chrisab123 wrote:Joe Mazzula doesn't know how to call timeouts but maybe JVG can teach him when to do so.
Is that all you've got for criticism of Mazzulla - this "he doesn't know how to call a timeout" stuff?
When did you want him to call a timeout? Can you elaborate on this claim with some substance?
Is it that he often lets his team play through it when the opponent goes on a run? Because research has shown that calling a timeout does not stop an opposing team's run:
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2011.11691.pdfvs the Pelicans on 11/18/22, Pelicans were making a run, cut the celtics lead to 6. most coaches would have called a timeout there. Mazzulla let the team play through it, then celtics went on a quick 5-0 run to push the lead back up to 11. From there, the Celtics cruised to the win.
On 11/2/22, Mazzulla's strategy to let the team play on also worked:
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Basketball is a game of runs. If you burn a timeout every time an opponent goes on a little bit of a run, you won't have any left for critical moments late in the game - or, you won't be able to use a challenge if you're out of timeouts.
These are the types of situations late in a game where you want to make sure you still have a timeout available. Watch this video at the 8:25 mark. Ivey can't get the ball inbounds, so he calls a timeout, but Detroit had already used up all their timeouts. DET gets called for a technical foul and then loses the game:
It can also work best to let the team play on instead of calling a timeout when you need a basket late in the game. This article talks about a game winning shot Florida hit a few years ago where they didn't call a timeout first:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2017/03/25/stop-or-go-as-clock-ticks-down-call-timeout-or-play-on/99629536/"I was glad we didn't have (a timeout), of course," White said Saturday. "Especially a half hour after Chris makes the shot he made. It was easier to say that last night than right now, but I don't want to back off of that sentiment. If we had called a timeout, who knows what (Wisconsin coach) Greg (Gard) does and how they line up and match up and what type of defense that we see."
Kentucky coach John Calipari (Hall of Fame coach) said often his first instinct is to refrain from calling timeout and see what develops. "I'd let it go and watch and then be ready to scream timeout if it looks ugly but I want them to just play on and that's what we practice," Calipari said. "I like to go home with timeouts. I like the players to work through their issues."
Lastly, this whole criticism about timeouts seems weird to me. I mean, Spo is considered the best coach in the league right now, right? Why is that? What makes Spo such a good coach? Is it his timeout usage? Of course not. It's the way he gets his players to play with extreme toughness, the way his players don't back down from anybody, they play with an edge, with a confidence, like a bunch of tough badasss dudes. It's because they have defensive schemes that throw the other team out of their offensive rhythm, and because he has a way of coaching undrafted dudes up to believe in themself so they end up playing better than they would have played for a different coach.
What about Phil Jackson? Was he a great coach because of the way he called timeouts? Of course not. Jackson was actually known for letting his teams play on and not calling a timeout when an opponent went on a run.
Popovich? Is he a timeout master? Is that what made him a great coach? Of course not. Has any NBA coach got fired for not calling timeouts? Not that I know of. This whole timeout stuff is kind of silly to me. I think it's more important for a HC to have good relationships with his players, to be a good leader, to be good at developing players skills - stuff like that..
