Is Allen Iverson just now learning his role?

By Henry Abbott Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer makes a convincing case that Allen Iverson should come off the bench. For instance, the starters score very well, but need defense and rebounding, while the bench could use some scoring. Herrington continues, however: The problem with all of this, of course, is that it's predicated on a rational consideration of how good basketball teams function, but that isn't what the Iverson Experiment has ever been about. It's about a starstruck owner flexing his muscles and running roughshod over his own organization. If Michael Heisley, Chris Wallace, and Lionel Hollins didn't directly broach the subject of a potential bench role with Iverson when they collectively met with him before the signing — and it appears that they didn't — then this is an act of negligence. And Iverson himself seems less like a person to be reasoned with than a bomb to be diffused, a realization that detracts from the potential fun regardless of ...