pdx said:
The narrative on Brown is changing as we watch this season. I believe he deserved to lose his job when he did. NYK fans are already tired of him. He has not been an improvement over Thibs and the players aren't buying in. Ironically - from the recent direction of this thread -
Mike is a teaching coach. The Knicks don't need teaching.
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Regarding Mike Brown's firing, I believe (but can not prove) that Mike was fired on a kind of "emotional response", not unlike the firing a few weeks earlier of the Bears coach after he blundered in one game (and was fired the next day). I believe Thibs lost his job for almost the same reason (did not understand the "coach's challenge" rule)
This is going WAY into the weeds - read on at your own peril (or abandon all hope and read on)
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Here is the link to ESPN's Play by Play for the 12/26 game w/Detroit:
Play-by-play action for the Detroit Pistons vs. Sacramento Kings NBA game from December 26, 2024 on ESPN.
www.espn.com
Mike was fired after he "blundered" in the Pistons game when they lost a game that there was only one longshot way he COULD lose.
But if you go back in that game to the play by play, you will find that early in the game, Mike blundered. He called a timeout two minutes into the game, for no apparent reason, with the Kings trailing 10-6. Strike One, but it's just one strike, no big whoop.
The Pistons trailed 23-20 when they called their mandatory t.o. (at 5:33). The Kings built the lead to 28-20 before the Pistons made a minor run, cutting the lead to 31-30. At this point (Strike 2), I believe (but can not "prove") that Mike forgot he had already used a time out and called another with 3:21 left in the quarter, I believe he "forgot" because sure, Detroit had scored five straight points (to trail by one) but it was a one point game when Mike called this (weird) time out. I think he forgot he had called one at the beginning of the period. Strike two (he wasted a timeout that would have been quite handy at the end of the game).
The Kings finished the first quarter up 37-34.
Moving to the second quarter;
The game is going the King's way. They are up 52-38 with 7:01 left, when Kevin Huerter was involved when the ball went out of bounds and the ball was given to the Pistons. It was one possession, early in the game, with the Kings up 12, but Huerter knew the ball wasn't actually off him, so he pretty much threw a fit until Mike challenged it (he won the challenge - big deal, you got an extra first half possession - see "risk versus reward").
The coach SHOULD have already set a policy for coach's challenges and one principal should have been "I only have two challenges and seven time outs (three discretionary), so DON'T ask me to challenge a call, ESPECIALLY in the first half unless the reward is great (we might challenge a foul on Sabonis if he already had two, but a "change of possession on an out of bounds call"? - DON'T ask me to do that").
But it became clear that Mike HAD no "Coaches Challenge policy". Strike three.
The Pistons make an unsuccessful successful coach's challenge at the 2:34 mark. Lose a timeout and both of their challenges. Monk hits two FT's and the score is Kings up 60-49.
At halftime, Kings up 68-53 BUT I THINK (but cannot Prove) that the refs erred (in the Kings favor)
Because there were only two timeouts called in the second quarter, both to initiate coach's challenges. The Kings (successful) challenge was at 7:01, a second before the "mandatory" rule would have taken effect. Yet in the rest of the quarter, the Kings were NOT required to call a timeout.
The Pistons lost their challenge, so their time out (to initiate the challenge) must have counted as their mandatory and the Kings (successful) challenge MUST have counted as THEIR mandatory, even though it occurred a second before the "mandatory t.o," would have kicked in.
Am i misinterpreting the rule?
Third quarter:
Kings are assessed mandatory time out at 6:48, up 79-62, game well in hand.
Pistons call their mandatory at 4:10 down 82-64, everything's good.
at 1:23, Kings still up 18 but Beasly hits b/b three's cutting lead to 12.
With 43 seconds left, Brown calls another timeout.
This is strike four.
With a full possession and 43 seconds left, if the Kings simply inbound the ball and run off most of the 24 second clock, the WORST the Kings could be (if they don't score and if Beasly hits ANOTHER three) is up 9. They finish up 14 but that was another wasted timeout.
Now we come to the fourth quarter and Mike has used two of his three discretionary timeouts.
Kings are still up 12 when they call their mandatory at 7:11.
Kings still up 10 when the Pistons are assessed their mandatory at 2:46.
Mike has one timeout left. He has burned two while being comfortably up for the whole game (but we already gave him strikes one and two for that).
Now the Pistons get hot,
Malik Beasley hits two MORE threes sandwiched around Cunningham two, then a Fox two and it is a three point game 18.1 seconds left, Detroit ball and they use another timeout ( why not - THEY have them).
Jaden Ivy scores a two and four seconds after the Pistons T.O. , Brown calls his last timeout.
(WHAT? you DIDN'T have a play called in case Detroit scored? - they HAVE to foul so, why not save that timeout?)
four seconds later (at 10.1) Huerter hits two free throws for a three point lead.
But Detroit still has a timeout and they call it to set up a final play.
They are down three and out of timeouts, so you have to assume a three is coming.
Mike decides not to foul deliberately (no strikes for that - just another bad decision, but one many coaches would have made).
And we all know it turns out.
Instead of fouling BEFORE the shot, Fox fouls Ivey ON the three point shot, he makes the free throw and Mike is fired the next day.
But wait - there are three seconds left - can't the Kings call timeout, advance the ball and get a good final shot?
Oh, wait - the Kings are OUT of timeouts.
I just think (but can not "prove") that Kings brass watching that game must have said, "Huh?" in the first half and "I KNEW those timeouts would come back to bite us" in the second half. Mike blew it and the Kings followed the Bears model - get rid of the guy - quickly.
And that is my take on the Brown firing. Maybe it would have happened anyway. But Mike handed them the sword and they used it..