Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau Furious With Joel Embiid Treatment
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 25: Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks reacts during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers during game three of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 25, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is tired of seeing Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid shoot free throws this postseason.
Following the Knicks' loss to the 76ers, Thibodeau blasted the NBA's officiating. He believes Embiid is getting a favorable whistle.
"I'll look at it again, and I'll send my clips in like I do every game, and they'll say, 'marginal contact', and then we'll have marginal contact on Embiid and he'll be at the line 21 times," Thibodeau said, via Kris Pursiainen.
Embiid attempted 21 free throws in Game 3 alone. The Knicks as a team had 19 free throw attempts.
To make matters worse, Embiid avoided an ejection despite injuring Knicks center Mitchell Robinson in the first half.
"In that situation, the crew gets together, we go and review the foul. In this instance, the crew was unanimous along with the replay center official in Secaucus that this foul was unnecessary but did not rise to the level of a flagrant 2," NBA crew chief Zach Zarba said. "The unnecessary contact rose to the level of a flagrant 1 but we were unanimous that this did not rise to the level of excessive contact, unnecessary and excessive, which would have been a flagrant 2 ejection. That's why we kept it a flagrant 1."
The Knicks-76ers series will resume on Sunday.
It'll be interesting to see how the refs officiate Embiid, especially if he's really physical against the Knicks.
