The end of the "Iverson Experiment"

Pistons 105, Celtics 95. That right there should put the "Iverson experiment" to rest.

It wasn't Iverson's fault, because he's not coaching the team. I don't know what Michael Curry's reasoning was for benching Richard Hamilton because Larry Brown was the last Pistons coach worth listening to. It could have been because he looked into Iverson's soul and saw angels flying in itl. It could have been because he was afraid Iverson would have thrown a chair at him for the demotion. Either way, it didn't do anything to improve chemistry on the floor.

The Pistons roster is one that's capable of winning a championship, which we know, because for the most part, they already did it. The main pieces of this team were on the 2004 championship team, so they've been maintaining their chemistry for five years. They know each other's strengths and weaknesses and every time they come down the floor, they already know what they want to do. Really, they're wasting money on a coach's salary, because they're doing the exact same things they were doing when Larry Brown was coach.

Allen Iverson, on the other hand, hasn't played on a team that's even been organized since he played at Georgetown. He never understood what practice was for, because what was the point? Eric Snow and Aaron McKie weren't going to get any better whether Iverson was at practice or at the strip club. Being on an organized team was going to take some getting used to.

So, because the city of Boston is now the example of how to do everything from "popularizing an annoying accent" to "buying a championship team," let's let look to them for examples on how to bring a superstar into an already-established roster. As you can see, they didn't start Stephon Marbury over Rajon Rondo, because, even though Rondo has been a pro for three years and still can't shoot, they started him anyway, because Marbury just met most of these guys in the tunnel into the arena.

Iverson should have been coming off the bench from the start. Why mess up good chemistry with a wild card? It's not like Iverson went to the Bucks, where he could shoot until his arm cramped up because no one was watching anyway. This is a team that can still contend for a title. It's going to take some time for him to find his role. Personally, I think that God caused Iverson's phantom back injury, because he was tired of watching Iverson force up shots like Derrick Coleman was next to him instead of Rasheed Wallace.

This whole thing can eventually work out, but it's just gonna take time to work Iverson in. This injury might be the best thing to happen to the Pistons, because it gives them a chance to get going in the right direction again and gives Iverson a chance to learn that their offense is more complex than just "pass it to Iverson."