Kind of a gargantuan non-call on Rip Hamilton last night at the end of Motown’s 79-76 Game 2 win over Cleveland, and for once in a blue moon, I’ve got to give an ESPN Radio host some credit for an interesting observation.
Overnight gabber Jason Smith laid blame for the Cavs being down 2-0 squarely at the feet of head coach Mike Brown, surmising that after King James failed to go to the line even once during Game One, Brown should’ve all but invited the Association to slap him with a $50K fine during a postgame outburst that never happened.
Likewise, Brown was relatively subdued after last night’s alleged robbery. And I think Smith has a point. Can you imagine Pat Riley, Phil Jax or Jeff Van Gundy failing to campaign through the media? Any of the above have gone overboard, hoping to intimidate the refs, however slightly. Perhaps Detroit would’ve prevailed on Thursday, either way. But in terms of giving his team the best possible chance to win, Mike Brown is obliged to use every tactic at his disposal. Wondering out loud how many other player’s of LeBron’s stature would fail to get such a call oughta be part of the arsenal.