Yep, Iverson will once again face the 76ers wearing a different uniform.

There is no doubt that the Iverson deal was the biggest trade yet of the 2008-09 NBA basketball season. The Pistons let Billups go for the multi-time scoring champion. However, since acquiring Iverson from Denver, the Pistons have yet to play as a cohesive unit while the Nuggets, with Billups, are the ones benefiting from the trade instead. They have won seven of their last ten games with Billups patrolling the offense, making Piston fans wonder if trading him for Iverson really was the right thing to do.

On Friday night, Allen Iverson will have another chance for redemption when he leads the Detroit Pistons against the team that drafted him in the NBA back in 1996, the Philadelphia 76ers.

For some reason, Allen Iverson hasn’t gotten past the first round of the playoffs since leaving Philly. In Iverson’s next two seasons out of Philadelphia, he lost in the first round of the playoffs with the Denver Nuggets in both campaigns.

After two failed postseason appearances in Denver, Allen Iverson is looking forward to finally get over the hump with the Pistons and since he’s now playing for a team that has advanced to the conference finals for six straight years, the odds of him finally getting out of the first round again look good indeed.

Of course, before Iverson worries about any postseason runs this year, he has got to get it going with his new team first and since arriving in Detroit from Denver, let’s just say it has not been pretty. Playing the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night may just be what the doctor ordered since Iverson should be fired up for this one after the unceremonious exit he went through in Philly back in 2006.

Iverson should be glad that Philly’s new star, Elton Brand, could be out come Friday night with a strained hamstring. Brand leads the 76ers in scoring and rebounds, averaging 16.7 points and 10.0 boards per game and without this guy on the court, Iverson just might have a field day attacking the rim.

Can Iverson take advantage of the Brand-less 76ers? You just know Piston fans like me are counting on it. Maybe if Iverson leads the Pistons to win this game, we’ll finally realize why in the hell did we trade a guy like Chauncey Billups for him.

Can Allen Iverson lead the Detroit Pistons to a win over the Philadelphia 76ers? SportsBetting.com has the odds.

Detroit Pistons -7.5

Philadelphia 76ers +7.5

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Detroit Pistons Philadelphia 76ers