Lionel Hollins told players 'we needed to foul,' Nets didn't actually foul
You'd think once a coach misconstrued a message to foul or not foul one time, it wouldn't happen a second. NBA coaches are masters of communication, or at least they should be if they want to be any good at the jobs they're trying to do. The inside of the Nets organization is here to tell a different story, though.
With 36 seconds remaining in Wednesday night's game against the Heat, and with the Nets losing 103-98, Miami got the ball back. Coach Lionel Hollins says he told his team to foul. But here's the problem: the Nets didn't actually foul. The Nets eventually lost by six. Here's what Hollins said, via The Brooklyn Game:
Maybe the Nets got confused and thought they were supposed to do it later. Maybe Hollins conveyed his message wrong, somehow. Nope, Nets players simply had no idea what Hollins was talking about after the game.
“It wasn’t the decision (not to foul),” Hollins said following the 104-98 loss. “I told them we needed to foul. I mean, come on. The guys — you’ve got to foul. I got caught looking at something else, and when I looked over, everybody’s looking at me. That kind of stuff happens.”
More quotes, courtesy of The Brooklyn Game:
What the heck is going on in Brooklyn? It'd be shocking if Hollins were back next season, but things are just getting weirder and weirder on his end, from rants about how leadership doesn't matter to existential press-conference answers opining about our existence in response to simple "Do you think you had enough energy tonight?" inquiries. Now, there's this foul situation.
“(When) they dribble(d) the clock out?” Lopez asked. “I don’t know. Maybe it was just miscommunication. We can’t really have that, obviously. That kills you at the end of games. We’ve obviously got to be better in that area.”
__________________________
“I wasn’t guarding the ball at that point, but whatever message was trying to get sent to us, we’ve got to receive it better and send it better, so both of us on both sides,” Jack said. “But then as players, I think we should do a better job of knowing time and score, understanding the situation. So even if you didn’t hear the signal, just knowing what’s necessary at that particular moment.”
__________________________
Joe Johnson was less descriptive, and focused more on the late-game offense. “I don’t even remember (that play), honestly. … I think we know what needs to be done. It’s coming down the stretch we have a tendency to second-guess ourselves. Rather than taking the shots we’ve been taking throughout the whole game, it’s like in the fourth quarter when we get those looks, we hesitate. I don’t know why.”
Did he forget to tell the team to foul? Did they not hear him over the relatively tame Barclays Center crowd? This situation is all kinds of awkward.
2025 NBA Playoff Picture, Bracket, Standings
2025 NBA Playoffs Schedule: How to watch NBA Finals, TV, streaming, free
2025 NBA Draft odds: Which team will select Cooper Flagg?
2025 NBA buyout market tracker: Alex Len to Lakers after nixed Mark Williams trade
2024-25 NBA championship odds: Lakers, Warriors charging up oddsboard
-
2025 NBA Playoff Picture, Bracket, Standings
2025 NBA Playoffs Schedule: How to watch NBA Finals, TV, streaming, free
2025 NBA Draft odds: Which team will select Cooper Flagg?
-
2025 NBA buyout market tracker: Alex Len to Lakers after nixed Mark Williams trade
2024-25 NBA championship odds: Lakers, Warriors charging up oddsboard
