The Philadelphia 76ers have two of the top stars in the league in the form of Joel Embiid and James Harden who are two guys who can go to work rather quickly on the offensive end.
Both Embiid and Harden are so tough to defend as they can score in every which way. Therefore, there isn’t a lot that opposing teams can do so they just have to foul them in order to try and throw them off their rhythm a bit.
Embiid is averaging 11.8 free throws per game while Harden is averaging 9.6 free throws during his time with the Sixers. That can bother some opposing coaches and Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff is the latest to criticize the Sixers star duo.
Per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, coach Doc Rivers responded to Bickerstaff as well as Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue:
“To me, stop fouling them,” the Sixers coach said before Tuesday morning’s shootaround. “That’s what I always say. I’m fine with no one fouling James and Joel. I would be perfectly fine with that. We’d bet that they would score more points if you didn’t.”
The ability of both Embiid and Harden to be able to draw fouls at such a high rate continues to be impressive and it allows the Sixers to score points even when their offense isn’t in a groove. To Rivers’ point, it comes down to whether the opposition can stop them without fouling.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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