Popovich on Fouling when Up by Three: "We don't do that."

[Darius Bieber]

Anyone else catch this in the PostGame interviews? An Italian reporter asked why Pop didn't foul Bosh or James before the pass to Ray Allen to tie up the game.

Popovich asked the reporter: "That must be a European thing. We don't do that here in America."

Seems a little arrogant to me. It would have been a great strategy. Pressure free throws, at worse be down by 1 with the ball in the Spurs' hands.

Popovich is an older Spoelstra. Lucky to have had AllStar, non egotistical players on his team.

[DPG21920]

Pop is arrogant, this is not news. He made crucial mistakes but I'll be damned if the idiot media is the one that will make him answer for it. His players who trust him will and that's how it should be.

[Texas_Ranger]

In Europe they at least don't sit their best rebounder when the game is on the line....

[Baam]

I have never seen Pop say that a loss was on him, I'm not surprised tbh, I have a lot more respect for Vogel who dealt with his mistake like a real man.

[SpursFan86]

Makes no fucking sense.

If we foul Bosh before he passes to Allen, he's going to the line with 5 seconds left. At best, he gets it to within 1 and it's Spur's ball. If the Spurs just get the damn inbound in, game over. Even if we miss both shots at the line, we're up by 1 and Miami has 3-4 seconds (at best) to take it the length of the court and score.

I'd rather do something like Europeans and be celebrating a championship, but apparently I'm crazy.

[2centsworth]

Do Europeans sit Hall of Famers who are having Hall of Fame games at the end of ball games?

F you you arrogant prick!

[EIC]

If that's honestly his rationale, he's dead to me.

[Darius Bieber]

http://youtu.be/lelwe0FL8O4

I delivered guys. 45 second mark, Italian reporter.

[SpursSerb]

Well Pop a european coach would have won this game.One of the stupidest things in NBA is no foul in clutch time.Thank you Pop,you made Ray Allen a hero!

[Twisted_Dawg]

Why the fuck does a reporter from Italy have to ask the obvious hard question? Are the American reporters that fucking stupid, or just that in awe of Pop?

[Shabazz]

Pop knows he made some dumb decisions down the stretch. He won't give any reported the satisfactions of pointing those mistakes out. But yes, fouling late is one thing we should have done.

[spurraider21]

Anyone else catch this in the PostGame interviews? An Italian reporter asked why Pop didn't foul Bosh or James before the pass to Ray Allen to tie up the game.

Popovich asked the reporter: "That must be a European thing. We don't do that here in America."

Seems a little arrogant to me. It would have been a great strategy. Pressure free throws, at worse be down by 1 with the ball in the Spurs' hands.

Popovich is an older Spoelstra. Lucky to have had AllStar, non egotistical players on his team.
he clearly didn't want to get into a free throw shooting contest with the Heat. manu missed one, and later kawhi missed one. make them earn the points. but not having Timmy in there to rebound was big. shades of Vogel game 1 tbh

[Mal]

We do it in Europe. Put them on the line, make them earn their points and grab rebound on missed on purpose FT. Couldnt be simplier. I dont know what is wrong with it ?

[lefty]

In the 1995 NBA Finals, game 1, Orlando had a 3 pt lead at the end of regulation and didnt foul Kenny Smith

Smith was already on fire from the 3 pt line .... he took that 3 ... and sent the game to OT


We know what happened after that


And Brian Hill, after the game, was asked about it .... his answer : " we don't do that "


Well, yeah, good decision asshole ... you blew an 18 point lead, and never recovered from that

[EIC]

He'll play "hack-a-[insert poor FT shooting big man]" but not foul in the closing seconds of a decisive Game 6 in the NBA Finals with a 3-point lead? WTF?!?

[Josepatches_]

I was waiting for the foul tbh. It's not usual in the NBA but it was the fucking last play to win a championship so I was sure we would "break" the NBA code.

[lefty]

In the 1995 NBA Finals, game 1, Orlando had a 3 pt lead at the end of regulation and didnt foul Kenny Smith

Smith was already on fire from the 3 pt line .... he took that 3 ... and sent the game to OT


We know what happened after that


And Brian Hill, after the game, was asked about it .... his answer : " we don't do that "


Well, yeah, good decision asshole ... you blew an 18 point lead, and never recovered from that
Oh and IIRC, the Magic werent even in the penalty

[SenorSpur]

That's just more of Pop being the self-righteous, caustic prick he can be toward the media. He'll never admit publically that HE made a mistake by sitting Duncan. He'll never admit publically that he stuck with Manu too long. He will not admit anything, but he does need to take his own advice and "get over himself".

[Darius Bieber]

He'll play "hack-a-[insert poor FT shooting big man]" but not foul in the closing seconds of a decisive Game 6 in the NBA Finals with a 3-point lead? WTF?!?
Good point.

[Doe]

I have never seen Pop say that a loss was on him, I'm not surprised tbh, I have a lot more respect for Vogel who dealt with his mistake like a real man. To be fair to Pop, I don't recall him taking credit for the wins either. He deflects to the players so at least he's consistent, win or lose.

[AchillesHeel]

Who cares if that strategy is disrespectful and whatever, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A CHAMPIONSHIP! HEAT BIG 3 FORMING TOGETHER AND DANCING IN THEIR SHOW AND SAYING NOT 1 NOT 2 NOT 3 ETC WASN'T RESPECTFUL EITHER, WHY NOT GIVE THOSE FAGGOTS A DOSE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE?

You do whatever it takes to win the game, Allen tried to injure Parker in the clutch when he sent him out of bounds mid-air, do you think he cared?

[Floyd Pacquiao]

for some reason i was watching that game lastnight on youtube...
In the 1995 NBA Finals, game 1, Orlando had a 3 pt lead at the end of regulation and didnt foul Kenny Smith

Smith was already on fire from the 3 pt line .... he took that 3 ... and sent the game to OT


We know what happened after that


And Brian Hill, after the game, was asked about it .... his answer : " we don't do that "


Well, yeah, good decision asshole ... you blew an 18 point lead, and never recovered from that

[TheGoldStandard]

The problem is the way they ask him the question, they don't go after him, they ask casually as if he is going to say "Oh yeah, I should have done that".. The question should have been like, "Why would you take out Hall of Fame bound Tim Duncan and cost him a title?" "why would you keep manu in the game despite his 8 turnovers?" why would you not start Tony and Tim and the beginning of the 4th to build on the lead you had and then not put them back in after Miami went on a 5-0 run.

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

The amount of arrogance Pop has displayed tonight disgusts me, and it's not what the San Antonio organization is about.

[Capt Bringdown]

He'll never admit publically that he stuck with Manu too long. He will not admit anything, but he does need to take his own advice and "get over himself".

What incentive is there? He only gets love letters from the local media and never gets called on anything negative. Success went to his head after the 2007 win IMO.

[temujin]

We do it in Europe. Put them on the line, make them earn their points and grab rebound on missed on purpose FT. Couldnt be simplier. I dont know what is wrong with it ?

They don't do that in America, didn't you hear?
Europe is only good to go find your players.

Oh, and the wine.

[lefty]

for some reason i was watching that game lastnight on youtube...
mind = blown :wow

[Josepatches_]

The worst thing isn't that we didn't make the foul. You can choose to defend the play. It's worse that it seems we can't take in consideration to foul them because this is the NBA and we are better than that.

Well this "we don't" could cost us a championship.

[SpursSerb]

If you decide to defend,then you have to put someone on the floor to grab the rebound.We decided to defend with hope that the ball somehow ends up in our hands.Talk about a good coaching.

[TheGoldStandard]

When asked about closing out a game 6 pop responded, "We don't do that either".

[BatManu20]

When asked why he didn't use common sense in his decision making this game, he responded, "I don't do that either."

[Baseline]

This loss is 1000%on Popovich. Period. He takes Duncan out for the two most important defensive possessions of the season. And all we need is ONE rebound on either possession. And because Duncan was not in the game - again, Pop's decision - we gave up an offensive rebound and a second three-point shot on EACH possession. It's on Pop. He didn't let the players decide. And even worse, in what would have been the most memorable game of Tim's career, he didn't let Tim on the court for the most important possessions. If I were Tim, I'd strangle the guy in his sleep tonight.

[InRareForm]

Check the replay, it would have been hard to foul bosh... easier said than done.

[Mal]

Check the replay, it would have been hard to foul bosh... easier said than done.

No. Whoever catches the ball from inbound and starts to dribble it down the court, you foul him. No technical, no nothing. Send this guy to the line, he can only score 2 points when they need 3. I had nothing to do with fouling Bosh after rebound.

[smaka]

We don't do that, fuck Pop. Do we lose in the NBA filans? No, but you just slightly increased our chances of doing that. :cuss

[joeSpurs]

Isn't Pop the guy who uses the Hack-a-Shaq more than any other coach in the NBA? I have seen him use it on the Clippers last year. I have seen him use it this season... And now, he doesn't DO THAT? This could have been his best Hack-A-Shaq job ever in the last 2 minutes of the game. What an idiot.

[Mark in Austin]

He'll play "hack-a-[insert poor FT shooting big man]" but not foul in the closing seconds of a decisive Game 6 in the NBA Finals with a 3-point lead? WTF?!?

This. Seems a little inconsistent to me...

[BillMc]

Opposing coaches in 2 consecutive series that went 7 have bailed out the Heat by sitting their best big men/rebounder at the end of games. Hibbert Game 1 ECF, Duncan Game 6 Finals.

[GrandeDavid]

I wish one of these reporters would call Pop out for being arrogant and disrespectful. The great thing is that it would probably lift their profile. I would absolutely love that.

[ffadicted]

Majority of coaches don't do this tbh

[oski1000]

I agree
He'll play "hack-a-[insert poor FT shooting big man]" but not foul in the closing seconds of a decisive Game 6 in the NBA Finals with a 3-point lead? WTF?!?

[Slippy]

let me get this straight. he'll hack the crap out of guy who can't shoot freethrows to get a regular season win but he can't do what-ever it takes to win a pivotal finals game for his team. The same way teams use fouling to get back into a game , he doesn't want to use it against them. That's just laughable and retarded.

Pop needs to get over himself.

[Typical London Boy]

At the time, I thought fouling would've been a good idea. But unlike what the OP says, it's not necessarily a 'down by one in the worst case scenario' - if they missed the second free-throw and grabbed the rebound, there's the chance of a four-point play. Which would've been far more aggravating than trying to play honest defence.

Also, we'd still have had to make free-throws, and we weren't firing on all cylinders, so turning the game into a free-throw fest may not have worked out either.

[Fabbs]

That's just more of Pop being the self-righteous, caustic prick he can be toward the media. He'll never admit publically that HE made a mistake by sitting Duncan. He'll never admit publically that he stuck with Manu too long. He will not admit anything, but he does need to take his own advice and "get over himself".
rack it

[Fabbs]

Akin to this, when LeBron hoisted his end of regulation miss, there were approx 7 seconds on the clock.
Why have all 5 Spurs try to rebound, thus leaving three point shooter(s) open for the Heat?

Why not have at least one (Parker) and better yet two Spurs have priority 1 be guard any would-be 3 pt Heat shooters in the event of a would-be Heat offensive rebound?
Instead, Ray Allen is open by 12 feet for the game tying 3.
So the Heat get the O rebound (which they did) and make a two pointer. Big deal. Now there are 5 seconds left, Spurs ahead by one and back to the FT line for the Spurs. No timeouts for Miami, even if the Spur FT shooter bricks, they have to go 90 feet to hit the game winner.

[Obstructed_View]

Wanna know what else they don't do? Win a title in 2013.

[jimo2305]

what if the person you're fouling is dwight howard or shaq pop?

[temujin]

Majority of coaches don't do this tbh

Majority of the coaches in the US.

[temujin]

I wish one of these reporters would call Pop out for being arrogant and disrespectful. The great thing is that it would probably lift their profile. I would absolutely love that.

Come on, they are just journalists, they never won a single basketball game in their entire life.
And never will.

[ducks]

foul and he makes the three spurs lose

[crc21209]

It's a hard decision. Either way the decision can bite you in the ass. Say you foul a player from the Heat bringing the ball up the floor before James shot that 3, and that player makes both free throws. Then there would still be time to foul the Spurs and time for the Spurs to miss free throws. You just never know what could happen in that situation. What lost them the game was not securing the damn rebound.

[HemisfairArena]

We obviously dont keep a top 5 player of all time and our defensive anchor in the game with the win on the line either.

[CosmicCowboy]

It's a hard decision. Either way the decision can bite you in the ass. Say you foul a player from the Heat bringing the ball up the floor before James shot that 3, and that player makes both free throws. Then there would still be time to foul the Spurs and time for the Spurs to miss free throws. You just never know what could happen in that situation. What lost them the game was not securing the damn rebound.

That. It's the ghost of .4 coming back to haunt the Spurs. Heat hit two clutch 3's in a row with our "quick defense and hands" crew on the floor. Give credit where credit is due.

[GSH]

He puts that smirk on his face and says, "That's a European question, right?". This is the same guy who berates Americans (as if he isn't one) for being dismissive of Euro ball. But when he does it, it's different.

Arrogant, and a hypocrite. AND he fucked up the game. When the Spurs needed to defend against a 3, he pulled Duncan. When the Heat needed to defend against a 3, they left Bosh in the game. Which one worked out better?

[HemisfairArena]

He puts that smirk on his face and says, "That's a European question, right?". This is the same guy who berates Americans (as if he isn't one) for being dismissive of Euro ball. But when he does it, it's different.

Arrogant, and a hypocrite. AND he fucked up the game. When the Spurs needed to defend against a 3, he pulled Duncan. When the Heat needed to defend against a 3, they left Bosh in the game. Which one worked out better?

[DMC]

In Europe they at least don't sit their best rebounder when the game is on the line....

That's right. Tiago was never benched in crucial moments.

[temujin]

Dusan Ivkovic and Obradovic would have done it.
They did it several times.
Just to name a couple with ...vic ending.

[DPG21920]

It should be a given IMO that you foul when up 3. I never understood, even if you have a poor FT shooting team, why you don't foul. This was such a bang-bang play(s) though it's hard to fault someone.

[Obstructed_View]

foul and he makes the three spurs lose

How does Bosh make a three when he's sixteen feet from the rim?

[DMC]

It's a hard decision. Either way the decision can bite you in the ass. Say you foul a player from the Heat bringing the ball up the floor before James shot that 3, and that player makes both free throws. Then there would still be time to foul the Spurs and time for the Spurs to miss free throws. You just never know what could happen in that situation. What lost them the game was not securing the damn rebound.

What lost him the game was treat OT like a lost cause from the start. The game wasn't over, everyone just acted like they lost already.

[biziofromdowntown]

Stupid Moron. I believed pops different man but he's an arrogant self-referential. We do this in Europe, and we WIN championships. What a shade on pops career

[GSH]

It should be a given IMO that you foul when up 3. I never understood, even if you have a poor FT shooting team, why you don't foul. This was such a bang-bang play(s) though it's hard to fault someone.

That's the problem with the way it turned out. Miller got the ball out of his hands before any Spur could have gotten to him. Bosh was almost the same thing. BUT... it was obvious that the Spurs didn't have instructions to foul, given the opportunity. I don't know if they could have gotten to Bosh in time, or not. But Pop obviously told them not to try. Because "We don't do that"? He doesn't mind hacking guys that are poor FT shooters, so I know it's not because he thinks it's bad. Apparently he just doesn't think it works. I don't get it. When they were up by 5, the only way they could lose was to give up two 3-pointers.

[DPG21920]

Exactly. Same scenario when you are up 3. You see it all the time. I would foul every time to ensure they cannot tie or win.

[unforeseen]

Pop will not have that chance in Game 7.

[midnightpulp]

Exactly. Same scenario when you are up 3. You see it all the time. I would foul every time to ensure they cannot tie or win.

But the honor code!

[DPG21920]

The funny thing is hack-a-player is essentially the same gamble IMO. Not completely apples-to-apples, but close enough to where it's surprising many coaches that favor that, don't foul up 3.

[temujin]

Well, let's put it this way.
The only time Popovich coached against Euro coaches, he ended up a couple of stories below a couple of them.
And that having Duncan in his prime.

[ffadicted]

Majority of the coaches in the US.

Majority of coaches in the only league that matters lol

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

foul and he makes the three spurs lose

You don't let him get a shot off, dumbass.

[tesseractive]

Stupid Moron. I believed pops different man but he's an arrogant self-referential. We do this in Europe, and we WIN championships. What a shade on pops career
So every team in Europe wins the championship?

Or every team in Europe does it, one of them wins the championship over all the other teams who do it, therefore it must be the right thing to do?

I'm not even sure which of these explanations is dumber than the other one.

[th3answ3r]

don nelson did this against the raps in bosh's last year. almost cost them the game tbh, they won by 1 cuz bosh missed the layup.
risky but I dont think miami couldve made the steal with a better percentage than making some 3s ala lebron/ray allen smh

[LakerLanny]

NBA coaches refuse to do it for some reason. Even Phil Jackson would never do it and it burned the Lakers multiple times. Kobe has single handedly burned opponent coaches who refuse to it with last second 3's probably 25 times in his career.

I honestly think NBA coaches get way too much credit for the most part. Most of them really aren't very good and are usually more hindrance than help. I guarantee you Tom Thibodeaux wins that game last night if he his coaching the Spurs, guaranteed.

[therealtruth]

Doc Rivers believes in fouling.

[MultiTroll]

Bump worthy.

As to last nights giveaway game vs Portland, i am referring to end of regulation with Spurs up 3.
Not necc saying foul, but why would you give a wide open uncontested trey?
Watch Cojo (and i think also Ginobatard) when Portland launches a missed shot with about 7 seconds left. They both leave their man and come down well inside the arc.
Hell Cojo is well inside the free throw line. Thus leaving Lillard wide open for the game tying 3 after Portland got the O rebound.
Durrrrrr a two pointer cannot beat you.

[MultiTroll]

https://i.imgflip.com/1tnai5.jpg
"We don't do that over here!"


Back to back games. :clap:lol
Cleveland and now today vs Phoenix.
109-106 3.2 seconds left.



https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/phx.png&h=100&w=100
Kelly Oubre Jr. makes three point jumper (Ricky Rubio assists)
109 - 109

[Darius Bieber]

Dang totally forgot about this post tbh. Still holds true.

[timvp]

Does any team do that?

[MultiTroll]

Does any team do that?
Some do some don't.
Of the teams that chose to foul:

Teams that deliberately fouled won 17 of the 19 games in regulation and lost once. Teams won all 14 of the games in which they purposefully fouled with five seconds or less to play. One game went to overtime, and the team that fouled when leading in regulation won.

2010 article. Dk if any group has updated the stats. Most of the "let's defend instead" teams won too.

Most recent example i can remember (not saying it's the NBAs most recent outside of Poppy and the Spurs): Earlier this year Rick Carlisle said his team made a mistake in not fouling when up 3 as the Lakers inbounded with 6 seconds left.


https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/sports/basketball/22fouls.html

[UZER]

We don’t do that. But we do foul over and over on purpose when we’re up by 13 in the 3rd. That’s a no brainer.

:pop:

[timtonymanu]

We don’t do that. But we do foul over and over on purpose when we’re up by 13 in the 3rd. That’s a no brainer.

:pop:

rofl still remember him doing that during the Clippers series against Jordan when the Spurs had a double digit lead

[DPG21920]

I’m 10000% sure they were instructed to foul. I saw Becky say it clear as day to Pop

[UZER]

rofl still remember him doing that during the Clippers series against Jordan when the Spurs had a double digit lead

That’s exactly the game I was thinking about when i typed that. :lol

[Spurtacular]

Back to back games. :clap:lol
Cleveland and now today vs Phoenix.
109-106 3.2 seconds left.



https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/phx.png&h=100&w=100
Kelly Oubre Jr. makes three point jumper (Ricky Rubio assists)
109 - 109




GOAT coach of all-time I'm told.

[timvp]

Some do some don't.
Of the teams that chose to foul:

Teams that deliberately fouled won 17 of the 19 games in regulation and lost once. Teams won all 14 of the games in which they purposefully fouled with five seconds or less to play. One game went to overtime, and the team that fouled when leading in regulation won.

2010 article. Dk if any group has updated the stats. Most of the "let's defend instead" teams won too.

Most recent example i can remember (not saying it's the NBAs most recent outside of Poppy and the Spurs): Earlier this year Rick Carlisle said his team made a mistake in not fouling when up 3 as the Lakers inbounded with 6 seconds left.


https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/sports/basketball/22fouls.html

Back in the prehistoric days of 2010, it was easier. Now everyone and their mother knows to shoot when a foul is incoming. It's tough to do nowadays. You're only safe if a player has their back to the basket and they're in two-point range.

[MultiTroll]

Back in the prehistoric days of 2010, it was easier. Now everyone and their mother knows to shoot when a foul is incoming. It's tough to do nowadays. You're only safe if a player has their back to the basket and they're in two-point range.
They didn't know that from 2010 and before? :rolleyes

2nd huge factor is whether or not the would-be fouling team has a foul to give. If team has a foul to give it would be insane imo to not foul. (Provided of course yes, do it when player is not in act of shooting.) A way to do this is right as a player is about to catch the inbounds pass. Or if guy who caught inbounds pass in turn passes, defense needs to foul the recipient as he is catching the ball. Agree do not let it be in the act of shooting. Double, triple, quadruple so if playing 2015-19 WarriorRef.

[Mugen]

Back in the prehistoric days of 2010, it was easier. Now everyone and their mother knows to shoot when a foul is incoming. It's tough to do nowadays. You're only safe if a player has their back to the basket and they're in two-point range.

Good point. Spurs should just keep doing what they're doing and let the other team tie it up. :lol

[MultiTroll]

I’m 10000% sure they were instructed to foul. I saw Becky say it clear as day to Pop
Sarcasm or you saw it for rizzle?

[Spurtacular]

We don’t do that. But we do foul over and over on purpose when we’re up by 13 in the 3rd. That’s a no brainer.

:pop:

:lmao

[DPG21920]

Sarcasm or you saw it for rizzle?

For real.

[SpurPadre]

We don't foul when up by three...except if it's to give Dirk an AND 1 in the closing moments of a Game 7.

[rudwick]

Most statistical studies show that that there is a very slight (less than a percent) advantage to not fouling in those situations.
Fouling teams win about 93% of the time and defending teams a few tenths more often. I really doesn’t matter which you choose.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Back in the prehistoric days of 2010, it was easier. Now everyone and their mother knows to shoot when a foul is incoming. It's tough to do nowadays. You're only safe if a player has their back to the basket and they're in two-point range.


Well Pop didn't do it back in the prehistoric days when it was easy, and the results overwhelmingly said he should. What does that tell you?



BTW - I wonder if Pop is telling LMA to intentionally commit offensive fouls in the last minute of close games, because he sure as shit has that move down pat. He did it again tonight.

[MultiTroll]

Most statistical studies show that that there is a very slight (less than a percent) advantage to not fouling in those situations.
Fouling teams win about 93% of the time and defending teams a few tenths more often. I really doesn’t matter which you choose.
What is a fact is a defender should not leave his man outside the arc to guard a player inside the arc (2 pter). Saw Aldridge do that yesterday. Sure enough, Phoenix kicked it back out to the man Aldridge left and he sank the tying trey.

It's soo basic and yet here we are still seeing NBA players -vets at that- and *Hall of Fame* coaches performing this nonsense.

[MultiTroll]

I’m 10000% sure they were instructed to foul. I saw Becky say it clear as day to Pop
Wonder if Becky and Pop agree on this?

[RC_Drunkford]

We don’t do that. But we do foul over and over on purpose when we’re up by 13 in the 3rd. That’s a no brainer.

:pop:

:lmao Flopovich lost us that series with his hack-a-Jordan bullshit

[rudwick]

What is a fact is a defender should not leave his man outside the arc to guard a player inside the arc (2 pter). Saw Aldridge do that yesterday. Sure enough, Phoenix kicked it back out to the man Aldridge left and he sank the tying trey.

It's soo basic and yet here we are still seeing NBA players -vets at that- and *Hall of Fame* coaches performing this nonsense.

That was bad. And he is supposed to know better as a veteran. It looked like they were instructed to ignore two-point threats because Rubio was allowed a free path to the basket, but LA blew the coverage.

[spurraider21]

Back in the prehistoric days of 2010, it was easier. Now everyone and their mother knows to shoot when a foul is incoming. It's tough to do nowadays. You're only safe if a player has their back to the basket and they're in two-point range.
:lol no... we see guys like paul always trying to pretend they were in the act of shooting from halfcourt or something and never get that call

[MultiTroll]

:lol no... we see guys like paul always trying to pretend they were in the act of shooting from halfcourt or something and never get that call
Plus the NBA 3 point line was initiated in 1979. It did not take NBA teams 30 years to 2010 adopt an end of game strategy.

[Darius Bieber]

Worked for the Rockets to perfection.

[ZeusWillJudge]

:pop: "In the first half, our shots went in. In the second half, theirs went in. Plus, they fouled with a 3 point lead, and got lucky that it worked out. It's really not that complicated.

[timtonymanu]

Back in the prehistoric days of 2010, it was easier. Now everyone and their mother knows to shoot when a foul is incoming. It's tough to do nowadays. You're only safe if a player has their back to the basket and they're in two-point range.


Good point. Spurs should just keep doing what they're doing and let the other team tie it up. :lol


Worked for the Rockets to perfection.

:lmao

[timvp]

D'Antoni outcoaching Pop, per par.

The basketball gods don't like sniffers either apparently :depressed

[ZeusWillJudge]

The basketball gods don't like sniffers either apparently :depressed


Nah. We just don't like coaches that refuse to foul with a 3P lead and seconds left on the game clock.

[timvp]

Nah. We just don't like coaches that refuse to foul with a 3P lead and seconds left on the game clock.

I still contend teams don't do that much anymore. White standing at halfcourt with three seconds remaining helped Houston's decision.

But, yeah, happened tonight. Funny timing, tbh :lol

[Mugen]

I'll bail you out, Tim. Fouling when up 3 would only work against a senile fuck like Pop since he didn't even know you could do that. :lol

[ZeusWillJudge]

I still contend teams don't do that much anymore. White standing at halfcourt with three seconds remaining helped Houston's decision.

But, yeah, happened tonight. Funny timing, tbh :lol


If you had a "hat's off" emoji, I'd tip it for you being a big enough man to have a sense of humor about it. :tu

If there was a team that I wouldn't foul I that situation, it would be Houston with all their mad bombers. If there was a team that I would definitely foul in that situation, it would be this no-3P-shooting Spurs team.

The Rockets had very little risk that any Spurs player would turn it into a 4 point play. That's just the sad truth.

[slick'81]

Thats an ok mentality if you actually can defend

[RC_Drunkford]

Nah. We just don't like coaches that refuse to foul with a 3P lead and seconds left on the game clock.

But we like coaches who foul Shaq after 5 seconds in the first quarter though

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

:lmao Flopovich lost us that series with his hack-a-Jordan bullshit

That's exactly why Spurs were bounced that year. Smdh and still putting up with his stupid coaching

[Darius Bieber]

But we like coaches who foul Shaq after 5 seconds in the first quarter though

https://media.tenor.com/images/1d44df074b8c9f39f8e8d54f87f88f69/tenor.gif

[UZER]

https://media.tenor.com/images/1d44df074b8c9f39f8e8d54f87f88f69/tenor.gif

Those uncomfortable laughs by the minions. :lol

[ZeusWillJudge]

But we like coaches who foul Shaq after 5 seconds in the first quarter though

It was a joke. He said "basketball gods"... I said "we"... because... nevermind.

That hack-a-Shaq in the first seconds of the season was funny as hell. Of course I think it pissed Shaq off and he had something like 18 points and 13 boards, and the Suns waxed our asses.



The basketball gods don't like sniffers either apparently :depressed

Nah. We just don't like coaches that refuse to foul with a 3P lead and seconds left on the game clock.

[OldMan88]

But we like coaches who foul Shaq after 5 seconds in the first quarter though

Aw come on... that was funnier than hell. Even Shaq thought so.

[RC_Drunkford]

Aw come on... that was funnier than hell. Even Shaq thought so.

it was hilarious, but Pop is still a senile idiot

[MultiTroll]

What did you guys think of Jim Carrey allowing Nephew to get off the would-be tying 3 pointer last night vs Dallas?

Caught ball with 8 seconds, shot with 7.

Missed it by a mile but do you want him getting an attempt at the 3 bounce miracle like the Raptors Champ season?

[exstatic]

What did you guys think of Jim Carrey allowing Nephew to get off the would-be tying 3 pointer last night vs Dallas?

Caught ball with 8 seconds, shot with 7.

Missed it by a mile but do you want him getting an attempt at the 3 bounce miracle like the Raptors Champ season?
Why would you question a strategy that clearly worked, and not question Mute Cancer shooting TO TIE with SEVEN FUCKING SECONDS LEFT? Even if it backfired, and the ball goes in, you’ve still left Doncic seven seconds to carve up your defense, only needing a single point to win.

[MultiTroll]

Why would you question a strategy that clearly worked,



Of the teams that chose to foul:
Teams that deliberately fouled won 17 of the 19 games in regulation and lost once. Teams won all 14 of the games in which they purposefully fouled with five seconds or less to play. One game went to overtime, and the team that fouled when leading in regulation won.

2010 article. Dk if any group has updated the stats. Most of the "let's defend instead" teams won too.

Most recent example i can remember (not saying it's the NBAs most recent outside of Poppy and the Spurs): Earlier this year Rick Carlisle said his team made a mistake in not fouling when up 3 as the Lakers inbounded with 6 seconds left.


https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/sports/basketball/22fouls.html
This is the more successful route statistically. But either way can win, it's not a huge gap.


and not question Mute Cancer shooting TO TIE with SEVEN FUCKING SECONDS LEFT? Even if it backfired, and the ball goes in, you’ve still left Doncic seven seconds to carve up your defense, only needing a single point to win.
I wonder if Nephew thought he was going to get fouled and then shot when he did not.
He may and most likely did shoot before Dallas had a chance to foul him when not in the act of shooting thus would be only 2 FTs.

Would have been more like 5 seconds by the time Dallas called timeout, but ya Doncic would have gotten a shot.

[PrimeMinister]

Kawhi running into the corner on the inbound play is where the problem started for LAC

If it was by design- ty lue drew up one of the dumbest plays. Time on the clock and throw the ball into the corner where hardaway has an easy contest, or if Kawhi holds on to the ball he’s trapped in the corner.

Maybe they tried to catch the mavs sleeping knowing a foul would come. I wasn’t there so I don’t know. But Dallas never really had a reason to foul when Kawhi is smothered in the corner and immediately heaves.

[Spurtacular]

Kawhi actually hesitated on taking the three and then panicked IIRC.

[MultiTroll]

^ Yes.
All indications are Kawhi thought Dallas was going to foul being +3.
The home run would have been get fouled while in the act of shooting and make shot. But defender was clearly giving Kawhi room and showing zero indication of fouling.
So his choices became:

1. Get fouled not in the act of shooting and it's only 2 FTs. Bad strategy.
2. Dribble to get a better shot off / maybe get fouled in the act.
3. Shoot there and then without dribbling and hope for the tie.

His shot was terrible but looks like he brain farted when Dallas did not foul.

Majority of ST will shed no tears / rejoice.

[MultiTroll]

Side point Jason Richardson got away with an over aggressive shove of Jackson under the hoop for rebound position.
I'm fine with the no call but Richardson way overdid it. Could have been rung up.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I used to agree with this approach, but now with so many teams having multiple guys hitting threes at a 50% clip you're really just asking to get sent into overtime.

The other problem with the "don't foul" approach is that players back off a bit, defensively, probably giving the opponent and even better chance of knocking down a three.

But saying "we don't do that", rather than saying "we might do that depending on the situation" basically reflects what some folks criticize Pop for...locking into a game plan and not adjusting enough to what's going on. I love Pop, but I do think, at times, he's too stubborn with the script in a game or a series, and doesn't counterpunch the opposing coach's moves properly or timely enough. But then, when he does start playing mad scientist, he takes things too far the other way and things become a mess.

Tough to be an NBA coach, I think. Pop's done it better than almost everyone though.

Armchair quarterbacks are always way better at doing the jobs of the people they sit around and criticize. :)

[MultiTroll]

Budovich elected to not foul Durbetta after the inbounds with 2 seconds left in Game 3.

Thankfully the all time top 5 snake
a. missed the shot
b. did not get gifted free throws.

[exstatic]

This loss is 1000%on Popovich. Period. He takes Duncan out for the two most important defensive possessions of the season. And all we need is ONE rebound on either possession. And because Duncan was not in the game - again, Pop's decision - we gave up an offensive rebound and a second three-point shot on EACH possession. It's on Pop. He didn't let the players decide. And even worse, in what would have been the most memorable game of Tim's career, he didn't let Tim on the court for the most important possessions. If I were Tim, I'd strangle the guy in his sleep tonight.

Jeezus. Walk it off. It was the better part of a decade ago, and the team redeemed themselves the next year.

[exstatic]

I used to agree with this approach, but now with so many teams having multiple guys hitting threes at a 50% clip you're really just asking to get sent into overtime.

The other problem with the "don't foul" approach is that players back off a bit, defensively, probably giving the opponent and even better chance of knocking down a three.

But saying "we don't do that", rather than saying "we might do that depending on the situation" basically reflects what some folks criticize Pop for...locking into a game plan and not adjusting enough to what's going on. I love Pop, but I do think, at times, he's too stubborn with the script in a game or a series, and doesn't counterpunch the opposing coach's moves properly or timely enough. But then, when he does start playing mad scientist, he takes things too far the other way and things become a mess.

Tough to be an NBA coach, I think. Pop's done it better than almost everyone though.

Armchair quarterbacks are always way better at doing the jobs of the people they sit around and criticize. :)

Overtime isn’t the worst scenario. If you foul at the wrong time, they’re not shooting two on the floor, or even three to tie, they’re shooting one to win.

[EricB]

Why would you question a strategy that clearly worked, and not question Mute Cancer shooting TO TIE with SEVEN FUCKING SECONDS LEFT? Even if it backfired, and the ball goes in, you’ve still left Doncic seven seconds to carve up your defense, only needing a single point to win.


lol mute cancer. I like that, apologies for stealing that one.