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Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers has called on the NBA to stamp out the growing trend of star performers being taunted and provoked by opposition players. Rivers was speaking in defence of Joel Embiid, who was guilty of kicking out at Brooklyn Nets’ Nic Claxton during their first-round Playoff series.
Embiid kicked at Claxton after the Nets centre stood over him less than three minutes into Game 3, with Embiid being hit with a flagrant foul on the play and Claxton getting a technical foul for taunting his opponent. Claxton would later get a second technical – and with it an ejection – for taunting Embiid after a dunk early in the fourth quarter
“I think the league is setting up a very dangerous precedent right now, and this is not me campaigning, and I’m dead serious,” said Rivers. “If we’re going to start punishing the retaliators, and not the instigators, then we’ve got a problem in this league.”
Rivers argues that players like Embiid need to be protected from being repeatedly targeted by opponents throughout games.
“I’ve been a player, and this is a players’ league, and I am 100 percent pro-player,” Rivers said. “I think players should play in games. We talk all year about fans not being happy about guys not playing, and now we’re taking guys out of the playoffs. I don’t believe in the past stuff either. They take away all your techs at the end of the season, right? And you start over. Then you should start over with that stuff, too.
“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. 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.”
Expecting more physical treatment for Philadelphia stars such as Embiid and James Harden going forward in the Playoffs, Rivers added: “We definitely have to be ready and handle that stuff better as a group and we just have to know. Joel is probably the main guy, but it was all game if you watch it.
“They were bumping him, they were hitting him, they were holding him, and it was allowed. The lesser guys, they never get that. No one is doing that to them. So we’re asking our stars to turn their heads a whole bunch more than they can at times.
“So it’s a tough one for the league. I think they’re in a tough spot. But I do think if you start it and you’re going to suspend [a player retaliating], you should suspend the other guy, too. You created it? You go, too. So if you want to do that, you’re putting yourself in a chance if the guy does respond, where you can go, too. I think we have to come up with something like that.”
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