Iverson will see a specialist in Washington, D.C., to get a second opinion on his injury, which he fears may be more serious than first thought, sources said.

Iverson, traded from the Nuggets in November for guard Chauncey Billups, left Wednesday's loss to the Hornets in the first quarter after aggravating the back strain he sustained in Tuesday's loss to the Heat.

Iverson was replaced in the starting lineup Friday by Richard Hamilton, who scored 31 points to fuel a victory over the Orlando Magic. Hamilton led the Pistons again Sunday with 25 points in a win over the Celtics.

Coach Michael Curry said last week he was hoping a new lineup would jump-start his Pistons (29-29), who are tied for sixth in the East with Philadelphia. The top eight teams in each conference advance to the playoffs.

"This change is more than about Allen and Rip," Curry said last week about the timing of the lineup shift coming amid Iverson's injury. "We hope that with this change, more guys will play better. That's what we are seeking. Hopefully this will allow us to execute better, get us back in sync and rejuvenate us."

Iverson, averaging career lows with 18.0 points and 37.5 minutes per game, told Curry and a Pistons trainer that his back was feeling better and that he could likely play Tuesday, the Detroit News reported.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3945657


*sighs* Alright. I tried to ignore  this whole back injury story all weekend, but I can't any longer.  BubbaChuck needs to stop finding excuses not to play.  A back injury? Knee-grow please!  Get the fuck over it already and help your team get to the playoffs!  Stop hiding behind that bullshit ass "injury" because your fuckin' pride is damaged.  You're coming off the bench and that's that! The Pistons ain't had no business putting Rip on the goddamn bench in the first damn place. That was just stupid! I don't know about Rip, but if it was me, I would've been peed the fuck off.  Here this lil nicca come and everybody wanna change shit to cater to his little ass.  Well I'm sorry, but he is a cancer to teams, and he brought it on himself because he never liked sharing the ball.

It's only a matter of time before AI sounds off about his unhappiness with the team.  The season can't end quick enough for him.  Unless he can swallow his pride and be a threat off of the bench, he may as well retire after this season.  I've been saying it for years, and I'll say it again.  The ONLY way AI will get a championship ring is if he's coming off the goddamn bench.