Reggie

No, not the way to go!

Come on, Rick Carlisle! Are you kidding me?

As moving as the ovation at the end of the game was, and as much of a Pistons fan as I am, I just did not like the way the game, and with it Reggie’s career, ended.

First was the block. Ben Wallace, whom I love as a Pistons fan, as a former bench-warming, defense-oriented, blocking high school basketball player, ruined what could have been Reggie’s glorious exit. Obviously I wanted Detroit to win. And I think they would have won anyway. But when Reggie comes off the dribble to lob an off-balance three-pointer with under 30 seconds to play and an opposing player reaching for the block, it’s just wrong to actually succeed in blocking that shot. That’s Reggie’s shot. I mean it was his final game. You’ve got to let Reggie have his heroics, even if his team ends up losing.

The final sequence was even more disappointing, because it was more than just Reggie losing in his final bid to win a championship. It was a concession by Coach Carlisle. The Pacers are down 8 with Hamilton at the line for a second free throw. He’ll end up hitting it and putting the Pistons up 9. For most teams, under most circumstances, that’s when you pull your best player off the court and let him rest early. But this is an elimination game in the playoffs. And not only that, you have Reggie Miller on your team. And not only that, it’s Reggie’s final season.

You’re down by 9 with 15.6 seconds to go in an elimination game. Do you give up? No! You push till the buzzer. If you have Reggie Miller on your team and you’re down by 9 with 15.6 seconds to go in ANY game, much less a playoff game, MUCH less an elimination game, do you give up? Heck no! It’s Miller Time! And you’re telling me you’re going to let Reggie retire like that? Come on, Coach! That’s when you prove yourself and you let Reggie prove himself (once again). Down by 9 with 15.6 seconds to go IS Miller Time. You create a play for Reggie to get a 3 and then make a quick foul. You get a quick stop and another quick Reggie trey. One more stop and another Reggie 3-pointer at the buzzer and you go to overtime. You may lose in OT, but Reggie gets his heroics.

I am a HUGE Reggie Miller fan. On numerous occasions I have thought about whether I would be satisfied to witness Reggie get a title at the Pistons’ expense. The ovation was incredibly moving. People were crying and I was on the verge.

But it just wasn’t right.

You know, when Rick Carlisle was fired after two consecutive successful seasons, I was outraged. I was one of the many dumbfounded Pistons fans who just could not understand why you would get rid of the coach who made that difference. Now I understand. He just wasn’t that great a coach. If you can’t even think of an option that could potentially allow Reggie Miller to score 9 points in 15.6 seconds, the man who scored 8 in under 9 seconds, you just aren’t that good of a coach. It’s just about isolation and stops. As a coach, if you’re down by fewer than 10 points in an elimination game in the playoffs, and you have Reggie on the floor, you absolutely do NOT pull Reggie out of the game. The ovation was nice. But what about the game? What about his legacy? The Pistons didn’t win the game, Coach Carlisle gave it to them. The man is all about class, but in this case it was purely style over substance.