Calling a timeout in crunch-time when your team doesn’t have one? That’s a rookie mistake.
Chris Webber was one of the best power forwards of his generation, but the most notable moment of his Hall of Fame career is still a blunder he had in college. Webber famously called a timeout for Michigan when it didn’t have one in the closing seconds of the 1993 national championship game, and the ensuing technical foul sealed the title for North Carolina. No one ever wants to pull a Chris Webber on the basketball court, but Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey did exactly that on Wednesday night.
The Pistons were down as many as 21 points in the game against the Bulls, but made a furious fourth quarter comeback as Chicago went cold from the field. Detroit tied the game up twice late, but the Bulls pulled ahead by two points when Zach LaVine made a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left. Detroit called timeout, and advanced the ball to halfcourt with the chance to tie or take the lead.
There was only one problem: Ivey couldn’t find an open teammate to inbound the ball. He called timeout, but the Pistons didn’t have one. That’s a technical foul, and the Bulls got a free throw and the ball back to ice their 117-115 win. Watch Ivey’s blunder here:
It’s a rough moment for Ivey. The 21-year-old guard has had a nice rookie season, and put up 18 points in the loss to the Bulls on Wednesday. As we wrote before the draft, Ivey has all the tools to be great, but his game still needs serious refinement. Part of that is making sure you’re not on the wrong end of a big mental error like this one.
The Pistons won’t be too upset with the loss, because the only thing the team is playing for at this point is maximizing their lottery odds for No. 1 draft prospect Victor Wembanyama. The Bulls meanwhile keep pace in the race for the play-in tournament in the East. Chicago is one game behind the Washington Wizards for the No. 10 seed and final spot in the play-in tournament, and this would have been a devastating loss if they blew it. Fortunately for the Bulls, Ivey blew the game for the Pistons first.
