JB, Cool. It's your opinion. But I don't see it as different from, say, an intentional walk. If the strategy is so lame, the Spurs should have killed the Mavs both times. But the Spurs are mentally weak, easy to distract, and afraid of themselves. Personally, I can't wait for tonight's game! If you want some Mavs D, look at a tape of the 2nd half of game 5. I'm not saying the fouling strategy is brilliant or even that it works. It is what it is: a goofy but legal and interesting (to some of us) strategy that appears to change the mood of the opponents.
you guys are ridiculous. in the nba, a head coach's JOB is to do whatever it takes to win the damn game! i don't care if it means intentionally fouling every time down court, if it works, you damn well better do it! have you all not seen coaches get kicked out of games on purpose? it's all a matter of trying to change the tempo of the game. btw, in this series, nelson's strategy HAS worked. it's not even about the #s. it's a matter of breaking tempo. pop even made the mistake of removing bowen from the floor...essentially taking his best perimeter defender out of the game.
Excellent point. Bowen was on the bench for most of the 4th in that game when the Mavs were collapsing on Duncan. He was on the bench because Popovich did not want the Mavs fouling Bowen every time down the court. As a result Duncan had no one effective to kick the ball out to on the perimeter. As a coach you do what ever it takes to win period, even if it means you start fouling at the tip off. Anything less is irresponsible and will find your ass out of work quick.
There is nothing wrong with Hack-a-Bowen Everyone knows basketball is about finding a rhythm. That is why Hack-a-Bowen works, disrupting the flow of the game to help your team to gain the momentum. The only negative part of Nelly's tactics is that fans lose out cause the game slows down and gets boring. But, the NBA can and will alter the rules once again to deal with such matters, cause they are at the mercy of the all mighty dollar. But, while the current rules are in place, I think Nelly is being creative to use such a strategy.
There is nothing wrong with fouling Bowen. It's Bowen who should be ashamed of himself and be called a p***y for shooting 40% at the stripe as a pro. Talking about disgrace.
