Simmons points out my main problem with Sloan

Racer X · Post #1 » by **Racer X** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:01 am

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba
In his description of the Clippers unbelievable collapse to Cleveland last night.

"10:00: Williams sinks a jumper, Kaman misses a jumper, Gibson scores on a putback. Clips by 15. At this specific moment (and Tollin is a witness), I started saying loudly, "Timeout, timeout, timeout." See, road teams don't make up 19 points all at once. There are three stages to a comeback: getting it to the 10-11 range, getting it to the two-possession range, then making that final push for the lead. The key is to prevent the team from completing that first stage, and if you watch a really good coach (think Gregg Popovich), he will always overreact with a timeout the moment it seems as if things are turning. Dunleavy works the opposite: It takes him three or four more plays to even realize what's happening. This is one of the many reasons he stinks at his job. Hold on, you'll see."

Soul Patch · Post #2 » by **Soul Patch** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:05 am

Weird, I hear Spurs fans complain about Popovich not calling timeouts. Similar to the way Sloan and Jackson do.

Reckless · Post #3 » by **Reckless** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:39 am

you guys still read Simmons articles!?!

erudite23 · Post #4 » by **erudite23** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 5:48 am

This is just BS talking his normal unsubstantiated crap. Fact is, good coaches all share this trait: they pick and chose when to let their team play through it and when to call the timeout. Sometimes they make the wrong call, but I think Jerry's refusal to call TOs so quickly is one of his best traits. If Simmons researched this, he would realize that Pop does the same thing. And, really, if you hear the way Popovich talks about Sloan, I wouldn't be surprised if he specifically emulated it because of how Jerry is. Greg has been very open about his organization patterning themselves after the Jazz and Jerry Sloan specifically.

This is drivel.

Racer X · Post #5 » by **Racer X** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:19 pm

ITs not drivel. Sloan never calls the type of timeouts I am talking about. I have seen Popovich call them multiple times against the Jazz. Its smart coaching.

erudite23 · Post #6 » by **erudite23** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:45 pm

I was saying that Simmons' point was drivel, not necessarily yours.

And I would disagree about your point on Pop. You will see a quick TO every now and again--and I would say that he is a little more liberal in his use of them than Sloan is, but only just a very little--but most of the time he lets his teams play through rough patches.

Really, most of his quick TOs come when his team is doing something specific that pisses him off or is out of the flow of the system. For example, if a player blows the same rotation twice in a row, he'll call the quick TO and either pull that guy or chew him out enough to make sure it doesn't happen again. This is different than momentum TOs, which come as a result of the offensive team getting into a rhythm and making a quick run. I would respectfully disagree on your assertion that Pop does this. I haven't seen him do that that I can recall, and I've seen quite a bit of Spurs ball over the years.

carrottop12 · Post #7 » by **carrottop12** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:33 pm

Here is a theory, and Racer X I may be wrong and if I am I apologize but I do it myself and I feel like you may be doing it too.

I watch the Spurs play maybe 5-6 times a year. Almost always when they are on TNT, or ESPN, or ABC. And the only reason these games are televised is when they are against teams like the Lakers, the Celtics, the Cavs etc. The top tier teams.

In these situations, when a team like the Cavs, or the Lakers or the Celtics goes on a quick 8-0 and the momentum starts to swing. Pop always calls a time out. He does this because these kinds of teams are capable of loading it on in a hurry and closing out a game in a 3-5 minute span.

In these same games, Sloan also always calls a time out. The Jazz call far more time outs against the top contenders then they do against say the Bucks, or the Warriors or the Thunder. These aren't the kind of teams that sustain great periods of play for more then a couple of possessions usually, so a time out may not be the best option.

Now my guess is you don't watch the Spurs more then 8 or so times a year, and you don't see how they are coached against the lower level teams in the league. And I am willing to be that Pop lets the Spurs play through runs from the lottery teams, just like Sloan does.