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Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers wasn’t mad at Dwight Howard for getting ejected from back-to-back games. The 35-year-old veteran knows what he did, apologized to the team, and everyone has moved on.
And, honestly, Howard was kind of provoked into two technicals against the Lakers and then a quick whistle doomed him versus the Clippers. Rivers said he didn’t have any one-on-one conversation with his backup center, but the head coach did address the entire team about limiting technicals. He doesn’t like techs, least of all in the fourth quarter of games.
“I don’t think I need to have a talk with a guy that got thrown out back-to-back games,” Rivers said. “Obviously I had a team talk because against the Clippers we had four technicals and Dwight obviously was the leader in the ball club. So that’s just a composure loss, I don’t like it. I despise second-half technicals because I don’t think you can make them up, and even worse, is fourth-quarter techs.”
Rivers was referring to the five total technicals assessed to the Sixers against the Clippers on March 27. Two on Howard and one apiece on Tobias Harris and Seth Curry. Those ref whistles were hanging loose and chirping quick, per Rivers.
“I will say I thought they were very quickly given, I guess is the nicest way I can say it,” Rivers said. “When you’re giving a technical to Tobias and Seth in the same game, two of the nicest guys in the league, we should evaluate that as well.”
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Sixers Don’t Intend to Joel Embiid Back
Although it’s been said many times, many ways: the Sixers won’t rush Joel Embiid back. The All-Star center won’t see the court until he gets medical clearance from team doctors, along with a sense from Rivers that Embiid can be himself out there.
“He has to clear certain medical steps and I don’t even know what those are but he has to [clear them],” Rivers said. “And then the other thought with us, and the way I always tried to do it, is if you can just come back and keep playing then you’re healthy. But if you come back and play one game and then have to sit, then you’re not ready yet. We want to make sure that when Joel comes back, he’s back.”
Rivers seemed to hint on Monday that Embiid might be back when the Sixers return home, either on April 3 or April 5. That still may be the case but no one is putting a time stamp on it.
“He’s close, I can tell you that,” Rivers said. “He’s working every day. I get reports back daily and he looks good, doing well.”
George Hill, High-Character Teammate
The George Hill hype train rolled into Day 5 in Philadelphia. He’s expected to join the team on April 3, but it might be a few days before he sees any game action. Rivers had expressed a possible 10-day window to get him acclimated. However, his veteran presence alone in the locker room could go a long way in developing the younger players.
“I hear great things,” Rivers said of Hill. “And adding a high character guy to anything, to any company, to any team, is never a bad thing. So we know we’re getting that.”
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