The best coaches never let ego or emotion get in the way of good coaching. Pop doesn’t do it. Phil Jackson has never done it. In the words of the great Herm Edwards (former Kansas City Cheifs/New York Jets/ Matt Moore’s Bizzare Fantasy Team head coach):
If the ultimate goal of sports it to “win,” one can assume that in order to win, you would want a coach to make the best decisions possible, as often as possible, based on rational analysis, matchups, skill set comparisons and teamwork. However, Vinny Del Negro seems to have a slightly, um, egotistical view of how this is done. Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald leaves us this little tidbit from the post game:
“Watching and listening to Miller speak with the media after the game, it’s a wonder Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro even let him go to the line. ‘Rondo hit him in the head,’ Del Negro said, ‘but when you’re a big guy you never let a guard take you out of the game.‘”
No, Vinny. That is completely incorrect. And I, for one, have been lobbying hard for you during these playoffs. Withholding misgivings, exhalting good manuevers. I mean, I invented the hashtag #VDNWillNotBeStopped. But this, THIS, has got to be a joke. This ain’t streetball. This ain’t trash talking. This is playoff basketball. It’s not about cajones, its about winning. If Brad Miller gets slapped hard enough across the face to knock a tooth out and fill his mouth with blood, you don’t patch him up and put him on the line. You sit his butt on the bench and put in your best free throw shooter. So what, Brad Miller looks liks a chump!?! REALLY? He’s Brad farking Miller, not Shaq (for what it’s worth, I would love to see if VDN would have kept Shaq in under similar circumstances – ah, fantasies!).
If it’s possible to pull a player in the exact same position, do you not think that Pop would have punted, say, Matt Bonner half way to Corpus Christi and brought in Finley? Phil would have rolled out his yoga mat for Bynum to relax on while The Machine drained 2 gimmes.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that a playoff series is a jog, not a sprint, but you cannot let emotional decisions and tough guy stereotypes get in way of winning basketball. Personally, I tend to think the Rondo foul was pretty flagrant. Rondo is staring at Miller’s head (and away from the ball), slapping towards his nose/mouth and nowhere near having any play on the ball. The old mantra is “Defending champions get all the calls on their home court in the playoffs.” Yeah, well, it’s true. Regardless of what you think of the foul, you can’t go back and re-write history. What you can do next time, VDN, is put the ego aside, concentrate on winning the game and use whatever rules and players are available to make sure that happens.
And if Rondo thinks Brad Miller is a punk afterwards, so what? His team will be down 3-2 and going on the road to keep from getting their “defending champion” butts whipped in the first round. Maybe Vinny should cut down on the hairspray? Or, better yet, just play to win the game.
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I’m not 100% sure about this, but I believe the rule is: If the call is a flagrant foul, then VDN gets to put in any other free throw shooter of his choice. If the call is NOT a flagrant, as in this case, then Doc Rivers chooses Brad Miller’s replacement at the line.
Corndogg,get your rulebook out. If Brad Miller does not shoot his free throws, not only does he have to leave the game, but the Celtics get to pick the free throw shooter off the Bulls bench. How are you feeling about Aaron Gray dusting himself off and being asked to shoot those two free throws. Sorry, if that blows the whole premise of your rant. Sometimes the facts get in the way of our need to criticize and ridicule others.
someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that if VDN had sat Miller in that situation, Boston gets to pick the FT shooter.
Rivers would have picked the bulls replacement shooter had Miller been unable to take his shots.
If the play was ruled a flagrant VDN would have been able to choose a replacement from the four other players on the court, and if it was ruled flagrant two-from any of his players on the bench.
I believe Doc would have got to pick the free throw shooter under NBA rules AND Miller would not have been able to come back and play if the game went to OT. Somehow I think Doc wouldn’t have picked Ben Gordon or John Salmons… and might have gone with, oh, I dunno, Aaron “.576″ Gray instead.
The shooting coach picks is the NCAA rule – and one that makes no sense when you think about it.
The opposing teams’ coach gets to pick the replacment free throw shooter and Miller would not be able to re-enter the game if it went into a third OT. So that is why mille rwas left in.
1 — Doesn’t Rivers get to choose the shooter if Miller comes out?
2 — I think the bigger issue was calling a time out to put Miller in the game in the first place. The Celtics had their shooters on the floor for Pierce’s shot with 10 seconds left, and VDN called time out just to sub in Miller and draw up a play, when they could have had a play ready for after Pierce’s make, and brought the ball up and made Eddie House play defense.
The rule is if Brad Miller can’t shoot the free throws then the opposing coach gets to chose a player off the Bulls bench to shoot. I wouldn’t take out a bleeding, 85 percent free throw shooter for a cold, 58 percent free throw shooter (Aaron Gray) and neither would VDN.
Vinny might have used this ‘respect’ for Brad Miller’s machoness as an excuse for keeping him in, but it was the only logical thing to do.
“He’s Brad farking Miller, not Shaq (for what it’s worth, I would love to see if VDN would have kept Shaq in under similar circumstances – ah, fantasies!).”
There is no coach in the NBA that would even have Shaq on the floor in this situation. This was a situation that called for long range and free throw shooters. (Miller is 3 of 4 beyond the arc in this series).
The people on this site write thoughtful, interesting, poignant posts every day and nary a comment arrives. I,admitting I do not know the rule book, ask why such a decision was made and it lights up the HP sky.
If those are the rules, then you stick with Miller. Sure. Or, you find refs that make tough, timely decisions – regardless of court/time/player, as they are paid to do – and make a call that a majority (thought not vast) thinks would have been the right call.
Look, we (and by “we,” I mean me) can go on discussing what might have been. I think if I player gets fouled hard enough that his GD teeth get busted out, then his coach should be allowed to judge whether or not he is capable of shooting. But, then again, I am not the “Big Brother” NBA rule book that is completely infallible and the written truth.
So, eh, I messed up on this one. Sue me! At least you’re reading the site and ready to rip me a new one if I’m not right. I appreciate that. Hell, I love that – that’s why HP is here. Thank you.
I should add that it was definitely a flagrant foul… And THAT changes the calculus entirely.
I don’t know if anyone pointed this out or not, but I think that Doc Rivers would have gotten to choose…
Just kidding :D