"This is not the same Allen Iverson people around here are used to seeing.

Missing layups, missing short open jumpers, driving but not getting all the way to the basket, seemingly lost on defense -- this is not the same guy who routinely torched the Pistons when he played for the 76ers.

And Iverson is the first to admit it.

"My rhythm is just not there," said Iverson, who missed seven of nine shots and scored nine points in the Pistons' 96-85 loss to the Trail Blazers on Sunday. "It's kind of a different situation for me. I'm finally sitting more than I usually do. This is the most I sat down (during games) in my whole career and my rhythm isn't there where I want it to be."

Iverson, 6-6 as a Piston, didn't say that as a complaint or an excuse -- he offered it as a simple fact. He always has played close to 40 minutes a game. He played 32 minutes Sunday and has averaged 31 minutes over the last five. He is shooting under 40 percent as a Piston and has now had three nine-point games.

"I am positive," Iverson said. "And I have enough confidence in my game to know it's going to come back. It's early struggles right now, that's all it is."

In his defense, Iverson did not have a training camp this season. He was banged up and missed a lot of days when he was in Denver, and he has been on a crash-course to incorporate his unique skills with the Pistons since the Nov. 3 trade.

"But missing layups, that's all on me," Iverson said. "I am supposed to make them even if I sat out a whole year of basketball. That's just me being off. When I missed those layups (against the Blazers) like that, I knew I was going to have a rough night."

Iverson said he has complete faith he will figure things out sooner than later, but that doesn't mitigate the frustration he's feeling right now.

"You know it's going to happen," he said. "You know you are going to get there, it's just so difficult to deal with now. It's just something we have to get through."

Reversal of fortuneRemember when the Pistons used to out-execute teams down the stretch? Remember when the Pistons' offense was so crisp and efficient they forced other teams to junk up their defenses?

On Sunday, it was completely reversed. The Trail Blazers, with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge , put on a pick-and-roll clinic in the fourth quarter and had the Pistons scrambling all over the floor.

The Blazers iced the game with an 18-3 run, which included 11 straight points.

"I think it was about us executing offensively," Roy said. "We were picking-and-rolling, LaMarcus was making shots all"