Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers: Terry Rozier deserves Game 5 suspension for punching Joel Embiid

By Dan Parzych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 7: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers gets into an altercation with Terry Rozier #12 of the Boston Celtics as Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics and Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers try to break them up in the second quarter during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 7: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers gets into an altercation with Terry Rozier #12 of the Boston Celtics as Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics and Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers try to break them up in the second quarter during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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When looking at the actions of Terry Rozier against Joel Embiid from Game 4, the Boston Celtics guard deserves to be suspended for Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

To say tensions between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics were intense would be a huge understatement when looking at how the first four games of this semifinals series have looked at times, including Monday’s Game 4. In what can best be described as desperation mode, the Sixers gave it everything they had against the Celtics to extend their season for another day after coming through with the 103-92 win.

While Dario Saric (25 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists) led the way for Philadelphia, Joel Embiid also deserves credit for recording his sixth double-double in a row after finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4 against Boston. One can only imagine where this Sixers team would be if it wasn’t for the presence of the former Kansas star, but as impressive as Embiid’s numbers were on Monday, it was his brief scuffle with Terry Rozier in the game that has been quite the popular discussion.

After Rozier was called for an offensive foul late in the second quarter, Embiid quickly tried to get the basketball out of the hands of the Celtics guard, which he didn’t take too kindly. As Embiid continued to go after the basketball, the two would eventually get into each other’s faces, and it was clear that Rozier even threw a punch at the Sixers giant.

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With this in mind, why wasn’t Rozier ejected from the game for his actions when all of this went down? When looking at how cautious Embiid already has to be as a result of his orbital bone fracture, the last thing Philadelphia can afford to see happen is the injury become worse as a result of a cheap punch.

Yes, the argument can be made that Embiid deserves to be somewhat at fault as well for attempting to get the basketball out of Rozier’s hands, but also the argument can be made he was just trying to quickly get the Sixers moving to potentially catch the Celtics off guard. No matter what, there’s no excuse for any player to throw punches in a meaningful NBA game like the playoffs, and even though it would seem unfair to conduct this time of year, Rozier deserves to be suspended for Game 5.

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For obvious reasons, Boston would have every reason in the world to be furious if this were to happen, but as previously mentioned, Rozier throwing a punch or two at Embiid was completely unacceptable. The chances of this happening may seem slim at the moment, but let’s hope the league at least looks further into the situation since Game 5 between the Celtics and Sixers will already get underway on Wednesday.