Sixers’ Mike Scott Got Ejected for an Extremely Weak Flagrant-2 Foul
He barely touched him!
The Sixers outlasted the Hawks in Atlanta last night and they did it with one of their top bench options unavailable for the second half.
Veteran forward Mike Scott was assessed a Flagrant-2 foul at the end of the second quarter for a play that was totally harmless.
The Hawks had a 4-on-1 fast break, so Scott fouled Damian Jones to prevent an easy basket.
If you look at the NBA’s official criteria for what constitutes a Flagrant-2 foul, it’s incredible that Scott got tossed for that play.
The contact may have been unnecessary and we can argue over whether it was a legitimate basketball play, but it certainly wasn’t severe contact, Scott didn’t wind up or follow through, nobody was or could have been hurt and it didn’t lead to any altercation. There’s no way he should have been automatically ejected.
It’s tough to get too worked up over a bench guy getting ejected in the third game of the season, though. I’m mostly just mad the ejection happened in Atlanta, because I wanted to see the Philadelphia crowd implode.
The best of SI
Albert Breer has the latest buzz from around the NFL before today’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline. ... Don’t count the Nationals out just yet. ... The top 50 players in college basketball this season.
Around the sports world
The FBI is investigating a man who sold 35,000 White Sox tickets that were supposed to be given away for free. ... Robin Lopez unwittingly found himself at the center of a stolen Disney merchandise ring.
The NBA is more fun when Steph Curry is doing stuff like this
Power and finesse from Joel Embiid
The Knicks... won a game?
Jimmy Graham and the Packers’ trainer had incredible costumes
These throwbacks are the best thing the Dolphins have done all season
What a letdown
Multitasking
These are atrocious
Not sports
A painting found in an old French woman’s kitchen sold for $26 million. ... MIT researchers taught self-driving cars to see around corners. ... The Game of Thrones showrunners are no longer directing a trilogy of Star Wars movies.
What a way to start a Monday
Anybody who does this is a monster
A good song
Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to seeprevious editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.