Former NBA player Jalen Rose was obviously having flashbacks Tuesday night.
After Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout he didn’t have against the Detroit Pistons, Rose’s reaction was captured on television. A Detroit native, Rose was likely thinking back to the 1993 NCAA title game. That was when Rose was playing for the Michigan Wolverines. Teammate Chris Webber called an infamous timeout when one wasn’t available, allowing the North Carolina Tar Heels to shoot free throws to put things away.
Rose’s face quickly went viral on the Internet.
“I just made a serious mental error there at the end,” Spoelstra said. “That’s on me. I feel horrible about it. There’s no excuse for that, I’m 17 years in. We had talked about it in the huddle. I knew we didn’t have anything. I just got emotional and reactive.”
Not everyone took aim at Spoelstra.
While TNT’s Charles Barkley acknowledged the mishap, he was more concerned with the Heat allowing the Pistons to tie it on a backdoor alley-oop the previous possession while inbounding with 1.8 seconds left.
“[Spoelstra] was so pissed off because it can’t happen with 1.8 seconds to go,” Barkley said. “That can’t happen. You cannot give a dunk up with less than two seconds to go, so he was emotional. I love me some Spo. He made a mistake, no big deal. He made more good ones than bad ones. How the hell y’all give up a dunk with less than two seconds to go?