No. It had to be made now. To let it pass would be a signal to the rest of the guys that you can get away with his behavior. Red isn't just coaching for the rest of this rather meaningless season. He is coaching and setting the standard of what is acceptable behavior and what isn't. This sends a message.
Totally agree, dash. If you assume that the multitude of things we have seen with Benny are just the tip of the iceberg, Red had to act. He has recruited many of these guys and has been their buddy. He can’t allow them to take advantage of that.
Another example of Red making a statement:
We all love Q and know that almost every game there will be a flashy move that goes nowhere, but when he pulled the pure hotdog move I said to myself “Red has to pull him for that.” Didn’t expect him to, but he did. Then, after they exchanged words, Red banished him to the end of the bench. He put him back in, but message sent.
Missing shots happens and is part of basketball but lack of discipline, lack of hustle, lack of team work, etc should never happen. Every guy on the team has been guilty of some of that at one time or another and sometimes several guys at once. And that’s just the stuff that we are privy to. Who knows what goes on at practice or off the court.
Based upon the last game plus Red’s presser and the move made with Benny, hopefully this is a turning point not just for Red the coach but what we see out of the team going forward. One can only hope.
