game in the third quarter only to return several minutes later.
Iverson, whose toughness has never been an issue, seems to be frustrated with his team's lackluster performance thus far this season. The Sixers find themselves with a 20-29 record, which currently has them in sixth place in the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia has dropped five of its last six contests at home.
Iverson first questioned his teammates' character and toughness after the club blew an 18-point lead to Minnesota on Sunday, as he addressed the team in the locker room. Iverson refuses to lay blame on first-year head coach Randy Ayers.
"We have a lot of trust in Randy's ability," he said. "We believe he can get it done. I believe in him. I know he can coach. But I mean, you can't put that on a coach. He doesn't go out there and play, not one minute of the game. He can only do so much."
The 2000-01 league MVP, is in the midst of his eighth NBA season after being selected by Philadelphia with the top overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. Iverson earned Rookie of the Year honors following the 1996-97 campaign and is also a three-time NBA scoring champion.
He has started 35 games this season. His 27.5 points per game leads the league. He is also dishing out 6.2 assists per contest.
For his career, which covers 522 games, Iverson has posted averages of 27.1 points, 5.6 assists, 4.1 boards and 2.4 steals per outing.
Philadelphia will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
