Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers believes the NBA needs to look out for teams trying to egg on star players.
Following both of the 76ers’ superstars Joel Embiid and James Harden receiving flagrant fouls in Thursday’s first-round Game 3 win against the Nets, Rivers spoke out about the NBA “setting a dangerous precedent” for retaliatory behavior — especially after Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green getting suspended for stomping on Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis earlier this week.
“I’m going to say this, and I probably shouldn’t: I didn’t think Draymond [Green] should have been suspended,” Rivers said to reporters on Friday. “This is not me campaigning, and I’m dead serious… If we’re going to start punishing the retaliators, and not the instigators, then we’ve got a problem in this league.”
Green’s stomp on Sabonis followed the latter grabbing the former’s ankle first.
Rivers defended Embiid after the 76ers’ big man received a flagrant foul for kicking Nets’ center Nic Claxton, who gave himself a technical foul by taunting the MVP candidate.
Embiid ultimately wasn’t suspended for the flagrant after a review.
On the other hand, Claxton was ejected from Thursday’s game after later landing himself a second technical.
“Joel’s could have went either way, now that I’ve watched it. It really could’ve. I think he kicked him in the leg, actually,” Rivers said. “I don’t know if that’s where he was targeting or not. But don’t stand over him.
“We have these unwritten rules in hockey… We need to create some in our league, and one of them is you don’t straddle a guy and stand over him. You just don’t. You don’t do that.”
Game 3 was even more brutal for Harden, who received a flagrant foul two and an automatic ejection for hitting Nets’ forward Royce O’Neale in the groin during the late third quarter.
Rivers said Harden’s ejection was overkill by officials.
“James’ thing is a joke,” Rivers said. “… The first thing with James is, I’m still looking for a foul. To be thrown out? The problem I have with James being thrown out is there’s three officials, and at least one to two guys in Secaucus [at the NBA’s replay center], and that’s what they came up with? I just can’t understand that one.
The 76ers head coach, a former player himself, also touched on the NBA being a “players’ league” that needs to protect stars who are frequently targeted by opponents throughout games.
“If I’m at a park, and I’m going to make this point, and you stood over me? We’re going to have a problem. I didn’t grow up in the sticks-and-stones era, I grew up in the break-the-bones era, so it’s a little different,” Rivers said. “Having said that, these guys know they can do it because most likely you can’t do anything.
“I’m not picking on Claxton, but I don’t think at a park he’s standing over Joel. But when you’ve got the ref and everybody else there, you know nothing is going to happen.”
Despite Game 3’s theatrics, the 76ers now hold a 3-0 lead and have the chance to sweep Brooklyn on Saturday.