Or: “Klay, you inbound the ball to Bogut, he skip passes to Iguodola and he tips it to Steph to take a shot from 60 or 70 feet out.”
Fortunately, the NBA finals telecasts on ABC have included moments in which the teams’ head coaches are miked, enabling us uninformed viewers to hear with our own ears what wisdom they’re imparting to their players. And, based on what I’ve heard so far during those time outs, I’ve come to the conclusion that basketball strategy is not exactly rocket surgery, after all.
In one time out, for instance, the closest thing to technical advice I heard from Cleveland coach David Blatt was, “Take smart shots.” Not to be out-coached, Golden State’s Steve Kerr directed his team to “Play hard.”
It’s possible, I suppose, that professional basketball players actually need someone to teach them that taking smart shots generally is better than taking dumb ones. And “play hard” may simply be coach-speak for a strategy so complicated that those of us who never slammed a dunk can’t possibly hope to understand it.
But while my future as a player in the NBA may be somewhat speculative, having heard these pearls of wisdom I’ve come to believe that I might have what it takes to be a coach.
So, in an effort to guide the Cavaliers to victory over Golden State, here’s my advice to them:
“OK, guys, get out there and score more points than the other team.”
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