It’s never a great sign when an NBA coach reaches into Norman Dale’s playbook for the old “Hoosiers” state-championship pregame bit.
“For the guys going through this for the first time, I think they have to realize the court dimensions are still the same,” Billy Donovan said a little over an hour before Game 1 of the Bulls’ first-round series against the Bucks. “The rim’s still 10 feet. It’s still 15 feet on a free throw. They’ve got to control the things they can control with a really heightened sense of awareness and being alert.”
It’s a lesson one would hope professional players — even those making their playoff debuts — don’t actually need.