Mark Daigneault’s lack of playoff experience came to light in Game 1 of the Thunder vs. Nuggets second-round series. With 13 seconds left in the game, the Nuggets were down by three points, and Nikola Jokic was at the scorer’s table, not in the game. In order to avoid a three-point shot from the Nuggets to tie the game, coach Daigneault instructed his team to foul the Nuggets and force them to the free throw line for two shots.
In the post-game press conference, Daigneault justified his decision initially, but eventually took the blame for this loss on his head. “I thought we executed the fouls pretty well. … it didn’t go our way tonight, but it’s worked out well for us in the past. … I didn’t think that’s why we lost the game,” he said initially.
“The backcourt fouls hurt us. We can learn from fouling up 3, that’s on me. …it’s probably too early on my part. But that’s not on the players. They’re executing what I’m telling them to do,” he further added.
Aftermath Of Crucial Decision: Allowing Jokic Back Into The Game
This decision allowed the Nuggets to bring Jokic back into the game, which they would otherwise not be able to as they did not have any timeouts left in the end moments of the game. They knocked down both the free throws and it suddenly became a one-point game. The Nuggets were then forced to foul in order to stop the clock from running out on them.
Since Thunder’s young players lack experience in the playoffs, too, Chet Holmgren failed to knock down both free throws in a high-pressure moment to seal the game. Those misses allowed the three-point game to turn into a one-point game with only a few seconds left on the clock. Christian Braun caught the rebound, played the outlet pass to Russell Westbrook, who drove and found Aaron Gordon open on the arc to knock down the game-winning three-point shot.
If Daigneault hadn’t instructed his team to foul at that moment, the Nuggets would not have had Jokic on the floor as a potential threat for the final shot. Moreover, the foul added pressure on his players to deliver at the free-throw line, which Holmgren failed to do.
If Daigneault simply let the play run down instead of fouling, one of two possible things would’ve happened. Either the Nuggets would hit the three-point shot to only tie the game, while a potential final shot would be left with the Thunder. Or since Nikola Jokic was not on the floor, a miss on that attempt would simply have ended the game for the Nuggets as they had one less viable option on the floor to take the final shot.
Instead, the foul gave the Nuggets a chance to apply pressure, and the young OKC player Chet Holmgren caved to that pressure, which eventually cost them the game. Therefore, I disagree when Daigneault says that decision did not cost them the game, and he deserves to be held responsible for this loss.
