Allen Iverson was able to squeeze the doctor's hand. Now he wants to see whether he can squeeze the recovery time for the broken bone in his left hand.
If Iverson has his way, he will return to the 76ers even sooner than the date suggested Sunday in an interview with NBC's Andrea Joyce, April 17, the final game of the regular season.

Iverson suffered a fractured metacarpal March 22 in Boston and was declared out for four to six weeks. Since his plaster cast will not be removed until Thursday, that would leave three possible earlier dates: Friday night at home against Washington, Sunday at Orlando and April 15 at home against Chicago.

The Sixers visit Indiana in the final game.

Assuming even Iverson would need more than one day of rehabilitation therapy, that could eliminate Friday's game. Dr. Jack McPhilemy, the Sixers' orthopedic specialist, has said that, once there is sufficient healing, the hand would be placed in a splint, and therapy could begin. On Sunday, McPhilemy said that Thursday would roughly coincide with the first date a splint would be considered.

But Iverson, who did not address Sixers beat reporters Sunday, said yesterday: "I don't think anybody knows my body more than me. I think I might be able to come back before the last game; you never know. I know my teammates, coaching staff and everybody in the organization think I'm crazy about feeling this way, but it's just the way I feel."