Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Timeout for a reason
Coach addresses again chasing TO amid course of play
NEW YORK — Erik Spoelstra recognized he had some explaining to do after again getting caught up and caught in the action.
But as he reflected on a moment from last week, the Miami Heat coach also expressed that there has to be a better way of attracting referees’ attention when it comes to attempting to call a late-game timeout.
The latest example came in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s overtime road victory over the Orlando Magic, after Heat forward Max Strus secured a defensive rebound in what remained a 97-97 tie.
No sooner did Strus establish possession then Spoelstra frantically attempted to signal timeout, to the degree that he found himself in the middle of play before his request was heeded, as action continued.
The officials eventually reset 1.5 seconds on the clock (Spoelstra thought it should have been 2.5), with Heat forward Jimmy Butler then missing a jumper at the expiration of regulation.
It was similar to a circumstance when Spoelstra was unable to get the officials to recognize his signaling for a timeout in a 2019 road game against the Toronto Raptors, but not quite as dramatic as Spoelstra’s crosscourt dash in an October 2019 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, when Spoelstra went sidelined to sideline trying to get a stoppage,
“I get it sometimes when they say you shouldn’t be crossing the court and crossing halfcourt,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat facing the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at Barclays Center, “but if you can’t get anybody’s attention, I don’t care what you’re saying, it’s more important to get the call right.”
In Orlando, Spoelstra was standing on the sideline directly next to the action, mere feet from where Strus grabbed the rebound, and could not get his request heeded, with assistant coach Chris Quinn also attempting to get the officials’ attention (but without also going into the court).
“That one was more frustrating because it was right in front of our bench,” Spoelstra said. “But that’s why there has to be a little bit of grace in those moments, even right in front of the official. And I was as demonstrative as I could be and Quinny was on top of it, as well. With my voice, with his voice and on the court and he still didn’t see me or hear me. And that’s because he’s concentrating on trying to get the call right.”
The NBA rule book reads, “A technical foul shall be assessed for unsportsmanlike tactics such as: 5. A coach entering onto the court without permission of an official.”
Spoelstra received a technical foul for his sideline-to-sideline jaunt in Milwaukee in 2019, with no such penalty on Saturday night.
“So we just all have to continue to get better at it,” Spoelstra said. “But if it comes down to me taking matters into my own hands, I’d like to make sure we’re going to do that, regardless of what they say in the next head coaches’ meeting next September.
“Highlight me and put on me that, I don’t give a damn. Give me the damn timeout, and with the appropriate time.”
Miner moment: Former Heat guard Harold Miner, champion of the competition in 1993 and ‘95 while a member of the Heat, has been selected as one of the five judges for Saturday’s dunk contest during All-Star Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Miner, 51, will be joined in that role by fellow former NBA players Karl Malone, Jamal Crawford and Dominique Wilkins, as well as former WNBA star Lisa Leslie.
The competition will feature Houston’s KJ Martin, New Orleans’ Trey Murphy, Philadelphia’s Mac McClung and New York’s Jericho Sims.
Miner, saddled with the nickname “Baby Jordan” because of his dunking skills, largely has been out of public view since having his jersey retired by USC in 2012.
Miner, drafted No. 12 by the Heat in 1992, played 181 games over three seasons with the Heat from 1992 to ‘95, closing out his NBA career with 19 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 199596.