Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers did not hold back in blasting the officials for calling a soft technical foul on Dwight Howard in their 132-94 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The long-time NBA mentor believes Howard received the tech solely on his reputation, claiming that if that had been any other player on the floor, the referees would not have given the technical.
Listen to Rivers' rant, via Dave Uram of KYW News Radio:
Doc Rivers did not think Dwight Howard deserved a technical foul in today's #Sixers loss to the #Bucks. pic.twitter.com/EUWmBmfJMS
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) April 24, 2021
The technical foul occurred early in the second period after the referees called a loose ball foul on Dwight Howard for pushing off Donte Divincenzo on a rebound. The 17-year veteran didn't agree with the call. The broadcast didn't show it, but the sixers center apparently sarcastically clapped in disagreement, prompting the officials to issue the tech.
Obviously, Doc Rivers is upset with this development because that was Howard's 15th technical foul on the season. Should he get one more, that means he will serve a one-game suspension. Every two technical fouls he receives after that would warrant another suspension for the Sixers big man.
Howard is leading the league in technical fouls and would be the first to receive a suspension should he get another. Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook are right behind him.
Rivers and the Sixers certainly had a frustrating night, and this only added to their dismay. Nevertheless, Philly did play with an extremely short-handed roster, with their two stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons out. Embiid reportedly sat due to a sore shoulder, while Simmons missed his fourth straight game due to an illness.
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