76ERS Iverson says he is drawing fewer calls

He challenges the bigger players, but would like more fouls whistled.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
PHILADELPHIA -- The word fear does not exist in Allen Iverson's vocabulary.
Standing hardly 6 feet tall and weighing 165 pounds only after multiple burgers and milkshakes, the 76ers star guard boldly drives into the paint game after game, challenging taller players who swat at him as if he were a gnat at a picnic.
Iverson raised an interesting question on the topic the other night, after a loss to Toronto in which he shot 23 free throws and sank a career-high 18. He wondered if some officials, accustomed to seeing him venture inside and make impossible shots, shy away from calling fouls unless he really gets whacked.
Reputation
Iverson said he feels that he's getting fewer calls because of his reputation for toughness.
"It's like [the referees are saying], 'He can take it. He's tough. He can do it. He can take the contact and still make shots. I've seen him make tough shots before.'
"I don't think it's right. I ask referees, 'Was there contact on the play?' And the referees say, 'Yeah, there was contact. They got a piece of you, but I don't think it was enough.' When is it enough? When I fall and break something or hurt myself? I feel like you call a foul when it's a foul. You don't let fouls go.
"I'm not whining. I'll keep going in there. I won't ever stop going in there. That's just the way I play the game. Hopefully, I'll get those calls when they occur, but if I don't, I'll continue to play the same way."
Initiates some contact
Iverson initiates some of the contact created when he goes into the painted area. At times, he gets a little reckless, launching a poor shot or committing a turnover. But he never stops being aggressive with the basketball, something that coach Randy Ayers appreciates.
"Watching the tape of that game, my thing was that he stayed aggressive," Ayers said. "That's what we want him to do, try to penetrate and pitch and either get fouled or create something for somebody else."
Ayers didn't want to say whether he thought the officials call fewer fouls than they see when it comes to Iverson.
"I've always heard that Shaq [O'Neal] and Allen were the two hardest guys in the league to officiate," he said. "I think it's frustrating to him, because it's an opportunity to go to the line when you're struggling offensively and trying to put some points on the board."
Injury
Iverson said he is more reluctant to seek contact because of his aching right knee. With the Sixers so shorthanded, he knows he can't afford to sit out.
"I'm just trying to get my shot off," he said. "As far as me trying to create a lot of contact, that's crazy because I'm trying my hardest this year not to hit the floor as much as I used to, especially with my knee hurting the way it is."
But he's still hitting the floor and getting calls. Going into Friday night's game against Miami, he led the NBA with 188 free-throw attempts, 30 ahead of the second-place O'Neal.