Take the blame, the head coach of the Thunder team took the initiative to take responsibility after losing to the Nuggets in the first game: "It s all my fault"

In the first game of the second round of the Thunder against the Nuggets, Mark Dagenot's lack of experience in the playoffs was fully exposed. With 13 seconds left, the Nuggets were three points behind, while Nikola Jokic was sitting on the scoring stage and did not play. To stop the Nuggets from making a three-pointer to equalize the score, head coach Dagnot directed the players to foul the Nuggets, forcing them to get two free throws.

Degnot initially defended his decision at the post-match press conference, but ultimately pushed the blame for the loss to himself. “I think we were doing pretty well with the fouls… It wasn’t going well tonight, but we did it well in the past… I don’t think that’s why we lost the game,” he said initially.

"The backcourt foul was bad for us. We could learn from the three-point foul, it was my responsibility... It may be too early to say I. But it is not the responsibility of the players. They are executing my orders," he added. The consequences of the key decision: Let Jokic return to the field

This decision gives the Nuggets a chance to get Jokic back to the field, otherwise they will not be able to do this because they have no timeout at the last moment of the game. Jokic made two free throws, and the game instantly became one point difference. The Nuggets were then forced to foul to prevent the time from running out.

Because the Thunder's young players also lacked playoff experience, Chet Homgren made two free throws at critical moments and finally secured the victory. These free throw mistakes made the three-point difference one point difference with only a few seconds left. Christian Braun grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Russell Westbrook, who dribbled and found Aaron Gordon, who had a free spot on the top of the arc, hitting a winning three-pointer.

If Dagnot had not instructed the player to foul at the time, the Nuggets would not have had the potential threat of Jokic as the last shot on the field. Additionally, the foul also added pressure on the player at the free throw line, which Homegren failed to do.

If Degnot just let the game go on instead of a foul, then one of two things could happen. Either the Nuggets make a three-pointer to equalize the score, and the Thunder will have a chance to make the last shot. Either because Nikola Jokic is not on the court, if this shot fails, the Nuggets will end the game because they have one less chance to shoot the last shot on the court.

Instead, the foul gave the Nuggets a chance to put pressure on the Nuggets, while the young Thunder player Chet Homgren succumbed to this pressure and eventually lost the game. Therefore, I disagree with Degnott's statement that this penalty did not make them lose the game and that he should be responsible for this loss.