Eric Spoelstra

[BobC]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

To dovetail into Peter's comment, it was Jimmy Butler who willed that team to win Game 6, including what should have been the game-winning play that led to 3 free throws. One could argue that Spoelstra's decision to then double team the inbounds pass and thereby let the inbounder have a free path to the rim for the game winning put-back at the buzzer contributed significantly to the loss.

Oftentimes, when a coach/manager makes a call for some play or move, and the players execute as expected and they win, the players get most all of the glory. But other times when the same coach/manager makes a call for a particular play or move, and the players don't execute it as they should or were expected to and they end up losing, the coach/manager more often gets blamed for making the bad call/decision.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by BobC

Oftentimes, when a coach/manager makes a call for some play or move, and the players execute as expected and they win, the players get most all of the glory. But other times when the same coach/manager makes a call for a particular play or move, and the players don't execute it as they should or were expected to and they end up losing, the coach/manager more often gets blamed for making the bad call/decision.

True but that play was not the fault of any Heat player. It is unrealistic to expect him to chase the inbounds pass and get a hand up on the shooter and then pivot, sprint, find and box out the man who inbounded the ball. The shot was well defended and the player did as he was told. The play backfired, and if there is blame for that, it falls on the coach.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

True but that play was not the fault of any Heat player. It is unrealistic to expect him to chase the inbounds pass and get a hand up on the shooter and then pivot, sprint, find and box out the man who inbounded the ball. The shot was well defended and the player did as he was told. The play backfired, and if there is blame for that, it falls on the coach.

True, but the double-teaming of the inbounds pass, wasn't that supposed to stop the inbounds pass from being made in the first place? If so, there wouldn't be anyone to have the defender have to run back and get a hand in the face of. Also, is it at all possible that one of the other players was supposed to have come up to help defend on such an inbound pass as well?

I did not see the actual play, but understand how that call looks like a dumb idea, especially since it didn't work. My point is that had the call worked, the players who executed it would have been praised for a great job, and virtually no one would really be praising Spoelstra at all for having called to do it. Meanwhile, since the players could not execute the stopping of the inbound pass on the called double-team, many people, just like you, are putting virtually little to no blame on the players, and laying it on Spoelstra. You've just demonstrated exactly what I was saying. LOL

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by BobC

True, but the double-teaming of the inbounds pass, wasn't that supposed to stop the inbounds pass from being made in the first place? If so, there wouldn't be anyone to have the defender have to run back and get a hand in the face of. Also, is it at all possible that one of the other players was supposed to have come up to help defend on such an inbound pass as well?

I did not see the actual play, but understand how that call looks like a dumb idea, especially since it didn't work. My point is that had the call worked, the players who executed it would have been praised for a great job, and virtually no one would really be praising Spoelstra at all for having called to do it. Meanwhile, since the players could not execute the stopping of the inbound pass on the called double-team, many people, just like you, are putting virtually little to no blame on the players, and laying it on Spoelstra. You've just demonstrated exactly what I was saying. LOL

You actually might want to watch the play before making such remarks. The play was designed to deny the ball to Tatum, which in fact happened. The ball went to Smart, whose defender made it tough or impossible to get off a good shot, and an off balance shot was hoisted. There was no one to follow and cover the inbounds passer. It was designed that way. It was executed that way. It failed that way.

EDITED TO ADD: One thing seems certain-- Coach Spoelstra will really be put to the test in this Series. He has shown he has the ability to put together a winning plan, and yes, it would help immensely if his players could execute that plan. Still, this puzzle will be a tough one to solve.

[nolemmings]

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