There is a longstanding argument among basketball cognoscenti regarding the proper course of action for a defending team up three points in the final seconds. While teams have typically depended on stopping teams from hitting a game-tying three via the traditional route of staunch defense, a quick assessment of relative risk suggests that allowing two foul shots is the way to go. Yet coaches might avoid the second option not because they think it's wrong, but simply because their players aren't used to carrying out those orders.
Kirk Hinrich proved the difficulty of committing a correct late-game foul up three points all too well in the closing seconds of regulation in Tuesday's matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks. With the Bulls up 108-105 and only 1.2 seconds on the clock, veteran guard Kirk Hinrich got too close to Mavs guard Monta Ellis and allowed him to draw a foul while taking a three-pointer. Take a look:
Ellis hit all three free throws to send the game to OT. The Bulls looked headed for a loss before Derrick Rose banked in an absurd one-handed running buzzer-beater from beyond the arc to tie the game at 121-121 and force a second extra period:
Unfortunately for the Bulls, they fell to the Mavs by a score of 132-129. After the game, much of the discussion concerned the circumstances of Hinrich's foul on Ellis. From Tim MacMahon for ESPNDallas.com:
"I waited too long. I messed it up," Hinrich said. "It was a bonehead play. I know better than that. This one's on me because I felt like we played a good game to that point. To get back to the point we were in a position to win. For them to tie it up on a play like that, it was a bad decision."
Thibodeau told the Bulls in the locker room that he was to blame for the foul and made the same point during his postgame news conference.
"That was my fault," Thibodeau said. "We wanted to take the foul, and I was not clear enough about how and where. Obviously, we wanted to take it in the backcourt; they were out of timeouts. It gets tricky when they get in the scoring area, if a guy is facing you. That was my fault."
When informed of Thibodeau's comments, Hinrich attempted to take full responsibility for his mistake. Dirk Nowitzki seemed to agree:
"In my 17 years, it was one of the dumber fouls I've ever seen," Nowitzki said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You wait all the way until he dribbles to the 3-point line to grab him, so that's obviously a tough one, tough play. I saw coach [Tom] Thibodeau was just shaking his head."
Hinrich's error speaks to the difficulty of instructing players to foul up three points. Opinions on Hinrich differ, but he clearly has the trust of Thibodeau (he is still averaging roughly 28 minutes per game, after all). One of the league's best coaches expected one of his most trusted players to carry out the foul in the correct manner, and yet he couldn't do so. Incidents like this one aren't going to convince many coaches that it's time to embrace the theoretically logical move.
Of course, players tie games with three-pointers all the time — like, say, Derrick Rose in this same game — without coaches abandoning the idea of playing straight-up defense in the closing seconds. Perhaps it's time to stop avoiding the new simply because it requires some instruction to get correct. Playing solid defense requires the same effort, too.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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