non celtic issue...

Unfriendly fire in Philly
I guess Allen Iverson and Larry Brown might have a little problem after all, huh?

Their dustup last week was only the latest episode in their miniseries of doubt,
mistrust and anger. Brown is feeling dissed after AI cussed him loud enough for
everybody on press row to hear when Brown sent him to the scorer's table
against the Cavaliers last week.

More importantly, Brown is PO'ed that
Iverson was, according to one person in the
Brown camp, mad at coming out only
because it hurts his chances for the scoring
title -- something Iverson swears he can live
without.

What apparantely galls Brown the most is that
Iverson's already leading the league in scoring
and is sixth in minutes played; already has the
green light to shoot whenever and wherever
he wants; already has been forgiven for late
arrivals to practice; and still makes a scene
when Brown tries to remove him -- even if it's
so he can get a standing ovation (when
Iverson scored 41 at home against the
Lakers) or to save him from meaningless
minutes at the end of a blowout loss.

Iverson said last week, before the Cleveland incident, that he would trade any
individual honor for winning.

"I'd give it all back," he said. "I go out and people may not believe it, because
they think I'm some selfish basketball player, which I'm not. But I'll take (scoring)
one point, no points, just to be in a playoff game. ... I just want to contribute and
be out there on the floor getting floor burns, ice bags on my knees, all over my
body after the game. That's what I want to feel like."

"It was all my fault," he said. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. Whether or not
he's making bad decisions, he's the coach, and he's human like everybody else."

Brown said it was over, that Iverson didn't owe him an apology, that he expected
the same thing would happen the next time he takes Iverson out of the lineup.

One more thing. "Everybody is going around saying that I said, 'It's about
(bleeping) time' when Larry put me back in," Iverson said. "I didn't say that. What
I said was, 'This is bull----.'"