Making Them Look Smart: Stevens Draws Up Another Winner

by **bobheckler** Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:55 pm

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4718736/making-them-look-smart-stevens-draws-up-another-winner

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens knew he had an extra timeout to work with as his team prepared for a final shot attempt down one with four seconds to play in overtime against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night. But in a rare lapse, Stevens failed to call the timeout before the Celtics inbounded the ball, taking valuable time off the clock.

Or what seemed like valuable time, anyways.

Unflappable as always, Stevens huddled his team with 2.6 seconds to play, swapped his personnel, reached into the back of his mind's encyclopedic playbook and set into motion a sequence that ended with Marcus Smart beating the buzzer in a thrilling, 117-116 overtime triumph over the Raptors on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre.

The play Stevens drew up had speedy point guard Isaiah Thomas collecting the ball on the move near midcourt and trying to finish at the rim. Thomas encountered traffic near the hoop and -- whether he muscled up a shot attempt or simply tried to pass (he told reporters in Toronto he was trying to do the latter) -- he managed to get the ball to Smart, who had crashed on the baseline, corralled the ball before it could sail away, tap-danced into position, and quickly laid the ball in just before the buzzer.

"We knew we had a timeout when we drew up the first play," explained Stevens. "I didn’t really want to inbound it if our first option wasn’t open, and it wasn’t open. We were trying to go to Evan [Turner], and they smothered it. They actually switched, and it made it a worse matchup for us. I knew right when I saw them switch that I was going to call timeout, but then Marcus threw it in, so I got [the timeout] as quickly as I could; it probably wasn’t quick enough."

Then Stevens considered the outcome and added, "I guess it was quick enough."

Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk and Evan Turner celebrate after beating the Raptors 117-116 in overtime.Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports

Thomas hadn't been part of the original play but was subbed in to utilize his quickness despite the fact that Boston hadn't practiced the play. Stevens hinted it was the sort of call the Celtics put in their play index earlier in the season for someone like Rajon Rondo.

"Full head of steam -- it’s 2.6 left, just flying," said Stevens. "We had the ball at the end of regulation with like seven seconds left, that was a little bit too much to [do a similar play]. I’ve never seen him do that before. That was a play that we put in for other guys that aren’t here. We’ve never run it since this new group has been together. So we just went right off the board and did it. It worked out."

For the Celtics, it was the latest gritty win for a scrappy team that just keeps finding ways to win big games and hang around in this quest for a playoff berth. Combined with losses by the Nets (blown out in Atlanta) and Heat (edged by a late rally in Detroit), Boston vaulted into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference for the moment. The Nets sit a half-game up as the seventh seed; Miami is a half-game back.

For Smart, it was a heads-up play by a rookie to be in position to produce the winner. It came just a short while after Smart's clutch corner 3-pointer put Boston up one with 32 seconds to play and set into motion the frenetic final moments.

"It's just the will, the determination," Smart told reporters after the game. "The guys on this team, we're competitors, heavy competitors. We don't like to lose that much, especially when we come off a night where we didn't play that well."

The Celtics improved to 10-1 on the second night of back-to-backs since Jan. 23. Boston was wrapping up a stretch of five games in seven nights when Saturday's game tumbled into overtime. Boston just kept fighting.

The win comes one night after a disappointing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks which, coupled with the Nets' nail-biting win over the Raptors on Friday, left Boston 1½ games back of Brooklyn and a half-game back of Miami. There are now five teams within two games of each other, all competing for two final playoff spots over the final 10 days of the regular season.

Stevens has kept Boston in that mix thanks in large part to his creative batch of ATO (after timeout) plays. The Raptors had utilized a similar sequence, one in which Lou Williams caught a ball deep in the backcourt before building a head of steam en route to the basket. The Celtics had a chance to win the game with 7 seconds to play in regulation, but Thomas jacked a 3-pointer that wasn't even close. With the short clock in overtime, Stevens had to have Thomas going at the basket to ensure the opportunity to get off a quality shot. The Celtics barely did and Smart rescued them.

Boston's reward? Three off days before its next game. The Celtics have played at least every other day since the All-Star break. They'll take Sunday off and reconvene for a couple of practices before traveling to Detroit and Cleveland next week.

A few loose balls from Saturday's win in Toronto:

• SullyWatch: Jared Sullinger went scoreless again while logging 12 minutes, 12 seconds of floor time in his second game back since a surprising return from a left-foot fracture. Sullinger did register seven rebounds, two steals, two turnovers and a block and was plus-8 in plus/minus. The original final play might have ended with Sullinger putting up a desperation floater if not for Stevens' timeout.

• Twisted Mister: Jae Crowder twisted his ankle in Friday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks but played through some discomfort on Saturday. Crowder wasn't quite himself, however, missing three of the four shots he took, while finishing with three points, four rebounds and three assists over 30 minutes.

• Evan Turner Overdrive: It's no surprise Stevens was trying to go to Turner for the original final shot. Turner and DeMar DeRozan got into a bit of a one-on-one battle late in the fourth quarter after Turner spun in a high-difficulty layup late in regulation. Turner finished with 18 points, 10 assists and six rebounds over 42 minutes. He was a team-best plus-15 in plus/minus.

bob

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by **Sloopjohnb** Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:37 pm

I wonder if Stevens as well as other coaches draw up brand new plays in these situations.

Auerbach was asked about this and he said something like, "Are you kidding? Show them something they've never seen before in a pressure situation? It's stuff we've worked on in practice."

Hey, it's practice. I mean, c'mon it's practice. I mean it's practice.

by **Sam** Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:22 pm

Based on Brad's comments, this was not a new play per se. It was a play drawn up with a different roster in mind and so was brand new to at least a lot of the players last night. It was amazing that they executed it so well that there was even time for a pass or loose ball (take your pick) to occur and still leave time for Smart's layup.

Well done, Brad. And very well done (on both the previous three-pointer and the winning bucket), Marcus.

Sam

by **beat** Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:01 am

One thing I always wonder on these last second type plays......they always review to see if the player released the ball on time, but do they ever check if the clock started on time? Or do the refs actually control that on the court?

beat

by **Sloopjohnb** Mon Apr 06, 2015 8:49 am

I think the refs are supposed to signal to the timer when to start the clock.

There have been some arenas notorious for home friendly times. After being victimized by the home timer one coach asked for his name because he wanted him to time the rest of his life.

by **sinus007** Mon Apr 06, 2015 8:50 am

Hi,
Does anybody know what Stevens was arguing with the refs after the buzzer?

AK

by **Outside** Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:18 am

Sloopjohnb wrote:I think the refs are supposed to signal to the timer when to start the clock.

There have been some arenas notorious for home friendly times. After being victimized by the home timer one coach asked for his name because he wanted him to time the rest of his life.

The NBA uses the Precision Time System, developed by a former referee, to control when the clock starts and stops. The system pretty much eliminates the possibility of an arena clock operator skewing the clock for the home team.

The clock operator pushes a button when they think the clock is supposed to start. All three referees also have a button that they each push when they think the clock is supposed to start. The clock starts at the first of those four button pushes.

The clock stops at the sound of the whistle. Each whistle has a microphone that is connected to the clock, and the sound of the whistle automatically stops the clock without any intervention on the part of the clock operator.

http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/12/26/spo_LS0289.shtml#.VSKSJ_Dz5MM

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/sports/ncaabasketball/shrill-to-ncaa-tournament-referees-its-symphonic.html?_r=0

Here's an article that discusses the system regarding a play earlier this season when Courtney Lee made a shot with 0.3 seconds left.

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article3989656.html

As far as I can tell, when the clock starts is not subject to instant replay review. That makes sense to me, because players can only deal with the the amount of time shown on the clock. Take this alternative version of the play that won the game against Toronto:

• There are 2.6 seconds left when the Celtics inbound the ball.

• A Toronto player barely touches the inbounds pass before Thomas receives it, but the refs and the clock operator don't see it, and the clock doesn't start until Thomas receives the pass.

• Thomas sprints down the court, the ball gets to Smart, time on the clock expires as the shot is in the air, the shot goes in to win the game for Boston.

To use instant replay review to go back and retroactively "start" the clock when the Raptor touched the inbounds pass would thereby reduce the amount of time left when Thomas received it and make the overtime end before Smart even gets the ball, invalidating the shot, and Raptors win. But players work with the amount of time shown on the clock, and if the clock had started when the Raptor touched the inbounds pass, then Thomas would see the time winding down as shown on the clock over the basket, and maybe he pulls up to shoot a jumper to win the game. You can't go back and make the clock start at a different time, because there's no telling how the players would react differently given the different amount of time available.

by **beat** Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:35 am

Outside

Thanks for the information

So when we originally had the ball out of bounds with 4 seconds left, and inbounded it to Sully....what I assume happened is that Stevens called for a TO almost instantly but by the time a ref awarded it by blowing the whistle 1.4 seconds had elapsed. I assume there is no review of that. But if he is screaming for it and no ref had seen it...... at least not as soon as he should have. Would there be any recourse to review and add time?

Of course I can't see Stevens screaming about anything!!

Imagine putting time on that old Clock in Boston from the 50's the one that had HANDS on it !!

beat

by **bobheckler** Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:46 am

Making Them Look Smart: Stevens Draws Up Another Winner CBy3PUfVIAIZla4

Kevin O'Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
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Here's a photo of the after-timeout playcall by Brad Stevens. Unique plays like this are why he is a creative genius.
7:31 PM - 4 Apr 2015
83 RETWEETS 115 FAVORITES

bob

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by **bobheckler** Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:49 am

Outside wrote:
Sloopjohnb wrote:I think the refs are supposed to signal to the timer when to start the clock.

There have been some arenas notorious for home friendly times. After being victimized by the home timer one coach asked for his name because he wanted him to time the rest of his life.
The NBA uses the Precision Time System, developed by a former referee, to control when the clock starts and stops. The system pretty much eliminates the possibility of an arena clock operator skewing the clock for the home team.

The clock operator pushes a button when they think the clock is supposed to start. All three referees also have a button that they each push when they think the clock is supposed to start. The clock starts at the first of those four button pushes.

The clock stops at the sound of the whistle. Each whistle has a microphone that is connected to the clock, and the sound of the whistle automatically stops the clock without any intervention on the part of the clock operator.

http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/12/26/spo_LS0289.shtml#.VSKSJ_Dz5MM

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/sports/ncaabasketball/shrill-to-ncaa-tournament-referees-its-symphonic.html?_r=0

Here's an article that discusses the system regarding a play earlier this season when Courtney Lee made a shot with 0.3 seconds left.

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article3989656.html

As far as I can tell, when the clock starts is not subject to instant replay review. That makes sense to me, because players can only deal with the the amount of time shown on the clock. Take this alternative version of the play that won the game against Toronto:

• There are 2.6 seconds left when the Celtics inbound the ball.

• A Toronto player barely touches the inbounds pass before Thomas receives it, but the refs and the clock operator don't see it, and the clock doesn't start until Thomas receives the pass.

• Thomas sprints down the court, the ball gets to Smart, time on the clock expires as the shot is in the air, the shot goes in to win the game for Boston.

To use instant replay review to go back and retroactively "start" the clock when the Raptor touched the inbounds pass would thereby reduce the amount of time left when Thomas received it and make the overtime end before Smart even gets the ball, invalidating the shot, and Raptors win. But players work with the amount of time shown on the clock, and if the clock had started when the Raptor touched the inbounds pass, then Thomas would see the time winding down as shown on the clock over the basket, and maybe he pulls up to shoot a jumper to win the game. You can't go back and make the clock start at a different time, because there's no telling how the players would react differently given the different amount of time available.

http://www.precisiontime.com/

bob

.

by **Sam** Mon Apr 06, 2015 9:29 pm

Beat,

I believe Brad was ready to stop the clock the clock only when he saw that the play wasn't going in a positive direction. Otherwise, he could have called another timeout before the pass-in the first time around so no time would go off the cloc.

Definitely a bang-bang play.

Sam

by **beat** Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:31 am

sam wrote:Beat,

I believe Brad was ready to stop the clock the clock only when he saw that the play wasn't going in a positive direction. Otherwise, he could have called another timeout before the pass-in the first time around so no time would go off the cloc.

Definitely a bang-bang play.

Sam

I read or heard somewhere his original intent was to get the ball to Turner but then when that got denied due to switching and before he could call a time out Smart passed the ball in anyway to Sully.

My earlier response has to do with the ref acknowledging his time out. Suppose they (refs) did not see it for a second or so before granting it? I don't think there is any recourse to put time back on the clock in that situation. Or is there?

beat

by **Sam** Tue Apr 07, 2015 12:16 pm

Good question, Beat. I don't recall seeing any replays of pass-ins. One thing I was wondering about was the camera work. On a play that involves at 75% of the floor, I would expect the cameras to be shooting the panorama rather than the kinds of closeups that would reveal a slight deflection of the ball.

The entire play caught me by surprise. I saw a defender wander into the backcourt before the play started, and I wondered what was going on with only 2.6 seconds left. Then, I saw the blur aka Isaiah Thomas streaking into the action with the ball, and there was absolutely no way anything good could happen on a play that started out so far from the basket. Then there was another blue and somehow Smart wound up with the ball. More passage of time. But somehow Marcus got the shot off at what turned out to be the perfect time—no time left for the Raptors to try a hero shot.

In the post-game interviews, Marcus said something like, "You always have more time than you think." I found that interesting, and it probably reflects the difference between a professional's point of view rather versus that of an amateur. Professionals are more likely to realize that over-rushing the shot invites virtually certain disaster. Paul Pierce always seemed deliberate to me, letting the game come to him; and I believe that habit was why he didn't over-rush his shots even with scant seconds left. His shot might clear an outstretched defender's hand with just a nanosecond to go, but the unrushed shot would usually have a reasonable likelihood of going through the hoop.

Sam

by **wide clyde** Tue Apr 07, 2015 3:54 pm

Outside,

Very interesting stuff on how the NBA clock system works. Thanks.

The fact that Stevens is getting credit for being able to design last-second shots is a big step above where both he and his team are now compared to the same point in the long schedule from last year. Many folks were quite critical of this guy last year.

Stevens has gotten so much better in his role as the head coach after his first season last year, and so has his team gotten so much better. In some ways, it is hard to believe that getting rid of your two best NBA players would make a team so much better.

Regarding the last play in the Toronto game, I wondered right from the start why Toronto even had a guy in the Cs back court with the ball out of bounds in the front court to even be near Thomas. I would have let Thomas catch the in bounds pass in the opposite free throw circle and figured that he was not going to be able to dribble up fast enough (even though he is quick) into the five man defensive set that keeping that one defender back would have been and get off a good shot.

by **beat** Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:27 pm

Wide

I am pretty sure that we could not have thrown the ball into the back court although perhaps because we took another time out we could,

I thought that when you are allowed to advance the ball after a time out you could not throw the ball into the back court.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

beat

guess I am wrong

(3) after securing the ball from a change of possession and prior to any advance of the ball, the timeout shall be granted. Upon resumption of play, the team granted the timeout shall have the option of putting the ball into play at the 28' hash mark in the frontcourt, or at the designated spot out-of-bounds. If the ball is put into play at the hash mark, the ball may be passed into either the frontcourt or backcourt. If the ball is passed into the backcourt, the team will receive a new 8-second count. However, once the ball is (1) thrown in from out-of-bounds, or (2) dribbled or passed after receiving it from a rebound or a change of possession, the timeout shall be granted, and, upon resumption of play, the ball shall be in-bounded on the side- line where play was interrupted. The time on the game clock and the 24-second clock shall remain as when the timeout was called. In order for the option to be available under the conditions in paragraph #2 above, the offensive team must call two successive timeouts.

by **wide clyde** Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:31 pm

beat,

Either way, I still why Toronto had a guy in the back court with Thomas with only 2.6 seconds remaining. I wonder if the Toronto fans have been asking about this decision?

by **beat** Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:46 pm

Wide

who knows, KO went out to half court to set a pick and the guy ran around both him and KO's defender and never really did get back to IT however he did manage to cause some contact on IT's failed attempt and sure could have been a foul but I'll take what happened after that.

beat

by **Sam** Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:49 am

Beat, I believe it’s a matter of the timing of the throw-in:

"With the exception of professional and international basketball, a team that’s awarded a throw-in from the frontcourt can throw the ball to a player in the backcourt. That player may then advance into the frontcourt. Such a pass is illegal in the NBA until the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and any overtime periods."

http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/basketball-rules-crossing-half-court-4157.html

Sam

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