The Philadelphia 76ers‘ Doc Rivers feels Ben Simmons isn't being given a fair shake by officials. As such, the Sixers head coach is taking matters into his own hands or hard drive.
Rivers admitted, during an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, that he's keeping receipts of the instances where Simmons was on the receiving end of questionable calls.
“One of the things I've done, I've catalogued those plays all year. So it's not just Trae. In general, how many times Ben has been called for fouls for playing just physical, good defense. Arms are in, he's physical, he's doing nothing [against the rules]. The offense is bumping just as much as the defense.
I don't think you should ever be penalized for being a great defender. Being able to be at 6-10 and get over picks, when a guy is 6-10 or 6-9 and he gets over picks and he gets into the body, it looks physical. But it's legal.”
The Sixers have benefitted a lot from Simmons' size advantage over opposing point guards. He's an anomaly at his position. However, the stakes have become much higher in the playoffs so Rivers won't allow that specific advantage to become a liability all because of what he deems as a poor judgment by officials.
At the top of the Sixers' priority list is Trae Young. The Atlanta Hawks guard has become famous—or infamous if you ask Steve Nash—for drawing fouls. This is something Young will look to exploit in the series against the Simmons and the Sixers.
While Rivers is going to do his part to protect his player, the Australian star will have to use more smarts against the Hawks if he wants to stay on the floor.
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