Sixers' Doc Rivers says Draymond Green shouldn't have been suspended, defends Joel Embiid

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Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers defended star player Joel Embiid on Friday and said that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green should not have been suspended with his Sixers up 3-0 in its playoff series.  

Embiid was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul in Philadelphia’s Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets after kicking out at Nets center Nic Clacton, who was standing over Embiid and received a technical foul. 

Joel Embiid, #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers, reacts toward referee Nick Buchert, #3, against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half of Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Barclays Center on April 20, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Rivers told reporters on Friday that the NBA needs to do something regarding players trying to goad stars into retaliating. 

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"I'm going to say this, and I probably shouldn't: I didn't think Draymond [Green] should have been suspended," Rivers said Friday, according to ESPN. "And I think the league is setting up a very dangerous precedent right now, and this is not me campaigning, and I'm dead serious. . . . If we're going to start punishing the retaliators, and not the instigators, then we've got a problem in this league."

Green was suspended by the league for Game 3 of Golden State’s series against the Kings after stepping on the chest of Domantas Sabonis in the fourth quarter of Game 2. 

Draymond Green, #23 of the Golden State Warriors, steps over Domantas Sabonis, #10 of the Sacramento Kings, in the second half during Game