Continuity mistake: At the start in the gym, when Mike is alone shooting baskets (before the team photo) he is standing at the center of the 3-point line, but in each of the overhead close-ups of the hoop we see Mike's reflection in the backboard (top right) and he is standing closer to the hoop, on the free throw line - note the dark free throw lane. (Only visible on DVD widescreen.) (00:00:30)
Continuity mistake: In the gym at the start, when Mike is shooting baskets by himself (before the team photo) he is standing beside a 3-tier basketball rack, off which he grabs the basketballs for warming up. There is shot from behind him as he reaches for a ball and the top tier is empty, but in the next front shot the top tier is full, then as Coach Murphy walks in the top tier is empty again. (00:00:45)
Continuity mistake: When Mike is talking to the basketball coach right before the team photo back in the 80's, Mike passes a basketball to the coach. There is then a shot of the coach and Mike reaches for the towel on his shoulder, then the shot switches to Mike and he reaches for the towel a second time. (00:01:10)
Continuity mistake: After Ned shows up for the '89 team photo, in the shot facing the team when he and Mike are walking over to their places, players 23 and 24 are kneeling as Mike passes them. In the next shot facing the photographer, those two teammates are walking behind Mike just before kneeling. Coach Murphy also moves from beside the last teammate to behind and has thrown the ball to Mike, between the shots as well. (00:01:50)
Continuity mistake: In 1989, when Ned walks in, he takes off his brown dungeon-master jacket and puts on a blue sweater. In the first shot, he has it fully on, but when he walks toward the basketball team he is putting the right sleeve on again. (00:01:50)
Continuity mistake: The position of the team (note Ned, court lines, etc), when the 1989 photograph is taken at the start, differs from the framed photo that Mike looks at when he meets the 'janitor' at Hayden High. (00:02:00)
Continuity mistake: At the start, while the cheerleaders are doing their thing center court, before Mike joins them he is standing with his arm on Ned's shoulder, leaning on him. Then, in a shot of the cheerleaders he is seen in the background standing with his arms crossed, but when it cuts to a different angle he has his arm on Ned's shoulder once again. (00:02:20)
Continuity mistake: Before the '89 basketball game, in the first shot of Mike joining the cheerleaders on court, the bare chested guy wearing a Native American headdress is dancing beside the free throw lane, near the backboard. In the next shot that guy is now dancing half a court away, in front of the stairs opposite center circle (note the "Lets win" poster). The same thing happens a few shots later. (00:02:35)
Factual error: At the start in 1989, when Mike is dancing with the cheerleaders and also just before he goes after Scarlet, in close-ups of the crowd cheering there is a man (with a white baseball cap) wearing a Paramore t-shirt. However, Paramore (a Grammy-nominated American pop rock band) formed in 2004. The style of t-shirt he is wearing is actually one of the officially licensed Paramore merchandise. (00:02:45)
Continuity mistake: Before the '89 basketball game begins, Mike is on the court with the cheerleaders and when he pulls off his blue snap warm-up pants he is wearing the grey uniform shorts and jersey. However, after Mike poses in the close-up, he is wearing the blue warm-up pants again in the next shot from behind the cheerleaders - note his jersey number "0", which is visible between the cheerleaders. (00:03:05)
Continuity mistake: After the 1989 scene is finished, we see adult Mike lying with his head on a pillow in a close-up. In the next shot Mike's head has now moved up higher on the pillow. (00:06:50)
Continuity mistake: During the scene where Mike smashes his boss' earpiece, in the splitsecond shot when Mike smashes it he has a notable shadow beneath his hand. When the boss looks at it, no shadow whatsoever. (00:09:40)
Continuity mistake: In the ice cream shop, when Mike picks up the unplugged jack for Maggie's earbuds, he holds the jack pointed up with its cord grasped within his closed palm, but next shot the cord is dangling free under the unplugged jack. (00:13:05)
Continuity mistake: In the ice cream shop, after Alex tells Mike that Maggie got into Georgetown, in the side shot when Mike leans forward to pick up Maggie's earpiece wire he asks, "Can you turn down the...," but his mouth doesn't move, and then in the next shot he leans forward once again to pick up the wire. (00:13:05)
Continuity mistake: After Naomi arrives, as she and Scarlet walk toward the house, when she tells Scarlet, "You got the butt of a 12 yr old boy," Naomi's handbag is dangling on her right forearm and she is carrying her overnight bag in her left hand (viewer's right). However, in the next shot her handbag is up on her right shoulder and she's carrying the overnight bag in her right hand. (00:15:50)
Continuity mistake: After Naomi and Scarlet head into the house to work on getting Scarlet back on the market, when Mike is driving in the rain the rearview mirror is gone, but it reappears when Mike runs toward the 'janitor' who disappeared from the bridge. (00:16:45)
Continuity mistake: On the bridge, when Mike topples into the water headfirst, the distinctive treads on the heels/soles of his shoes, as well as the light colored brand logo on the heels, are visible. After the newly transformed Mike appears at Ned's home wearing the same clothing, when Ned pulls the rug out from under Mike, his shoes' soles are completely different. (00:17:40 - 00:19:05)
Continuity mistake: As the camera shot moves up Mike in the shower, after he's turned 17, he has a large amount of hair near his left eye. In the next shot it's sprawled all across his forehead. (00:18:10)
Continuity mistake: When Ned falls over the upstairs banister in his house, Mike leaps over and lands on the rug beside Ned's head. After Mike says, "I feel great," his feet are on the patterned rug, but next shot he is standing farther back - note the rug's pattern (just before Ned pulls it out from under him). (00:19:05)
Continuity mistake: When Ned is attacking Mike with the sword and then skewers his suit jacket, as soon as Mike fumbles out of the jacket both of his long shirt sleeves (one of the cuffs hangs out of the jacket sleeve) are suddenly folded up on his forearms, between shots. Additionally, the dangling left shirt sleeve cuff repeatedly moves in and out of the suit sleeve, and even after the jacket is discarded the cuff folds up, down, back up and so on. (00:19:20)
Answer: I've not seen the movie, but an ex-wife would be closer to her ex-husband than a coach to his old student, no matter how good.
JonTheRandom