Stern Defends New Format

Television ratings will decide whether the prolonged NBA playoff format was a smart choice, Commissioner David Stern said Sunday at Toronto.

“Ultimately I think the judge is going to be are the fans watching,” Stern said before the tip-off of Game 3 of the Toronto Raptors-New York Knicks series.

“Most of our fans experience [the NBA] on television. And they have an opportunity to vote. So ratings information is going to be important to see how it went.”

Despite being a best-of-five series, the first round could take as long as 14 days to complete. The Laker-Sacramento King series, for example, started April 23 and is scheduled to finish Friday if it goes the five-game limit.

The length of the schedule has also caused extended breaks between games. In the Utah-Seattle series, the teams had to wait four days before playing Game 3, and have another three days off before Game 4--that’s playing one game over an eight-day stretch.

Stern said he hasn’t had any trouble with the schedule.

“I watched four games [Saturday]. That’s a lot of games, but fun. And I think the last one was a humdinger,” Stern said, referring to Indiana’s come-from-behind 109-96 win over Milwaukee.

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Allen Iverson has a chip fracture in his right ankle but is expected to play against Charlotte tonight at Philadelphia in Game 4 of their first-round series.

The 76ers’ star guard was injured when David Wesley stepped on his foot during the third quarter of the 76ers’ 81-76 victory Friday. He already has a broken left toe and inflamed right elbow.

The 76ers are already without Eric Snow, who has a similar injury to his right ankle. Snow’s status for Game 4 will likely be a game-time decision.