Pistons coach Michael Curry confirmed Iverson will be fined, will not start Friday and might not play at all.

Detroit (9-5) has split 10 games since acquiring Iverson from Denver on Nov. 3. He turned in an effort in which he said he "stunk up the gym" in a 106-80 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, but had 16 points and was in better position on defense in a 110-96 win over New York on Wednesday.

"Those two days (off) made a dramatic difference, especially on defense," Iverson said. "I'm always playing with effort, but now I know where I'm supposed to be - I know the team rules now."

Iverson may know the team rules on defense, but not showing up for practice certainly isn't what the Pistons expect from the eight-time All-Star, who once had a famous rant about practice while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Milwaukee (7-10) played without injured stars Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut in a 102-96 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday. Redd hasn't seen action since suffering a sprained ankle on Nov. 2, while Bogut was held out after bruising his knee in Monday's loss at Orlando.

Richard Jefferson scored 25 points to lead the Bucks, who received plenty of praise from the Hawks for playing well while being short-handed. That wasn't what they wanted to hear, though.

"No. This is pro sports. We're paid to win," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "Nobody's going to present me a medal because we're not out of the game. We're supposed to be in the games. We're supposed to win the games. And we had our opportunities. We just weren't able to make the plays."

Reserve Charlie Villanueva had 19 points in 22 minutes. He's averaging 17.8 points in his last four games, but Wednesday's effort gave him no solace.

"We can't make any excuses," Villanueva said. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We just fell short."

Bucks point guard Luke Ridnour returned to the lineup after missing a game with a knee injury and had five points and four assists in 19 minutes.

While Skiles is busy trying to figure out who is healthy enough to play, Curry is developing one of the NBA's deepest teams. Detroit had four reserves score in double figures Wednesday as Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo each had 13.

Stuckey also had a career-high 11 assists with only one turnover.

"It was great to see the second unit come in and play really well," Curry said. "I thought that the catalyst in that second unit was Rodney Stuckey. Stuckey did a tremendous job of his decision-making. He actually was calling most of his plays, which was good. That's what I want our guards to do."

The Pistons will be adding more depth next month, when Antonio McDyess is expected to be re-signed. McDyess was part of the Iverson trade and has reached a buyout agreement with the Nuggets.

Detroit has gone 3-1 against Milwaukee in each of the last three seasons.