ESPN Research
Most expected Allen Iverson to give the Pistons' offense a shot in the arm when he first came to Detroit. But despite A.I.'s gaudy scoring averages over his 12 NBA seasons and reputation as an elite scorer, the Pistons are actually a better team offensively without him.

With him, Detroit has a minus-41 plus-minus, but without him, its plus-minus shoots up to plus-eight.

Detroit Pistons This Season With and Without Allen Iverson on the Court
	With Iverson	Without Iverson
Points scored per 100 possessions	105.3	110.1
Points allowed per 100 possessions	107.0	109.2
Net points (+/-)	-41	+8
Net points per 100 possessions	-1.7	+1.0
Offensive rebound percentage	25.7	33.6
Note: All data through March 16

A similar trend appeared when Iverson was with the Nuggets. Although Denver's offense was better than Detroit's, the Nuggets were never actually better without Iverson on the court (plus-94) than with him (plus-38).

2006-07 Denver Nuggets With and Without Allen Iverson on the Court
	With Iverson	Without Iverson
Points scored per 100 possessions	108.1	110.1
Points allowed per 100 possessions	106.3	107.6
Net points (+/-)	+38	+94
Net points per 100 possessions	+1.8	+2.5
Offensive rebound percentage	29.4	32.5

Despite going on a four-game winning streak immediately after Iverson went on the shelf with a back injury, the Pistons are 7-6 overall without A.I. in the lineup and 23-29 with him.

Information from 82Games.com was used in this report, which was compiled by Alok Pattani of ESPN Stats & Analysis.

By Kevin Arnovitz
TrueHoop

MIAMI HEAT

The Heat have a negative point differential for the season, and the team's reserves account for that deficit. Head coach Eric Spoelstra has an extremely fluid rotation. In Miami's past four games, Spoelstra has used the same starting lineup, but has given bench minutes to seven different players.

Daequan Cook and rookie Michael Beasley have emerged as the clear No. 6 and No. 7 guys in the rotation. Cook can shoot the lights out, guard both wing positions and has improved his ballhandling skills. Beasley usually checks in for Jermaine O'Neal midway through the first and third quarters, and will occasionally finish games. After that, it's a bit of a muddle. Yakhouba Diawara gives Spoelstra another defender on the wings, but that's the extent of his game right now. James Jones has never found his shot after being sidelined for the first 10 weeks of the season with a hand injury.

Backup point guard has been a revolving door for Miami. The Heat have used Marcus Banks (traded to Toronto in the Shawn Marion-Jermaine O'Neal deal), Chris Quinn, Cook (a shooting guard) and now Luther Head, who was signed on March 4. The former Rocket saw his first action Saturday in Miami's triple-overtime win over Utah, playing 21 minutes, while Quinn remained on the pine. In the post, veteran Jamaal Magloire and Joel Anthony will compete for playing time, though neither has emerged as the preferred option.

Indications are that Spoelstra's depth chart in a first-round playoff series will likely be dictated by matchups rather than habit, but it's worth tracking the box scores to see who's getting the lion's share of the bench minutes in the final four weeks of the regular season.

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DETROIT PISTONS

One question preoccupies any discussion of the Pistons' bench: What happens when Allen Iverson returns? The assumption is that Michael Curry will bring Iverson off the bench. The head coach even suggested recently that Iverson will pick up Will Bynum's minutes as the Pistons' backup point guard. Between Iverson, Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton, the Pistons' 96 backcourt minutes will be accounted for, with little time left over for Bynum.

Antonio McDyess, Detroit's longtime reserve, has been slotted into the starting lineup. For the time being, Jason Maxiell has emerged as Curry's preferred big off the bench. Maxiell has been picking up starts in Rasheed Wallace's absence, and has seen his minutes gradually increase. Curry will also look to Kwame Brown and Amir Johnson, though more sporadically. Walter Herrmann is the wild card. Since the All-Star break, Herrmann has been tallying double-digit minutes more games than not, mostly at the small forward position, where he spreads the floor for the second unit.

The Pistons have traditionally been a strong bench team. If Iverson can embrace the role as Energy Guy Off the Bench, Maxiell can continue to shoot over 60 percent from the field, as he has for the calendar year, and Herrmann can spell Tayshaun Prince with serviceable minutes at the 3, that tradition should continue.

Read TrueHoop's breakdown of every contender's bench situation here.