The AI Experiment

Iverson started the game tonight, and had a typical Iverson-on-the-Pistons performance with 17 points and 8 assists. The Pistons went down quick, being behind by 12 points after the first quarter, 39-27.

The Pistons slowly fought their way back into the game behind Richard Hamilton's 27 points in 31 points.

But there the Pistons were, with 5-6 minutes left in the fourth, fighting a game-long deficit, desperately trying to catch up to the Rockets.

It was different this time however. Very peculiar picture I have ever seen since watching Allen Iverson play basketball.

Allen Iverson was on the bench the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter as Hamilton fought through screens and picks to get his shot over. A vintage Hamilton performance. When things got close, and each team would call time-outs, Pistons coach, Curry stuck to the lineup of Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Hamilton.

As the Pistons fought back, who was Hamilton's biggest fan?

Iverson was up on his feet majority of the game from the sideline cheering on his Pistons teammates as they tried to make a comeback at home. Unfortunately, they didn't, and ended up losing by 3, but could this be a tipping point for the Detroit Pistons?

I don't remember the last time I saw Allen Iverson sitting on the bench celebrating his teammates fight their way back to make it a game, when he was able to play and not in foul trouble nor in street clothes.

The biggest thing with the Pistons success the past few years was trust and chemistry. That core group of players (Wallace, Prince, Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace) had an incredible amount of respect for one another. Not the trust players have for each other one the court as say Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal have for one another - the acknowledgment that they are players with great talent and will forever be considered one of the best - but the kind of trust and respect that they will go through walls for one another. That Pistons team went to the very end for each other and made sure at the end of the day that they all tried their hardest to do what it took to get the victory. Countless games and a couple guaransheed's later, they were usually on-point.

Then Wallace left.Then last a few games into the season, Billups got traded for AI, and for the most part, it was the end of that Piston's known swagger.

With AI celebrating, cheering, and motivating his teammates from the bench, is this the beginning of something new for the Pistons? When Iverson came to this team, he almost automatically became the face of the franchise because of the character and fan-power Iverson brings.

When AI came, there was clearly a little adjustment period, and half way into the season , it still seems to be there. The offense at times is a little stagnant, especially with AI being ball-dominant at times. And the defense that Detroit was once at the top of the league has decreased incredibly with Billups no longer guarding the point guard.

But alas, the Pistons are the Pistons...1-7 on Sundays after another loss tonight.

Iverson stopped cheering at the end of the game, but he grabbed a visibly disappointed Hamilton after the game and had some words for him. He nodded, and together they headed back into the locker room.

Of course, in post-game interviews, he showed his displeasure of not being able to play as any player would say with the same level of competition that AI has. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Iverson said to ESPN reporters. "I think I can do more to help us win basketball games. When the opportunity presents itself, I'll be here to take on the challenge. But I'm going to stay positive and stay focused."

People critical of Iverson would believe that he is just saying the right things to avoid from any team controversy. But is AI really just saying the right things, or is he just willing to do whatever it takes to win?

At this state of his career, my assumption is that he is doing whatever it takes to win. And by cheering and jumping up and down on the bench during crunch time, he's doing just that. Is it the start to re-igniting the Pistons? Everybody already has given the Eastern Conference Champions title to either Cleveland or Boston...

It remains to be seen. But from what I saw...another loss might be a stepping stone to getting Detroit back on track...with Iverson leading the way, on or off the court.