Spoelstra Decides Not To Foul

F Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics gave the Celtics a 3-0 series lead with his game-winning jumper over the Miami Heat to give them a Game 3 road win. The Celtics now have an opportunity to wrap up the series in Miami on Sunday. The big issue, however, was Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's decision to not foul with a foul to give. Spoelstra allowed F Dorell Wright to guard Pierce straight up, where Pierce was able to milk the clock on an isolation play and get off a good shot. Spoelstra has stated that it's on him that the Heat didn't foul.

With a foul to give, Spoelstra should've told his team to foul. That would've disrupted Pierce's ability to milk the clock, and forced the Heat to inbound the ball with less time on the clock. Had Wright fouled Pierce with around 4 seconds to go, the Celtics would've had to inbound the ball again and run another set play with a lot less time on the clock, which would've forced them into a hurried shot.

However, this loss cannot completely be blamed on the Heat's failure to foul in that situation. The Heat played a good game, but they let the Celtics hang around the entire game. At one point, the Celtics were up 8 in the 4th quarter until the Heat made a run. If the Heat were a little sharper on defense, they would've gotten the win.

Now it's a situation of whether the Heat will give up the game in Game 4 and just start their vacations a little earlier. This also might factor into G Dwyane Wade's decision to stay with the Heat beyond next year. The Heat clearly don't have enough on their team to win a championship. It'll be interesting to see where Wade goes next year.