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by Martin Frank

You can see it in the practices, the way Allen Iverson drives the lane and then feeds the ball to an open Keith Van Horn at the three-point line. You can see it when Van Horn does something similar, faking a shot and passing it to a cutting Iverson for an easy layup.

Then you see the smiles, the knowing glances, the realization that maybe the 6-foot-10 Van Horn - meticulous and unwavering - can work together with Iverson.

By all accounts, Iverson and Van Horn have co-existed nicely so far, beginning in the pickup games the month before training camp started and continuing through the preseason.

Sure, there have been setbacks, such as when Iverson suffered a chip fracture in his right middle finger and missed five days of camp, and when Van Horn suffered a quadriceps strain that kept him out of three of the first four preseason games.

But they both quickly realized how important they are to the Sixers' success this season.

"Keith is the scorer we've been waiting on, especially a big man who can score the way he can," Iverson said. "He adds another dimension. He's a three-point shooter and that enables us to spread guys out and get open shots. If I get doubled like I have in the past, he'll be able to hurt some teams."

Van Horn spent his first five seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets doing just that. He was traded to the Sixers in August, along with Todd MacCulloch, in return for defensive stopper Dikembe Mutombo. Van Horn was clearly an integral part in the Nets' surprising run to the NBA Finals, erasing years of ineptitude and frustration.

He did this despite having the lowest scoring average of his career at 14.8 points per game in 2001-02, below his career average of 18.2. But Van Horn said the Nets asked him and other players to sacrifice their offense to play more of a team game, to blend in with point guard Jason Kidd.

Van Horn gladly complied. In the process, he led the Nets in rebounding, averaging 7.5 per game from the small forward position.

"I understood my role," Van Horn said. "We were all asked to change our games to play more of a team game. We were all willing to make sacrifices as individuals for the benefit of the team. That's how we got as far as we did."

"We've never had a guy here average 18 or 19 points per game for his career," Sixers guard Eric Snow said. "Everyone said Keith had a down year last year. But I'll take his down year. I'll take his 15 points per game."

So will Iverson. Ever since the trade was made, 76ers coach Larry Brown told him that he has to shoot less than the 27.8 shots per game he averaged last season, that he has to make sure Van Horn gets the ball. That, he said, will ultimately make the Sixers a better team. And that ultimately will make Iverson a better player.

For his part, Iverson said he's willing to do it because he finally has a scorer who he can trust, and is eager to win.

"I can adjust," Iverson said. "Obviously, Keith needs the ball. Obviously, Derrick Coleman needs the ball. And when other guys get going, they're going to need the ball too. I don't have a problem with that. All I want to do is win."

“	I can adjust. Obviously, Keith needs the ball. Obviously, Derrick Coleman needs the ball. And when other guys get going, they're going to need the ball too. I don't have a problem with that. All I want to do is win.” — Allen Iverson

So does Van Horn. He averaged at least 17.0 points per game in his first four seasons, and was only the second Nets rookie to lead the team in scoring since Bernard King did it in 1978. Van Horn averaged 19.7 games as a rookie out of the University of Utah in 1997-98. But each season, the Nets struggled to reach the playoffs.

It wasn't until last season, when the Nets acquired Jason Kidd and Van Horn gave up some of his shots, that the Nets took off and became one of the NBA's most exciting teams. And Van Horn had as large a role in that as anybody. Van Horn, after all, had 19 points and four steals against Boston in the pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. And Van Horn had 27 points against Indiana in the decisive Game 5 of the first round against Indiana, a game the Nets won in overtime.

If it wasn't for his clutch shooting against Indiana, the Nets' season could have been over in the first round.

Van Horn said the Sixers can get to the Finals again, and that he has no problem getting fewer shots than he did in New Jersey in order to help the Sixers get there.

"Allen Iverson is probably the best scorer in the NBA," Van Horn said. "So he should be taking most of the shots. I don't have a problem with that at all. There will definitely be enough shots to go around for everybody, not just me."

It was quite a change from 1997, when Van Horn refused to work out for the Sixers, when he told them he had little interest in playing for them. The Sixers drafted him second overall and immediately sent him and other spare parts to New Jersey for Tim Thomas, the seventh pick, and more spare parts.

Van Horn says now that he would have played for the Sixers if they had kept him, but he didn't like the direction the team was headed.

That, of course, was understandable, considering the Sixers were coming off another in a long line of forgotten seasons.

Now, everything is different.

"I really like where this team is headed," Van Horn said. "They're looking at me to be a strong second option to Allen. I've always been a scorer throughout my career and my life. I feel very comfortable stepping into that role. It's nothing new to me."

It is something new for the 76ers. That's why they are ecstatic at the possibilities. They know that if opponents concentrate on stopping Iverson, they'll have to take their chances with Van Horn and the other Sixers.

"They're going to give open shots to everyone," Snow said. "They'll give them to me. They'll give them to Aaron McKie. They'll give some to Keith Van Horn. Allen Iverson? No way. But when you've got a guy who's an All-Star every year in Allen and another guy in Keith who's close to an All-Star, they're going to have to give up something. They can't cover both of them. They're going to have to let someone shoot."