Coach's Corner: ALWAYS Foul Up 3

What a shot from Jaylen Brown.....? What a fucking bonehead decision, or lack thereof, by Rick Carlisle. And I'm not even talking about not advancing the ball with a timeout when the Pacers were up 3 with exactly 10 seconds to go. That right there would have me infuriated enough as a Pacers fan to question firing him mid-series, although this entire crisis this morning could be avoided if Andrew Nembhard would've just passed the ball into the open man....

But either way, the turnover off the inbound set up the situation of the Celtics having the ball, down 3, with 8.5 seconds left. And in that situation, you absolutely HAVE to foul if you're the Pacers. I know 99% of readers understand the strategy I'm talking about, but I'm still going to spell it out for you:

- If the Pacers foul up 3 with about 7.5 seconds left, the Celtics have to shoot two free throws, worth only one point each, instead of getting the opportunity to tie it up with a 3

- If the Celtics make both free throws, they then need to foul the Pacers, who then get 2 free throws, and all of this will take some time off the clock

- If both teams make free throws, the Celtics now are further away from the hoop and have less time to get off a game tying 3 (and if I'm the Pacers, I do the same strategy again)

- But what if the Celtics MISS a free throw? They then need to miss the second on purpose…..and as long as the Pacers get the rebound, this game is OVER

It sounds more complicated to type it out than it really is. But I'm not giving these NBA players an opportunity to shoot a game-tying 3. I'm sending them to the FT line and taking the very, very small chance that all things go in their favor. Obviously the biggest risk is that you could actually lose the game by fouling, but I don't recall that ever happening in a big moment. I remember a trillion game tying 3s though. And so does LeBron.

Hate that I'm on the same page as LeBron here, but he's right. Most knowledgable mind in the game, just ask him! And now that got me to thinking: I think he should apply for the Lakers head job, making him a Player-Coach next season. Wouldn't that be something.

Either way, the fact of the matter is that the Pacers played well enough to win the game last night, but their late game decision making (both player and coach, but mostly coach) cost them Game 1 and as everyone now knows, the entire series. Carlise should be ashamed of himself, and he should issue an apology to the team, as well as the coaching profession as a whole. Foul up 3. Foul up 3. Foul up 3.

** I do want to do note that it is a MUCH easier of a decision to foul up 3 when there's less than 5 seconds left in the game. 8.5 seconds is a lot….although I still would've done it. Anyone who doesn't foul with less than 5 seconds left, up 3, shouldn't be coaching.