Pacers Arrive in Philly as A.I. Leaves for Denver

Wow! Seeing the Allen Iverson in a Nuggets uniform is a strange sight indeed. With the Pacers in Philly to face the Sixers on Wednesday night that strange site is nice to see on a couple of fronts. For one, A.I won't be able to catch fire tonight and torch the Pacers. Also, trade speculation that always seemed to include the Pacers has vanished. At least for now, the Pacers are goin' with what they got.

However, Bruno makes a great point in his game preview. With the speculation over, the Sixers can also focus on moving forward with what they have. I'm assuming the former Nuggs won't play (or have much impact if they do). Still, as the Pacers proved after the Palace brawl, a shorthanded squad can rally around each other, show some pride, and dig out a couple of hard earned wins. Sounds like CWebb will be back for the Sixers, so they will be in about as good a shape as possible.

With all of that said, the timing of this game should still be considered quite favorable for the Pacers. The dust hasn't settled in Philly yet and if the Pacers can come out and play with strong energy and effort they should be able to run down this Sixers team for a rare road victory. The Pacers have talked recently about consistency and putting a string of wins together. If not now, then when?
(Photo: ESPN.com illustration)