Kevin McHale joins exclusive club led by Jason Kidd and Mike Tomlin
Dec 1, 2013, 3:50 PM | Updated: 3:50 pm
There must be something in the water this time of year, because coaches across all sports seem to want to be a part of the action of late — and not in a good way.
First, there was Brooklyn Nets first-year head coach Jason Kidd, who “accidentally” spilled his drink on the court in the waning seconds of a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wanting to draw up one final play for his team, Kidd, despite not having timeouts, ordered guard Tayshawn Taylor to run into him while the Lakers were at the free throw line.
Kidd’s spill resulted in a $50,000 fine for the former 10-time All-Star.
Then there was Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who during his team’s Thanksgiving Night loss to the Baltimore Ravens, found his way onto the edge of the sideline just as Jacoby Jones was running by on his way to the end zone.
Jones’ long kickoff return looked to be an easy six points for Baltimore, but after passing Tomlin, he turned towards the middle of the field and was subsequently taken down at the 27-yard line.
Tomlin has yet to be fined or penalized by the NFL.
And that brings us to Saturday, where Houston Rockets head coach and Hall of Famer Kevin McHale looked to be having some fun with a future Hall of Famer, Tim Duncan.
At the end of the first half, Duncan attempted to heave an inbounds pass near the Rockets’ bench. Only one problem, McHale was sitting right on the scorer’s table merely a foot away, obstructing his view in every imaginable way.
Duncan somehow found Manu Ginobili for a decent look before the buzzer sounded, but Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was none too pleased with McHale’s attempt at gamesmanship.
