76ers' Doc Rivers on James Harden, Joel Embiid FT Complaints: 'Stop Fouling Them'

Doc Rivers has a simple solution for teams upset about the foul calls Joel Embiid and James Harden receive: stop fouling them. 

“To me, stop fouling them,” Rivers told reporters Tuesday. “That’s what I always say. I’m fine with no one fouling James and Joel. I would be perfectly fine with that. We’d bet that they would score more points if you didn’t.”

Embiid leads the NBA with 11.8 foul shots per game, and Harden is third with 8.4. Only the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks attempt more free throw than the Sixers.

Harden in particular has taken criticism for years over foul hunting, but he's also a master craftsman at forcing contact and getting himself to the line. Embiid, for the most part, is just so physically overwhelming and skilled in the post that most defenders foul him as a last resort.

It will be interesting to see how Harden and Embiid fare together in the playoffs, when whistles tend to get a little less frequent. Harden's history of playoff struggles have arguably been a direct result of him getting calls at a less-frequent clip.