Timeout Management Thread

Not a Lavin fan by any stretch, but I won't pick on the TO issue. I must say the team is not perfect, but is much more organized offensively, pass the ball more proficiently & are playing better defense. Lavin & staff deserve some kudos for that & putting Dom in a position to succeed.
 
There are glaring issues with both team and coach that more likely than not will bite us in the ass at some point in the season, and that will be amplified in March. But right now the team is hot, so let's enjoy the ride.
 
I think it's a fair question. 7 minutes to go in a hostile environmentwith 1 timeouts left, and you're trapped in the corner. TO or TO turnover or timeout?
 
I think it's a fair question. 7 minutes to go in a hostile environmentwith 1 timeouts left, and you're trapped in the corner. TO or TO turnover or timeout?
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It's certainly a fair question, but in this instance it's been answered. Perhaps it's not what most other coaches would do, perhaps it's not what most posters here would do if (heaven forfend!) they were coaches. It may not even be what Lavin would do on another night, in similar or different circumstances. But on this night, in this particular situation… it worked. The game was won. QED.
 
Not a Lavin fan by any stretch, but I won't pick on the TO issue. I must say the team is not perfect, but is much more organized offensively, pass the ball more proficiently & are playing better defense. Lavin & staff deserve some kudos for that & putting Dom in a position to succeed.
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And Phil as well. Most impressed at what Phil (minimal lateral dribbling at 3 pt line) and Dom (giving the ball up going downcourt instead of trying to dribble himself) didn't do.
 
Not a Lavin fan by any stretch, but I won't pick on the TO issue. I must say the team is not perfect, but is much more organized offensively, pass the ball more proficiently & are playing better defense. Lavin & staff deserve some kudos for that & putting Dom in a position to succeed.
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Well put. Our guards are really playing well together right now, strong individual performances notwithstanding, and the staff has to get plenty of credit for that. They were surgical at the end of the Cuse game, not just the scoring outburst from Greene but the way they handled the Cuse pressure in the last 2 minutes. It was like fly on the shoulder type stuff, and others I was watching with noted it as well.

What the staff is getting out of Dom is nothing short of remarkable.

I thought Saturday was one of the best two-way efforts from the staff in the Lavin-era post Dunlap. There have been a number of strong defensive game plans in particular - Creighton at the Garden last year comes to mind - but this was the full package. Very well done by Lavin and staff, major props deserved.
 
What the staff is getting out of Dom is nothing short of remarkable.
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It has been. Scary how it took this long though. On both ends. Dom's development and/or staff realizing where best to use him (aka not the perimeter)
 
Obviously preserving a couple of timeouts for end of game management is the conventional wisdom, so I understand this issue being raised after the game. I've also questioned Coach Lavin's use of timeouts in the past. But sometimes conventional wisdom doesn't apply and I think this is one of those cases. I was paying attention to Lavin's use of timeouts in the 2nd half as it was occurring and I can't think of any of them that I didn't think were helpful to managing game momentum, except the last one called by DLo, not Coach, after he was trapped in the corner due to an ill-advised pass thrown his way. If you recall we were up 4 at the half after a late surge. The first 10 minutes of the 2nd half was back and forth but by the 10-minute mark the momentum had clearly shifted to Syracuse. Syracuse then tied and took the lead and the game could easily have slipped away at that point. We were on the road in an incredibly difficult environment and it was beginning to show as we had several TO's and empty possessions. Through that critical period of the game Coach used TO's to break Syracuse's momentum and to get the team back to its approach to attacking the zone. It worked and they eventually had several good possessions that got Phil open looks and lo and behold he connected on them. Game over. In my view Lavin correctly identified the crucial point when the game was in the balance and used his TO's to help manage the team through that period, taking the risk of saving himself only one which was then burned on the court. Better to use them as Coach did rather than wait til you're 5 down with a minute to play and you're trying to claw your way back in. I say kudo's to Coach for being in the flow of the game as he should be and making the gutsy and correct call to flaunt conventional wisdom because the circumstances of the game dictated it.
 
What the staff is getting out of Dom is nothing short of remarkable.
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It has been. Scary how it took this long though. On both ends. Dom's development and/or staff realizing where best to use him (aka not the perimeter)
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Agreed. We are back on the trajectory it looked like Dom's contributions were going to be on his (in my opinion, impressive) freshman year: run rim to rim and make as many "extra" plays as possible. We took a curious two year break from that, but are back on track and it is clearly where Dom is at his best.

He's also doing a terrific job catching the ball at 15 feet - against man and zone - and making a play which is an added bonus.
 
The only one I have an issue with is the one taken at the end of the first half with (about) 30 seconds left. That should only be done for the burn timeout, the one that does not carry over to the second half. The fact that he did this after having already taken 2 in the first half is historically bad. We got away with it, but it does not mean that this was a bad bad mistake.
 
The only one I have an issue with is the one taken at the end of the first half with (about) 30 seconds left. That should only be done for the burn timeout, the one that does not carry over to the second half. The fact that he did this after having already taken 2 in the first half is historically bad. We got away with it, but it does not mean that this was a bad bad mistake.
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True, with all those seniors on the court Lavin should've trusted they could've gotten a good shot off at the end of the half. Then again maybe he called it to remind them to hold for the last shot, because numerous times these guys just forget to do that.
 
I think he subbed for Dlo too in order to avoid him getting a cheap foul. Not sure if it was during that TO. Would have to go back and look to confirm.
 
What the staff is getting out of Dom is nothing short of remarkable.
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It has been. Scary how it took this long though. On both ends. Dom's development and/or staff realizing where best to use him (aka not the perimeter)
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Yep, next step in his progress should be to take some of those open 10 footers/floaters they are giving him...
 
If Jakarr is here, then Dom is out on the 3 point line. Doms game is not there. I think Marrilacs point is being proven.
 
If Jakarr is here, then Dom is out on the 3 point line. Doms game is not there. I think Marrilacs point is being proven.
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Agree with you and Marrilac. Both Jakarr and Orlando took up the space from which Dom is able to succeed. Add a short jumper to Dom and we are looking at Lavar Postell II.
 
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