The first round of the NBA playoffs is officially underway, with a few first-game fixtures already in the books, including Mikal Bridges and the Brooklyn Nets with Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers.
As expected, Philadelphia made easy work for Brooklyn, with superstars Embiid and James Harden proving too much to handle for Bridges and company.
The Nets didn’t have an answer for the battle-tested 76ers, so this playoff streak could end sooner rather than later.
The 76ers came away with a convincing 20-point victory over the Nets in Game 1, with Brooklyn head coach Jack Vaughn harshly criticizing the referee in Game 1 of the series, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn had a clear message for the umpires going into Game 2 after Brooklyn lost Game 1:
“Hopefully they claim the 3S travel and defense next game. So I’m looking forward to that.”
– TimBontemps April 15, 2023
The losing coach of any NBA game, let alone a playoff game, usually has an ax to beat the referees in postgame press conferences.
Vaughn wasn’t happy with the way the refs swallowed their whistles when it came to Embiid, and it would be safe to say the Nets coach can expect a fine from the league for his critical comments.
Sometimes when a coach or player points out something like this in a game it can draw attention to it from the league and referees, but it remains to be seen if that is the case in this case.
Normally, the player should be a superstar like Kevin Durant or LeBron James, and the coach should be highly respected like Gregg Popovich or Steve Kerr.
Only time will tell if changes are made, but Vaughn’s fine will almost certainly come.
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