I grew up just before it became okay for parents to fit their kids with leashes on outings to places like shopping malls and amusement parks, thank goodness. Imagine a parent trying to hold onto the leash while the other end’s attached to a sprinting Nate Robinson. Talk about the instant recipe for a shoulder dislocation.
Mark Jackson metaphorically yanked Robinson and the Warriors back to the bench as they sprinted away on a mission of transition. The momentum was theirs, Robinson was ready to run through 1,000 Marcin Gortats … and Jackson called timeout. The crowd semi-groaned, then they snapped out of it, because Warriors fans have been trained to police themselves.
BAD! BAD WARRIORS FANS! YOU BE HAPPY WITH THE LEAD AND DON’T COMPLAIN, EVEN IF IT SLIPS AWAY DUE TO 15 CONSECUTIVE DEFENSIVE 3-SECONDS-IN-THE-KEY CALLS!!!
Still, some people were upset about it, and some asked me why Jackson called the timeout and if I could ask him about it after the game. Well, Ethan Sherwood Strauss beat me to it (no surprise there — the dude’s got Ty Lawson-esque quickness during those pressers). But here’s the video, where I followed up Strauss’ question with one about whether Jackson’s more comfortable with the team slowing things down later in games.
It sounds like Jackson’s still learning to trust his team, and that he values an NBA version of a ball-control offense. Jackson hates turnovers, and the Warriors only committed 10 against the Phoenix Suns during Monday night’s win.
