Simmons column makes very valid points

cinnamon · Post #1 » by **cinnamon** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:13 pm

This is about a game two weeks ago, and I know a lot of you people don't like Simmons at all, but I think this is worth posting because he makes some very specific points with very specific examples of the Great Dunleavy Problem. (Personally, I love reading Simmons.)
Here's the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba

and here's a small sample:
"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."

madmaxmedia · Post #2 » by **madmaxmedia** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:52 pm

Thanks for the post. Who else would spend an entire article recapping a Clipper game?

It was weird re-living that game after having watched a couple of weeks ago. Some awesome/hilarious observations by Simmons.

3:41: The teams trade free throws, highlighted by a hilarious sequence when Dunleavy sends Fred Jones in, only Jones thinks he's going in for Kaman, but as Kaman starts running off, Dunleavy shakes his head and waves him back in, then the Clips have six guys, so everyone stands around in confusion, only Dunleavy can't remember which guy he wanted to take out. "This guy can't even make a substitution!!!!!" screams Jesse, the tortured Clips fan behind me. Dunleavy ends up pulling Thornton, only his best player tonight. Well done.

1:28: Something completely awesome happened here that they missed on the telecast. As the Cavs were bringing up the ball and everyone was screaming for the Undertaker to remove Kaman, he called for Camby, who rose off the bench with one of the single greatest faces of all time: Anger, dismay, confusion, disbelief, hostility, you name it. I have been attending games since I was 5, and I have NEVER seen a more bummed-out player enter an NBA game than Marcus Camby. Ever.

0:06: My section is arguing about which terrible play the Clips will run here to save the game. The possibilities are limitless. Maybe they won't top the play in which Baron Davis had to run a half-court lap in seven seconds just to hoist a fallaway 3 with two guys on him (scroll to No. 10 in this column for details), but there's a CHANCE they might top it, and that's why our hearts are racing.

JJ LoDuca · Post #3 » by **JJ LoDuca** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:57 pm

I love Bill Simmons. He doesn't always have the nicest things to say about the Clippers, but he's never malicious. He's honest. And observant. He points out the dysfunction in our franchise, puts an airy, sarcastic twist on it, and throws it out there for the world to see. Man, I wanna be Bill Simmons when I grow up.

cinnamon · Post #4 » by **cinnamon** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:12 pm

I feel the same way, JJ.
I especially related to the quote where Simmons was yelling "timeout, timeout, timeout" because so often I am sitting at my television set yelling the same thing. And always, Dunleavy doesn't call a timeout. And so often, the momentum continues to shift to the other team, or what could have been a turning point in the game never is, or whatever. I've never seen a coach with less sense of how to use timeouts effectively.