Sunday night’s win over Dallas gave us a little insight on how Terry Stotts will use any means necessary to secure a win for the Portland Trail Blazers.
8.4 seconds remain on the clock. Dorian Finney-Smith has received the foul call while making a cut to the basket. Down by one point, he has the chance to nail two free throws and put the Portland Trail Blazers on ice. Thanks to Terry Stotts and the NBA’s new ruling, he will never get the chance.
You see, the Mavericks would never go to the line at all. On a trial run this year, the NBA’s new challenge rule that gives coaches the chance to dispute the action on the court has already started to have a big impact on the game just three games into the 2019-20 season.
As it so happens, there was no foul at all. Damian Lillard executed a clean strip of the ball as Finney-Smith attempted the go-ahead layup. A failed challenge costs the accusing team one timeout, thankfully Portland had one left to spare.
Foul or no foul? pic.twitter.com/pFsmxpBATp
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) October 28, 2019
But doing so was a big risk. If the call on the court stood, the Blazers would be left without a final timeout to draw up a play for their final shot. Most coaches would probably have kept their guns holstered; the possibility of making the wrong move and appearing responsible for a loss is too great a risk to their job security.
However, trust is essential to Stotts’ system and part of what makes the Portland Trail Blazers so special.
“If Dame hadn’t been so adamant, I probably wouldn’t have challenged,” Stotts continued, “We’ve had this discussion. I told the players, ‘When I ask you, you’ve got to be truthful because most of you think you didn’t foul.’ They have a responsibility. I will trust you in those situations, but they have a responsibility to know if they fouled him or not.”
Stotts has employed the use of his challenge in each game so far, successful in two-of-three attempts. Saving these opportunities can completely change the tide of a close game.
While the decision and ultimate conclusion has evoked a strong reaction from Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban, Lillard has expressed an overall optimistic take on this new rule, “I’m sure it might come a time where it doesn’t work in our favor, but I think it’s still a good thing because the right call is being made. We’ve had situations where we’ve lost games at the end of the game because of situations like that. If they don’t overturn that, he’s going to the line, and we’re down one, and we have to score up against the clock. I think it’s going to be a good rule.”
Moments like these should serve as an exemplary demonstration of what’s possible when the NBA directly addresses problems in the game and makes an effort to make the game not only more enjoyable, but more fair to the fans and everyone else involved. Considering the heat the NFL is taking for its notably poor officiating, this is a great way to help hold the referees accountable moving forward.
Most importantly, the culture the Portland Trail Blazers have established under Stotts and Lillard’s regime ensures that the team will be able to take full advantage of the coaches challenge. By holding his players accountable, Stotts should always know when its the right time to assert his authority on the officiating crew.