Sixers' Doc Rivers Defends Dwight Howard After Another Tech vs. Bucks

Philadelphia 76ers veteran center Dwight Howard has been a solid addition to the team this season. Not only has he brought a likable veteran presence to help lead the Sixers, but he's also been a productive backup behind the team's starting center, Joel Embiid.

Although Howard's been a bright spot for the 76ers this year, he has his flaws. And perhaps one of his most notable issues is the fact that he leads the league in technical fouls at this point in the year.

On Saturday afternoon in the matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, Howard picked up his 15th technical foul of the 2020-2021 NBA season. Sixers Head Coach Doc Rivers has mentioned in the past that Howard has to be smarter when he's on the court to avoid techs before he picks up a fine and a suspension, but Rivers wasn't frustrated with Howard on Saturday.

In fact, Rivers picked up a technical foul of his own as he defended his veteran big man. “I didn’t think Dwight should have gotten a tech,” Rivers said following a Sixers loss. “That’s basically why I got my tech. I think that’s my third tech or second this year. I wasn’t even swearing. I was literally saying, ‘That’s not fair,’ and I got a tech for that. Dwight got a tech for clapping.”

There's always speculation that players who get in trouble with the officials more often than not tend to find themselves in a position where they don't have a lot of room for error. Therefore, they pick up fouls much easier than any other player would. Considering Howard leads the league in technical fouls and has been ejected twice this year, Rivers believes Howard falls under that category.

“I just thought Dwight’s tech was purely reputation,” Rivers explained. “I didn’t think he deserved it. First of all, it wasn’t a foul on the other end that they called on him, and there was not another player on the floor, in my opinion, that would have gotten a tech for the same thing that Dwight did. Not one player would have gotten that, but it just happened to be Dwight Howard, and he gets techs.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.