He still cannot straighten his right arm, but Allen Iverson will play tonight against the Detroit Pistons. At 5-5, the 76ers are undefeated with Iverson in the lineup, winless without him.

Yesterday the Sixers' doctor, Jack McPhilemy, told Iverson his elbow is worse, not better, than it was during the playoffs last season.

Iverson said yesterday that the doctors have told him the elbow will get better. Rest, Iverson said, will not help it. Eventually, the surgery he had in September will prove beneficial, he believes.

"I'm just trying to contribute," Iverson said after practice yesterday. "I'm trying to go out there and hustle as much as I can, and just show the team that I'm looking forward to getting back to where we were last year. I'm just trying to work hard, and set an example for the guys.

"Ever since I've been back, I can see the confidence is there like we had last year. For me, this is kind of like training camp, as far as my legs, and everything, my strength, and I'm just starting to get back into game form as far as my conditioning."

He has looked all right so far. Although Iverson's shooting has been off the mark - in five games he has shot just 32.6 percent from the field - he still is averaging a team-high 24.6 points per game, in part because he has gone to the line an average of nearly 10 times per game.