According to ESPN.com, Doc Rivers’ run onto the court to call timeout before an eight-second violation was a critical moment of Game 2 (Forsberg, 2010). Certainly, it was an alert manoeuvre that saved a possession but why didn’t any of the players call timeout first? All five Celtics on the court abdicated leadership by doing nothing, like the Orlando Magic did in their series in the Conference Finals (J.J. Redick dribbled the ball up the court instead of calling timeout; Vince Carter had the attention of the referee but used the opportunity to raise his arms and complain about a call).
A coach should prepare players for endgame situations. Every player on the team should be aware of the time and score situation, even in a drill (Stein, 2010). Rivers – or any coach – should develop these habits over the course of the year so no situation relies on a coach sprinting into the play to get someone’s attention. Celtics greats like Larry Bird and John Havlicek counted the five seconds allotted for a player to inbound the ball and produced two of the greatest steals in postseason history. Shelden Williams had two brain cramps and almost gave Kobe Bryant four points.
Coaches should raise their standards and encourage their teams to take mental training to the next level. Rather than suffer an excruciating loss due to something that could have been better controlled or managed, a coach should proactively address the situation. Daily routines in practice can improve everyone’s capabilities under stress. All coaches and players should make the effort to master pressure situations.
Works Cited:
- Forsberg, C. (2010, June 6). Closing run the difference for Celtics. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=forsberg_chris&id=5259180
- Stein, A. (2010, June 6). The Cutting Edge. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Ontario Basketball.