Johnson was pulled from the starting lineup three games ago and

did not play against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night.

Johnson had six rebounds in 15 minutes against Phoenix but also

committed four fouls and scored just one point.

"What is Amir? He is an energy guy who changes tempo, defends and

rebounds," coach Michael Curry said. "When he comes in, that's what we

expect him to do."

--The Pistons are road-weary after playing seven of their first 10

games on the road but they only leave The Palace once the rest of the

month.

"We had two really good road trips," Curry said. "We went 2-1 out

East and 3-1 here in the West. What we said was, that's a really good

trip. But a great trip would have been 3-0 and 4-0. That's what we're

looking for."

The loss on Sunday wrapped up what was essentially an eight-game

road trip for the Pistons. There was a home game sandwiched between

the trip East and the trip West.

"As a professional and going through this year after year, it's

something you have to do," Allen Iverson said. "It's something you

have to get through. It's part of being an NBA player. It's just not

an excuse I will make."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We are a pretty good team right now. We want to be

a great team. We've got work to do." -- Coach Michael Curry, after the

team's 7-3 start.