INDEPENDENCE: Coach David Blatt addressed the timeout imbroglio from Saturday night with the entire team, but said not everyone on the Cavaliers bench knew he didn’t want to call a timeout during the first overtime session against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cavs had no intention of calling a timeout if they made a defensive stop late in overtime, yet at least two players not in the game, two assistant coaches and the trainer sprang off the bench and onto the court signaling timeout anyway after LeBron James blocked Jerryd Bayless’ shot.
Only the head coach or a player on the floor can call a timeout, but the referee heard the players and coaches yelling for one and blew his whistle anyway, inadvertently stopping play.
Asked specifically Monday if he informed his assistants and the rest of the players on the bench about the plan, Blatt said no.
“It was the element of surprise there, kind of all around,” Blatt said. “Unfortunately it didn’t work our way.”
James and Blatt had to act quickly and hatched the plan during a 20-second timeout, but the Bucks had to use another 20-second timeout when they couldn’t get the ball inbounded. That theoretically should’ve provided enough time to inform the bench of the plan.
Yet Blatt said twice Monday not everyone on his bench knew.
“What needed to be known was known and unfortunately the ref made a call which he admittedly knows he shouldn’t have,” Blatt said.
The crew chief, Marc Davis, told a pool reporter after the game he realized after he blew his whistle Blatt had not signaled for a timeout.
“The plan was not to call timeout to advance the ball,” Blatt said. “The players knew it. The coach knew it. Everything else is insignificant.”
Blatt said none of the players or coaches who acted against the plan expressed remorse.
“But I think they understand the situation,” he said, adding later, “people are always jumping up on the bench. That’s nothing unusual. Nothing unusual.”
It is unusual, however, for assistant coaches to act against the head coach’s wishes.
This isn’t the first time the Cavs’ usage of timeouts has come under scrutiny. Associate head coach Tyronn Lue was calling timeouts from the bench last season, with Blatt’s blessing. Then in the playoffs, Blatt tried calling a timeout he didn’t have late in a conference semifinal against the Bulls. Lue pulled Blatt back and saved the Cavs a technical and possession of the ball in a game they ultimately won at the buzzer.
Blatt saw the NBA’s report that the officials blew four calls late in Saturday’s game and three of them went against the Cavs, but he dismissed it as simply human error.
“None of that stuff is malicious,” he said. “Those guys are out there honestly doing the best that they can and we all make mistakes. So, if we had made a few more free throws and we had made a few of our open looks, we’d had won the game. I’m thinking more about that than the other stuff to be honest with you.”
Now the Cavs will face an improved Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night at the Palace. The Pistons started the year 5-1 before losing their past four games of a recently-completed West Coast trip.
James was critical of the Cavs’ recent effort despite such a good start. Blatt said Monday he didn’t have issue with the team’s effort, although Tristan Thompson acknowledged it can be better at times.
“The effort, we could’ve played harder in Milwaukee,” Thompson said. “But we’ve got an opportunity now to bounce back and play our brand of basketball. It’s a long season and we’ve got a long road ahead of us and we’ve got to get better. We’re not there yet. We have to start pushing forward.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.