Pistons finally healthy for tonight’s game in Cleveland

March 31, 1:14 PMDetroit Pistons ExaminerLuke Filar

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AP Photo/Paul Sancya A.I. and his bruised ego

The good news: The Pistons are healthy again. The bad news: They’re playing the Cavs in Cleveland.

Rasheed Wallace will return to the lineup tonight after missing the last 11 games with a strained calf. This comes just one game after Allen Iverson returned to action against the Sixers after missing 16 games with a sore back. It marks the first time this season the Pistons will be at full strength with Iverson coming off the bench.

Detroit won’t have much time to work out all the kinks, as they are running into the hottest team in the NBA. The Cavs enter the game with a franchise-record 12-game win streak, not to mention, a 35-1 record at home, which is tops in the NBA. The last time the Pistons visited Cleveland they lost by 21 points.

This game could very well prove how much of an impact the Pistons will be in the playoffs. A blowout loss will not surprise anyone, so far only one team in the NBA was been able to leave Quicken Loans Arena with smiles on their faces. But a win could send shockwaves around the Eastern Conference. Every franchise in the NBA knows what type of team the Pistons are capable of being. Just as they all know what Detroit has accomplished in the playoffs.

What’s unknown is how the Pistons will gel with Iverson in a reserve role.

“With all the things I’ve done in my career, I knew it was going to be tough for me mentally to do this,” Iverson said after Sunday’s win against Philadelphia. “But the more I looked at the big picture—the idea of helping my teammates win games—the more the idea appealed to me.”

NBA Superstars have egos, this is fact, this is set in stone, this is truth. However, the first step in any recovery is admittance. And Iverson’s quote was a de facto admittance of his guilt.

Time heals all wounds. It has healed the Pistons injuries—for now. But how long will it take to heal Iverson’s ego and to fully accept his role coming off the bench?

Well, winning also heals all wounds, so a victory tonight in Cleveland would put Iverson—and the Pistons—on the right path.