Fact is, Rose's first assignment on defense will be to guard Rodney Stuckey, the Pistons' point guard. Stuckey ignited a second-half rally and tried to bring the Pistons back from an 18-point deficit in a loss Sunday at Atlanta.

The 6-5 Stuckey, averaging 10.7 points and 5.1 assists, made all five of his shots and scored 12 of his 20 points in the third quarter.

The addition of Iverson, who was traded from Denver to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess on Nov. 3, hasn't paid immediate dividends. The Pistons are 14-11 and have lost their last two games. Iverson is leading Detroit with 18.6 points and 5.8 assists.

''They're a different team,'' Ben Gordon said. ''A.I. is a whole different problem. He's one of those guys in the league that are unstoppable once they get going. It's going to be a new challenge because we haven't played them with A.I. on the team.

''Anytime you have those caliber of players, they're always dangerous. They're one of those teams, even though they haven't been playing that well, they're still capable of beating anybody on any given night. So we can't look at their record since the trade; we just have to go out there and realize they have a lot of good players.''

Still, Billups seemed to be one of the Bulls' biggest challenges when playing the Pistons. Not that the Bulls should expect an easier time tonight in his absence.

The Bulls are 3-11 on the road and are beginning a four-game road trip, which continues Friday at Miami, Saturday at Atlanta and concludes Tuesday at New Jersey.

''Whenever you get rid of a cornerstone in Chauncey and bring in A.I., it's going to change some things,'' coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''They're a veteran team, and Iverson brings a lot to their table. One guy is not going to guard A.I. Our team defense and our rotations have to get better, and we worked on that [Monday].

''He's seen all the defenses. You have to try to contain him a bit, but he's very explosive in the open court. He puts up a lot of points. He's a handful. We'll change up some things on him. Overall, we just have to play more sound rotations.''

Only seven teams are allowing more points per game than the Bulls (102.59).

The Bulls are averaging 100.51 points, 11th most in the league. In their last five games, including a 115-109 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Bulls averaged 108.6 points.

''I don't think we can control the paint as well as anyone would like right now,'' Del Negro said. ''We have to get better at that. We have to be able to score. We have to get better defensively. That's something we've stressed since Day 1. That's our main focus. We haven't been as consistent there as I'd like.

''But we do have guys with our smaller lineup that can spread the defense. With Derrick's ability to break people down, our transition points were very good last game. When we're able to do that, we're able to score more consistently.''

Comment at suntimes.com.

TONIGHT

Bulls at Pistons

The facts: 7, Ch. 9, 1000-AM.

The story line: The first of four games against the Pistons, it also is the first game of a four-game road trip. Drew Gooden (sprained right ankle) is out. Tyrus Thomas (concussion) might miss a third game. Allen Iverson leads Detroit at 18.6 points per game.

Brian Hanleyy