Yesterday, we took a look at two different final second plays that failed.  In both of those cases, it was more of a lack of execution then it was a poor coaching decision.  Tonight, we saw the exact opposite, and it was the coaches making the poor decisions.  In the Rockets-Blazers game and the Timberwolves-Bobcats game, we saw two of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to coaching/executing in late game situations.

Houston Going For Two

Down by three points with 13.9 seconds left and two timeouts, the Rockets had to decide whether or not to go for the quick two or try and tie the game with a three:

My general rule of thumb is that if you have timeouts to bring the ball to halfcourt after opponent free throws, you go for the quick two and try to extend the game.  However, in this instance, there just isn’t enough time to try and get a quick two and then extend the game.  What makes matters worse is the fact that the Rockets don’t execute great and waste 9 seconds to get a contested shot in the post.

I think what bothers me about this the most is that the Rockets don’t even look for a three, aside from a Kyle Lowry pull up three, there is no indication that the Rockets are considering a three point shot as an option.  Even more bothersome is that they don’t even try setting a screen for Kevin Martin, who was 6-8 for three and had 45 points.

Minnesota ISOs Beasley

While going for two late when the situation doesn’t call for it bothers me, running ISOs late infuriates me.  I understand there are going to be situations where coaches lean on their scorers and rely on them to create (ISOs lead to less errors, because it limits what can go wrong), but running an ISO when you need a three point shot?  That doesn’t make sense, yet that is what Minnesota did:

No screens, no off the ball movement, nothing. I don’t understand (and I don’t think I ever will) why coaches rely on players to try and create a three point shot. When they do that, they are handcuffing their players so much, and that is exactly what happens here. Tyrus Thomas is defending the three and the three only, meaning that Beasley can’t get a clean look. You don’t have to run anything all that complicated here. You could run a pick and pop with Kevin Love? Think that is too complicated, you can just set a screen for him. If you want to get really crazy, you could start with Beasley off of the ball and set a pindown for him. All of those are better options than giving Beasley the ball and asking him to make a contested three while the rest of his team stands and watches.