When the Philadelphia 76ers initiated a mass exodus of superstar talent from their floundering team earlier this season, the consensus was that of all the players up for grabs, point guard Allen Iverson was the biggest prize to claim. Ultimately, on Dec. 20, the Denver Nuggets surrendered a starter, a 12th-year pro, and two first-round draft picks for the seven-time All Star, hoping that a pairing of Iverson and the NBA's leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony, would give them the edge in a cut-throat Western Conference.
So far, however, Denver's investment has not paid off well. Iverson, limited by an ankle injury that will sideline him for this year's All-Star Game, and Anthony, suspended 15 games for an on-court brawl with the New York Knicks on Dec. 16, have only been in the same backcourt for six games, in which the Nuggets have gone just 2-4. Denver has mustered only 12 wins in 27 contests since acquiring Iverson, dropping them to seventh in the West and just two games above .500 heading into last night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Instead, the greatest beneficiary of Philadelphia's fire sale has been the Detroit Pistons, who spent just $1.87 million to land castoff Chris Webber after the Sixers bought out his contract on Jan. 10. Since signing the former University of Michigan star, the Pistons have won 11-of-14 games, including seven in a row, to catapult themselves to first place in the Eastern Conference and up their mark to a season-high 14 games above .500.
Webber's addition has added a spark to a Detroit offense that seemed blas?© at times during the season, as the pistons have increased their output by exactly two more points per game since coming to terms with the five-time All-Star. Much of the credit for the offense's revitalization should go to Webber, who has posted as many double-digit scoring games in his 14 matches as a Piston as he had while playing for the Sixers earlier this year. Overall, Webber is averaging 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game since joining Detroit.
The emergence of Webber as a low-post threat who can score and rebound has been instrumental for the Pistons, who have struggled all season to fill a void at the center position. Detroit found itself with a hole in its frontcourt when Ben Wallace - a starter on the Pistons for six seasons and a dominant persona on the Detroit teams that went to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2004 and 2005 - left last summer after agreeing to a four-year, $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.
In Wallace's place, the Pistons had been starting Nazr Mohammed, giving him a five-year deal during the off-season, but without much success. By Jan. 10, Mohammed had just four double-digit rebound games, compared to Wallace's 24 at the same point last season.
In stepped the 6'10" Webber who, despite always yielding a couple of inches to the opposing center, made Detroit forget about Wallace. Having posted three double-doubles since donning a Pistons uniform for the first time on Jan. 17, Webber has become the steady low-post presence Detroit has been seeking to relieve the burden on power forward Rasheed Wallace all season.
Webber himself may be the one reaping the most benefits from his move to the Pistons, as it has afforded him the opportunity to make amends with his hometown city. While starring as part of the University of Michigan's Fab Five in the early 1990s, Webber committed one of the most infamous gaffes in modern sports history, calling a timeout with the Wolverines down two to UNC in the 1993 NCAA Championship game even though Michigan had none left. The result was a technical foul that gave the Tar Heels two free throws and the national championship, as the Fab Five left Michigan without having brought a national title to Ann Arbor.
Nearly 10 years later, the Fab Five's back-to-back Final Four appearances were struck from the record books when it was revealed that booster Ed Martin gave Webber and three other former Michigan players $616,000 in illegal payouts while they were student-athletes. Detroit often took out its frustration on Webber, as he was booed during his trips to the Palace of Auburn Hills, 30 miles from Ann Arbor, as a visiting NBA player.
But since his homecoming, Webber has been embraced by Pistons fans, who gave him a standing ovation when he watched Detroit play Minnesota from the stands on Martin Luther King Day, just before signing on with the Pistons. Webber's play has only further helped resurrect his image in the eyes of his hometown.
