Source: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902220398 ********************************************************************* Allen Iverson: Long trip may be good thing BY VINCE ELLIS ‧ FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER ‧ February 22, 2009 ********************************************************************* Great teams, hostile crowds and unfamiliar beds might not sound like the most appealing circumstances to most NBA teams. But the friendly Palace crowds and the comforts of home haven't worked well for the Pistons as they take their five-game losing streak on a trip featuring games against some of the top teams in the league, starting tonight at Cleveland. And by the time the team returns to Detroit after the March 1 game at Boston, the Pistons will have played five games in eight days. With their current 27-26 record and games against the Heat, the Hornets and the Magic on the trip, the Pistons face the prospect of falling below .500 this late in the season for the first time since the 2000-01 season. That team finished 32-50. But with a 14-15 home record, maybe the road will prove more beneficial for a team that has lost seven of its past eight home games. Allen Iverson warns against looking at the trip in its entirety. He said he thinks the team must take it one game at a time. "Obviously it's crucial because we're not winning," he said after Thursday night's loss to San Antonio. "But all we need to concentrate on is one game at time. We got to get the first one." He wasn't necessarily talking about tonight, when the Pistons face LeBron James and the Cavs, who are fighting with the Celtics for the top record in the Eastern Conference. But the tentative, lackluster play could disappear on the road. Some of the team's bigger victories (San Antonio, L.A. Lakers and Denver) have come on the road. "I think the most important thing is on the road you concentrate a lot more," Iverson said. "A lot of times guys feel like the game's going to be won by the fans. "But on the road you are playing against their team plus 20,000 other people, and the level of concentration is there and the distractions are not there. It might be a good thing." Antonio McDyess is ready for a win. He doesn't care if it's on the road, at home or on the moon. "It's just time to win a ballgame," McDyess said. "I don't know how we do it; I don't care how we do it. "Home or away, we got to win a ballgame. Going on the road is not going to be easy. It's going to be a tough stretch for us, tougher than we've been playing at home." Coach Michael Curry remains publicly confident, saying the team will play well. "It's disappointing that we have a better road record than home, but that also shows we're capable of pulling together and being focused and playing in tough territory," Curry said. "It's a big road trip for us, and I feel confident we're going to play well on this trip and come away with some good victories." ********************************************************************* -- Only the strong survive- Iverson ⊕ ═█┘ ⊕ ●╱ 　　　 Ｗ ● ●︵ ● ●)) ３╯ <３\ /３⊕ ／３﹚ ３ \\ />⊕ >/ ⊕ ╲> >> ========= http://www.wretch.cc/blog/AWEI3 ========= --

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