Basketball A.I.'s Grizzlies debut delayed by hurt hamstring

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Allen Iverson's debut with the Memphis Grizzlies will have to wait.

The guard strained his left hamstring during a scrimmage on Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., and he was held out of the Grizzlies' opening preseason game on Tuesday night against Washington.

Iverson is scheduled to have an MRI taken on Wednesday in Memphis, and he will miss that night's home game against Oklahoma City.

"I wouldn't even look at it as being safe or smart," Iverson said. "I can't go. If it was Game 7 in the finals, I wouldn't be able to go."

The 34-year-old Iverson, who signed a one-year contract with the Grizzlies last month, said there was no prior indication of injury.

"I was dribbling the ball across halfcourt. I tried to stop on a dime, and I heard a little pop," Iverson said. "I let them know it had popped."

Iverson returned to the scrimmage, but wasn't able to play. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said he isn't worried about the injury.

"No need to rush him in," Hollins said. "He's going to be out at least a week."

Iverson chose not to discuss a timetable.

"This never happened before, so I don't know," Iverson said.

Iverson, a native of nearby Hampton, Va., was scheduled to play his first game in Virginia since 1996, and he admitted being disappointed to miss it. A sellout crowd at Virginia Commonwealth University was expected.

"Especially being at home -- a lot of people came to see me. It's frustrating. It's disheartening," Iverson said.

Hollins had been happy with Iverson's progress. Iverson, who has averaged 27.1 points per game during his 13-year NBA career, has been playing with the Grizzlies' first and second units.

"He's going to be fine. Allen works hard, and guys like playing with him," Hollins said. "Everybody wants to get in, whether he's starting or not starting. We have eight preseason games."

 

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MRI shows Grizzlies' Iverson out up to 3 weeks

Memphis Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson could miss three weeks after an MRI revealed a partial tear in his left hamstring.

The Grizzlies made the announcement before Wednesday night's exhibition game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the timetable is correct, Iverson would miss all of preseason, and his status for the season opener at home against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 28 would be in jeopardy.

"The way I see it, I'm glad it's happening right now rather than in the season," Iverson said in a pregame press conference. "That's the only positive thing I can take out of the whole thing."

Iverson, declaring himself a quick healer, said he expects to be back in time for the opener. He was hurt during the Grizzlies' training camp in Birmingham, Ala. last week and said he was just starting to get into shape after not playing basketball for five months waiting to see where he was going to land for this season.

"My legs were starting to feel a lot better than they had the first three or four days," Iverson said. "Then, just like that, I hurt the hamstring."

Entering his 14th season, the four-time NBA scoring champ signed with the Grizzlies last month, the biggest name ever to join the franchise. Iverson said he has never dealt with hamstring problems in his career and wants to make sure he is completely healed before returning to the court.

"My whole thing is to work as hard as I can to try and get back to 100 percent," Iverson said. "I don't want to try and come back too early and have this thing lingering on throughout the whole season."