Iverson will start for the 76ers against the Nuggets

At least that’s what the Sixers coach claims.

After all the whining about not starting this 2009 NBA basketball season, it looks like Allen Iverson may finally get his wish because after he returned to the Philadelphia 76ers a few days ago, current 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan has already said he will start Iverson, probably because he doesn’t have anybody else left.

In case you didn’t know, yes, Allen Iverson is back where it started it all, Philadelphia, returning to the very team that drafted him to the NBA after a bitter parting back in 2006.

It’s funny that when Iverson left the 76ers, the team was at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference and on game night, he will return to the same team still at the very bottom of the East. When the Sixers traded Iverson to the Nuggets in 2006, they were 5-18 and on an 11-game losing streak. The Sixers are 5-15 and on a nine-game losing streak when Iverson returns Monday.

Will Iverson’s return to the Philadelphia 76ers be the boost the team is looking for? Maybe. At least their dwindling ticket sales will improve a bit.

Iverson practiced with the other four starters who will likely start on Monday against the Denver Nuggets, one of the three teams Iverson played for after leaving Philly in 2006. Iverson joined Samuel Dalembert, Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young and Willie Green in his first practice back with the team.

”It was like deja vu,” 76ers center Samuel Dalembert said of watching him practice.

”He made a difference already in practice,” coach Jordan said. ”His talking, his presence, being a step ahead of the play defensively.”

The 76ers hope they can say the same of the returning Iverson come game time with the injuries they’ve been having this season. Leading scorer Andre Iguodala is out with a sore ankle and is questionable for Monday’s game while Lou Williams it out indefinitely because of a broken jaw.

All these injuries equate to a miserable 5-15 start for the 76ers. The only team that has done worse is the New Jersey Nets and their laughable 1-19 mark.

Can Allen Iverson lead the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Denver Nuggets? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Philadelphia 76ers +7.5

Denver Nuggets -7.5