Towards the end of their 104-103 loss to the Nets in Game 7, the Raptors ran three different A.T.O. sets to attempt to narrow the score. The first two were productive, creating layups for Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross whereas the final play resulted in a blocked shot in the paint. The spacing of the alignment as the ball was inbounded was diverse and it influenced the quality of the shots that the team attempted. 3rd Last Play: Down 102-99, 22.5 seconds left. Extending a well-known San Antonio Spurs SOB for the length of the entire court offers a mixed …
Game 7: Miami and Indiana
Over the course of a seven game series lasting two weeks, both changes make numerous adjustments and counters. For the final game of their series versus the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat chose to pressure the basketball along the perimtere and play physically in the paint. The Pacers were unable to counter to the Heat won handily. When a team is determined to pressure the ball and deny high percentage shots, individual players have little chance to overcome the odds. This adversity demands teamwork As a result, the seventh game of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals shone a spotlight in …
Post-Game 7 (2010) Thoughts
The Lakers may have played a poor game, Kobe Bryant may have forced too many bad shots, and Pau Gasol taken too many fadeaways. For forty minutes, Ron Artest may have kept Los Angeles in the game with key plays (despite how unlikely that may have seemed based on his play throughout the season). But when it counted, the Lakers got to the line, found the open shooter, and made clutch baskets. Whatever happened earlier in the game – and it was terribly ugly – is irrelevant now. Like the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000, the Boston Celtics blew a …
Pre-Game 7 (2010) Thoughts
Association Finals have proved anticlimactic in recent memory; even the Spurs-Pistons and Rockets-Knicks series that went the distance were tedious and tiresome. Yet I have higher hopes for tonight’s game between the Lakers and Celtics. None of the games in the series so far have been truly exciting. There have been excellent individual performances but no true back-and-forth battles between equal squads, like the 1984 or 1969 Finals. The series has been a disappointment but the increase in intensity shown in Game 6 offers a chance for redemption tonight. Both teams are banged up but others stepped forward, especially the …