I have considered Frank Vogel to be one of the better coaches in the NBA for what he has done for this Indiana Pacers team. However, he made a serious error at the most crucial time in the first game of the Heat vs. Pacers series. Let's take a step back for a moment and look at the situation as a whole.
This Miami Heat team has been known to let its guard down in the first game of series, even as recently as the last series against the Bulls. When you are an underdog, stealing game one is crucial to try to pull off the upset. The Pacers had the perfect opportunity to do just that yesterday. With a two point lead and under twenty seconds left in the game, Ray Allen went to the free throw line. Allen is a career 89% free throw shooter and is known as one of the most clutch shooters of all time. He hit only one of two, giving Miami only a three point lead, rather than making it a two possession game.
After Paul George hit a three to send it into overtime, the two teams went back and forth for five minutes. With a two point lead with 2.2 seconds left, Dwyane Wade fouled George while he was shooting a three pointer, leading to three foul shots. He hit all three to give his team the lead. Point being, at two crucial points in the game, the Heat made uncharacteristic mistakes that gave Indiana the perfect chance to steal the game.
This is where Vogel's mistake comes into play. In the last minute he started to take Roy Hibbert out of the game when they were on defense so he could have someone else out there to defend outside shooters. The problem is without Hibbert they have no one to defend the rim. Even when he is not blocking shots, he makes his presence felt and alters most shots down low.
What was the result of this decision? Twice in the last ten seconds LeBron James was able to get to the rim for a layup, including the buzzer beating game winner, which is in the picture at the top of this article. As you can see, there was no one waiting for him at the rim and he was able to get an uncontested layup. Had Hibbert been in the game it would have been a much more difficult shot.
The argument I hear in favor of Vogel's decision is that Hibbert would have trouble going out to the perimeter to defend Bosh, especially on the last play of the game. However, that really would have been worth the risk. With only 2.2 seconds remaining in the game there was very limited time to make a move with the ball and everyone and their mother knew the ball was going to LeBron. So even if LeBron would have seen Hibbert at the rim and decided to pass it to Bosh, he would have had to put up a difficult, rushed jumper. Clearly that would be a much more difficult shot than an uncontested layup. While the series is far from over, Vogel cost his team a great opportunity.
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