New Piston Iverson to start at point guard

DETROIT, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The Detroit Pistons will start their newest star, Allen Iverson, at point guard, Coach Michael Curry said.

"What (Iverson) brings to the table for us is his speed and quickness with the basketball," Curry said in a report Tuesday in the Detroit Free Press. "He helps us in the area of getting into the paint, winning the battle of the free-throw line with the amount of fouls that he draws."

Curry called Iverson a "first-ballot Hall of Fame player."

Pictures of Iverson dominated the Pistons' Web site Tuesday, a day after the high-scoring, playmaking guard joined the team.

The site even had a "Five-rson" promotion, in which fans can buy tickets for any four games and get a fifth game free.

The Pistons got Iverson, one of the NBA's top stars, in a trade with Denver, sending three players to the Nuggets: Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb.

Iverson has been a fixture in the league for 13 seasons. He played more than 10 years for the Philadelphia 76ers before going to the Nuggets.

The 33-year-old guard has averaged 27.7 points and 6.3 assists per game in his career.

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