In his first official game, Allen Iverson played 24 minutes, scored 15 points and had a host of assists for Beşiktaş.  To say that his second game did not go as well is an understatement.

Allen Iverson scored two points in his second game — his Turkish league debut for Besiktas Cola Turka — in a 74-67 loss to defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker on Sunday.

Iverson was again in the starting lineup for Beşiktaş, but went 0-3 shooting in the first quarter and was taken out of the game with less than a minute left in the stanza.  That was the last action Iverson would see in the first half.  Besiktas trailed 40-35 at half time

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The Turkish basketball league debut of Philadelphia icon Allen Iverson’s was postponed this weekend.  According to Besiktas officals, Iverson “did not feel ready” to play Friday and instead watched from the stands as his new squad beat host Oyak Renault, 87-81.  The W was the Black Eagles sixth victory of the young season.

Besiktas officials now expect Iverson to make his debut at Besiktas’s European Cup home game on Tuesday Speaking of Iverson and playing in Turkey.  The gambling website Bodog.com has some very interesting future and proposition bets listed for Iverson’s career in Turkey.

After the jump are a few wagers you can make on Iverson while he tries to get his basketball career back on track.

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As all of Philadunkia nation knows, “The Answer” touched down in Turkey on Monday to a huge reception. 

Well last night Iverson went to Beşiktaş FC’s Turkish League football match against Kasımpaşa and he was warmly serenaded by crowd of 32,000.  Allen must be feeling pretty good about himself right now.

Check out the video below…

Via the Sixers twitter page we have an update on AI9′s status…Iguodala did not practice on Monday or Tuesday because of tendonitis in his right Achilles, “but will make upcoming Sixers trip to OKC, Dallas and SA…Coach Collins said target game for Iguodala return is Friday at Dallas.”

ESPN.com’s John Hollinger has posted his NBA power rankings and the Sixers come in at #16 (just ahead of GSW) with at rating of 99.426.  

Staying over at ESPN.com, Mark Stein has posted his NBA power rankings.  The 76ers come in at #21 and Stein writes, “folks in Philly already have dialed down the playoff talk. Year 1 under Collins and Thorn is suddenly an “audition season.”

Foxsports.com has the Sixers ranked 29th in their weekly power rankings…OUCH

Even though the 7-6′s power ranking over at NBA.com isn’t much better — 22nd, John Schuhmann has a slightly sunnier outlook for Philadhunkia’ home team writing, “If it weren’t for a flurry of late turnovers against the Cavs and a miracle three from Cartier Martin, the Sixers might have won all four of their games this week.”

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Here’s a couple of videos of Allen Iverson’s celebrated arrival in Turkey.  Of course ”The Answer” was two days late getting there. 

Iverson was scheduled to arrive Saturday and be honored before the team’s game.  That was postponed when Iverson missed his flight because the team said he had additional preparations to make before departing.

Somewhere Larry Brown, Mo Cheeks and Billy King are all texting each other and having a laugh about that one. 

Iverson will make his debut for his new team, Besiktas, this Saturday. 

It’s very odd to see Allen wearing #4.

More videos after the jump.

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Our memories are unreliable historians.

This is why Philadelphia area resident (And we asume frequent Philadunkia.com visitor) M. Night Shyamalan is a tragic figure.  The putridity of his last three movies has overwhelmed remembrance of the legitimately good, maybe great, stuff he did earlier in his career.  He’s an idiot, we now say reflexively, dismissively, as though he were never anything but.

It’s like the way a painful breakup renders you not just unwilling, but in some ways unable to fondly remember the better times: the canoe trip, trying to put together a desk, or that time you rented Signs.  Post-facto, when you stumble into one of these memories you meant to stash in some out of the way hippocampal groove, rather than enjoy it you mine it for signs of dysfunction, the fall that’s to come.  This mining distorts the memory and in doing so not only robs a piece of personal history of it’s proper due, but actually rewrites that history.  This is how Lady in the Water, by the sheer gravity of its terribleness, has ruined Unbreakable.

And it’s how Elton Brand’s last two seasons, by the sheer gravity of their terribleness, have started to ruin Elton Brand.

This is a bummer not just because he’s a nice guy who’s fallen on hard times (Ok, he’s made well over $100 million to play sports, not that hard), but because his first eight years of professional basketball were extraordinary.  And regardless of how the story ends, they deserve to be remembered accordingly.

These were my thoughts Saturday at Converse’s launch party for Brand’s new EB3 signature basketball shoe (available exclusively at JCPenney!) where I was waiting my turn to get at his ear.  When I got it I asked him about his fall from the top, what he’s doing to get back, and what’s happening with Evan Turner. After we went our separate ways, he gave 100 pairs of his sneakers away to some inner-city kids who were waiting on the court downstairs. Like I said, he’s a nice guy.

Q and A after the J.

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Maybe it was all of those little quips with Larry Brown.  Or maybe it was the now infamous “Practice? We talking about practice?” rant.  Maybe it was even his obvious unwillingness to take a back seat on the rebuilding bus that was the Memphis Grizzlies.  Perhaps it was the reports that surfaced last year which said that Iverson is battling alcohol and gambling problems. 

Some combination of these past career missteps has to account for the lack of consideration that NBA clubs have granted Allen Iverson this offseason. 

The fact that NBA teams are not lining up to elicit the services of the thirty-five year old former superstar does not come as a surprise; he has lost a step, cannot single-handedly dominate games in the manner in which he used to, and has done nothing to diminish the rumors of his displeasure with anything but a starting spot.  So no, one wouldn’t expect the market for the eleven time all-star to be too elevated.  The fact that not a single franchise felt that they could fit Allen anywhere on their roster, however, does come as a surprise.  In fact, in a league where Kwame Brown can dupe teams into a decade’s worth of employment, Iverson’s inability to find work, despite several statements on his part suggesting he’s ready to play, is slightly more than surprising.

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Since that gut wrenching day in 2006 when the Philadelphia 76ers decided to pull the trigger on a deal that sent perennial All-Star guard and Philadelphia icon Allen Iverson to the Denver Nuggets, this franchise has been searching for his replacement.

Originally, the Sixers planned that high rising, athletic swingman Andre Iguodala would become the face of the franchise and carry the torch.  Unfortunately, that plan has faltered for multiple reasons, and ultimately 76ers fans grew frustrated with first round playoff exits and uninspiring basketball and in turn stopped showing up at the Wells Fargo Center.  Then after the debacle that was the 2009-10 season, the 76ers fell into a sports blackhole  in this town and became irrelevant. 

Now, the forgotten franchise in the City of Brotherly Love has a an opportunity to resurrect its dying image and bring enthusiasm back to its fan base by trading for Carmelo Anthony.  Acquring Carmelo Anthony is a franchise saving opportunity and Philadunkia’s home team must do everything in their power to seal the deal and if that means that second overall pick Evan Turner must be sent to Denver along with Andre Iguodala, then so be it.

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Late last week the 76ers set up a conference call for a host of great basketball bloggers with the franchise’s new poster boy — Evan Turner.  The second overall pick in the 2010 Draft answered questions on everything from what he knew about the Sixers debacle of a season last year to his struggles at the Orlando Pro Summer League to playing with Andre Iguodala to what he is working on this summer to  Jrue Holiday’s game and his recent exchange with Michael Jordan. 

Of course someone asked him about cheesesteaks.  This is Philadelphia after all.

Lance Epstein handled the duties on this one for us here at Philadunkia.com and you can read his full transcript of the confernce call after the jump.   

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The Sixers currently sit a player short of a full roster.  This will be a very tricky spot for the triumvirate of Thorn / Stefanski / Collins to fill.  It’s tricky because the Sixers need a very specific kind of player.  It’s very tricky because the free agent cupboard – and the Sixers’ war chest – is nearly bare.

An old Chinese proverb says, “A problem well defined is a problem half solved.”  Because we always listen to old Chinese proverbs, let’s define the problem before we jump to the solution.  Here’s where the Sixers stand as I type this (Just a paragraph ago they were sitting and now they’re standing.  That’s progress.  I credit Doug Collins.)

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