Can't say I'm too upset with that game. Sucks that we dropped it, but I expected a double digit loss in this one. Pacers in 7? Its possible right? Someone has to beat them sometime.
Now looking back, it was Sam Young who didn't challenge. I mean, how do you not at least jump into Lebron there? He turns, plants hard to defend, and then pulls back. Its a common reaction mid game to not waste a foul, but come on dude. You looked like a bitch. At worst it's an And 1.
I just went back and watched the replay, and it's weird. As LBJ gets the blowby, Young looks totally ready to jump and contest.... and then just doesn't. Was he shocked by Lebron's closing speed? Scared of the foul? Dude, it's Lebron shooting a layup with 1.3 seconds left. If nothing else, FOUL.
I think this is a total hindsight discussion. Bosh isn't a fucking scrub. Either way, Hibbert would have been pulled away from the rim, not being able to get back to defend. The fuck up lies solely on George and Young.
That's a great shot. People act like Bosh was camped way out on the weak side. They would not have had time for a catch, spin, drive, draw, dish, jumper all in 2.2 seconds. Spo knew as soon as Vogel tool Hibbert out of the game again, they play was to the rim. Im sure Young was told "Dont leave Bosh for any reason". But with that amount of time left, I would have put Hibbert in and make Bosh rush a jumper. And its totally a results driven game. George went from a bum, so a stud, to an up and coming superstar, to a bum all in 1 half + OT. And win or lose, that was one of the worst officiated playoff games ive ever seen. On both sides. Ruined the whole flow. Tony Brothers would be OK doing a game in which either team never took the floor and he just stood out there alone and blew his little whistle for 48min.
I think George expected a catch and shoot. Its like the whole team thought there was 0.2 or 12 seconds left. Why George didnt grab LBJ as soon as he went by him made no sense. Again, Im sure they spent that whole time out telling Young not to leave Bosh. Lebron knew what he was going to do the whole time.
Fuck that. Stupid coaching decisions make me mad, and this one had me fuming. Would you rather have an LBJ drive one on one or a possible Bosh open jumper? I don't know how that's even remotely debatable, the result of the play notwithstanding. You should always try to take a team's best weapon away in a one possession game, and if they beat you with something else then so be it.
Well Bosh's shooting % for those jumpers aren't low, and he'd have a clear shot over anyone guarding him. Also, George should have just been in front of him, simple as that. Hibbert would not have been there. Its a hindsight coaching. If George was in front of him, he would have made the right play, we'd cheer him for sticking with this hot squad.
No, they certainly aren't low, and George should have stayed in front of him in an ideal world. But that is ignoring the single biggest piece of information here: it is LeBron fucking James. And while George had, in my opinion, played as well defensively as could be expected up to that point, LeBron had scored 28 points prior to the layup, on 11 of 23 shooting. In that situation, you throw everything you have into stopping LeBron. Put Young/Hansborough on Bosh and stack the paint. Lebron gets the ball with 2.2 left, you want to throw everything you have at him. Also, just saying he should have been in front of him is severely underrating how fast/tricky what LeBron did on the play was. He didn't catch, then drive. By the time the ball was in his hands, somehow, he was already driving inside. Despite the fact that he was coming out to get the ball. If George had stopped him, it would have been the wrong play that just happened to turn out OK. Which also describes Paul George's shot in Q4. Poor passing, terrible shooting mechanics, five feet beyond the arc from a guy who isn't even that good of a shooter is a pretty poor outcome when you had 11 seconds, but hey, it went in. Unrelated, who are the 17 assholes not voting for KD for first team? I'mma let you finish, but KD had one of the greatest seasons of all time. ALL TIME!
I very much doubt that Hibbert would have been in position to challenge that shot. Bosh was around the 3-point line on the weak side, and Hibbert would have to be sagging in pretty hard to be able to get to Lebron in time to contest. The real problem is that Paul George got completely punked and took himself out of the play. Lebron didn't even have to go around him on the way to the hoop. Am I the only one who saw how many easy buckets Birdman got because Hibbert abandoned him for a block attempt? Why would Bosh have to hit a jumper if he could crash when Hibber ignores him? 2.2 seconds is a pretty long time.
I wish he had gone down for those child porn charges. He's fucking perfect for that team. I pretty much only watch the Pacers, so I am now learning to hate every single member of that team. They go down like they got shot every time they get touched, they then hit our good players in the dick. I want a Dave Cowens moment
God it's so frustrating cheering against the Spurs. They just everything so goddamn well. They make good teams look careless and foolish. Ugh.
It's because they lead the league in subtle pretentiousness. Their SP% dwarfs everyone in the NBA not named Bill Simmons. On a serious note, I think the notion that Tony Parker is the best PG in the NBA is a valid one. I break my ankles simply by watching him.
I love how they kept showing the top paid Spurs this year. I think Manu was the highest at like $14 mil, followed by Parker around $12 mil. Not only do the Spurs have great players, they have great players on the cheap. Memphis is a very good team. They didn't make it to the WCF by accident. And the Spurs just made them look foolish. They're playing in a different league right now.... Or at least Parker and the ageless Duncan is. Kawhi Leonard is looking damn good too. It's a great day to be in SA. By the way, I'm surprised Nom hasn't locked this thread in a fit of rage and spite. Perhaps he didn't watch the game...
I would lock the thread, but I'm too flabbergasted at the idea that Tony Parker is nearly as good as Chris Paul to do anything but gawk.