Lionel Hollins Owns Up For “Miscommunication”!
I will say this for Lionel Hollins. He has single handedly erased the “boring” label from the Brooklyn Nets.
Another page was added to the total dysfunction that has been the Brooklyn Nets season in a press conference on Thursday. The press conference shed some light on the “fallout” from Wednesday night’s timeout “miscommunication” at the end of the 104-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
After saying that he communicated that he wanted the foul with about 35 seconds left in the game, Lionel Hollins had a different tune Thursday…
“As I told (the players), I take the blame. I must have gotten distracted, because I was looking and don’t know if I thought somebody got fouled - whatever- but I was looking up at the court, and when I was looking at the court, and when I look back, Bogie (Bojan Bogdanovic) was over there (guarding Dwyane Wade) and he was looking at me and I’m yelling ‘Foul!’ But then Paul (Westphal) says, ‘It’s too late now,’ and I looked up at the clock and I said, ‘You’re right, no fouls.’ So we played it out, and we got the ball back with 11 seconds to go. But in that situation, you score and you play. You don’t score, you’ve got to foul again and we can extend the game. It’s not like it was the play of the game. Our problem was trying to stop Dwyane Wade down the stretch and we weren’t able to do that.”
Let’s take a look back to after the Miami Heat game and check out what Lionel Hollins said about the scenario…
“I told them that we needed a foul - I mean come on,” Hollins said. I got caught looking at something else, and when I looked over everybody is looking at me - but that kind of stuff happens.”
Let’s be very clear here, this situation had nothing to do with the outcome of this game. The Miami Heat would have won barring some unforeseen MAJOR developments. But this turn of events may be, in my opinion, a good enough reason for the Brooklyn Nets to really start to consider if they want Lionel Hollins finishing out the year as coach.
The head coach has to be a leader. Leaders have to protect their people. Lionel Hollins basically let the cat out of the bag that he threw the players under the bus after the game. As John Schumann of NBA.com states on Twitter, Hollins has quite the reputation for doing these things…
“Lionel blaming the players? Stunning development.”
Schumann’s tweet really speaks volumes here. If a well-respected writer from the league’s website can tweet something like what was said above, think what Hollins’s credibility is thought of around the league.
Let’s break down what was said in this press conference shall we…
“I must have gotten distracted…”
BY WHAT? There are so many things wrong with what Hollins says here…
- Seriously, Lionel, by what? There were 35 seconds left in a game that was close. Where is your focus? The Nets are in a position to play the time management for the rest of the game. Not to say that it would have worked, but they had a better chance of accomplishing something besides losing time which is the most important ally to the Nets at the end of the game.
- As a coach you are trying to tell everyone you were looking (I again ask, at what?) and you thought someone got fouled. YOU THOUGHT! At least you are consistent here. Hollins said after the game he got caught looking at something (all together now… AT WHAT?) and started yelling foul.
” I look back at Bogie (Bojan Bogdanovic) was over there (guarding Dwyane Wade) and he was looking at me and I’m yelling ‘Foul!’ But then Paul (Westphal) says, ‘It’s too late now,’ and I looked up at the clock and said, ‘You’re right, no fouls.’
Hollins already was in a distracted mode so I’m finding it hard to believe that part of his story but it is what is with my opinion. Everyone has one. But there is something wrong here…
- Paul Westphal is more in tune with what is going on in that situation than you are.
- You actually mentioned him in your explanation. Again, as the head coach, you are the leader. How are you going to drag your assistant in on these issues. Well, Lawrence Frank, has plenty of experience on how Nets assistant coaches can be dragged into interesting situations…
- If Lionel Hollins got caught looking at something like he says (all together now… AT WHAT?), he’s telling everyone that he had time to re-engage, yell foul, listen to Paul Westphal, and change his mind… all in a matter of seconds. Really?
Here’s the worst part…
“It’s not like it was the play that lost us the game. Our problem was trying to stop Dwyane Wade down the stretch, and we weren’t able to do that.”
That fact has been established. But that brings up yet another problem…
- The fact that Bojan Bogdanovic spent the night getting taught lessons by D-Wade to the tune of 28 points on 13/17 shooting showed everyone that “Bogie” was not going to stop the All-Star and three-time world champ.
- Lionel Hollins missed that memo not making an adjustment earlier in the game and letting him continue to get lit up the whole night.
- MY GOD! Why is Bogdanovic on him late in the game when it is established that he is not the guy to defend Wade in crunch time? I mean… he did look to you asking for guidance right? Like, during the game with time running out.
Now that you have read this, go back and read Lionel Hollins’s quote again. There is only one word that he said that shows that he WILL lose creditability with everyone that has something vested in the Brooklyn Nets…
“Whatever”
This is the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. But he’s not boring and as long as he’s coach, neither are the Nets.
