LA Clippers coach has been picked up his fair share of fines over the years for criticizing officiating in games. He hasn’t garnered a fine for that in a few years now, but he may be in line for one after his comments following last night’s loss to the Houston Rockets.
What seemed to rankle Rivers the most in that game what he viewed as a disparity in the amount of free throws the Clippers took (eight) compared to the Clippers (23). Rivers cited how his team attacked the basket more than the Clippers and yet came up with less free throw attempts in the 101-96 loss.
After the game, Rivers did not hold back in his assessment of the officiating, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times:
Frustrated by the free-throw disparity, Clippers coach Doc Rivers vehemently expressed his displeasure with the officiating following his team’s 101-96 loss to the Houston Rockets Thursday night at the Toyota Center before 18,055 fans.
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“I don’t say much about the officiating, but tonight was…,” Rivers said, pausing. “Let me say this, they shot 41 threes, right? We shot 18. We doubled them in the amount of points in the paint and it was 24-8 in free throws. That’s a joke. That is a complete joke.
“I thought our guys drove and got hit all game. Got hit all game. Lou (Williams) down the stretch got killed on a play, no call. Austin (Rivers) gets hit, no call. DJ (DeAndre Jordan) gets fouled over the back. I haven’t done that all year. Our guys played their hearts out. But for them to shoot that many more free throws than us and we’re the team attacking and not shooting threes, it just doesn’t make basketball sense to me.”
Rivers’ comments may get him a call from the league office and a fine could follow.
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“Our guys were frustrated. You could see it,” Rivers said. “Lou was frustrated out there because he was getting held, he was getting grabbed, he was getting pushed. That’s why I loved the way we played. Because no matter what, we kept playing and I thought our guys kept the focus pretty well. I told them in every huddle, ‘I’ll keep fighting for you (with the officials). You keep playing.’ And I thought our guys did that.”
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