Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd has been around this block before, he knew the moment he opened his mouth to utter this sentence what was coming (via ESPNNewYork.com):
“If flopping is the way to go, then we have to maybe play that game,” Kidd said later. “But Joe (Johnson) is a strong individual and unfortunately, he doesn’t flop. He plays and he doesn’t complain. But that’s why we have officials, for them to make calls.”
As expected, the league came down Friday with a $25,000 fine on Kidd for his comments.
Johnson was at the heart of the Nets’ 26 point comeback against the Raptors in Game 5, a charge that fell just short at the end. The Nets did a great job of getting Johnson the ball at the free throw line, putting shooters around him and let him create for himself and others. It worked. He just didn’t get a lot of foul calls.
Kidd wants those calls in Game 6 Friday night, (and In Game 7 Sunday if there is one). So he was willing to pay the price to plant the seed in the officials’ heads.
