Apart from calling the plays and managing the players' minutes, a coach's job also involves protecting his players. Indiana Pacers head coach Nate McMillan did exactly this when he saw Lance Stephenson fall to the floor after an apparent push from LeBron James. Yet lady luck was not on his side. It seemed that he was also destined to suffer the same fate as Stephenson.
As posted by Dime on UPROXX, McMillan and Stephenson fell to the floor in succession. Below is the clip:
LeBron tossed Lance to the floor and Nate McMillan went with him 😂 pic.twitter.com/jcoD3pn9FP
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) April 19, 2018
Looking at the video, Stephenson might have flopped. After all, he is known for such antics. But flop or not, he certainly sold it to his own coach. Or maybe they are both in it? Every team has a game plan anyway. Since James and Stephenson have a mini-rivalry, maybe McMillan concocted a plan to irritate James via any means necessary.
Dan Burke, Pacers assistant head coach shared a bit of their game plan involving James. As reported by Mark Montieth of Pacers.com:
“You've got to just go after him,” Burke said. “You can't just give him open ‘dare' shots. If you allow him to dance and catch a rhythm, he'll hurt you. Analytically you say you want him to take that three, but I think you get into him, break his rhythm, blur his vision a little. Then if he pulls a long two, that's the ideal thing.”
“What he thrives on is when he gets his teammates going,” Burke said. “He throws that ball like he's throwing a dart. It's unbelievable. If you're caught spectating and watching him, he'll throw it by your ear for an open three and then they're rolling.
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