He settled us down when it looked like it was unraveling. It was team effort to get this one. I think it’s even better this way to know we can win a big game without James playing well. Remember the lakers won game 7 against Boston with Kobe going 6-25 from the field.
What a lovely myth. Especially in that last angle, from behind, you can see that Adams simply fumbled the ball. Neither Russ nor PJ got a hand on the pass.
Not hating, but Rockets got lucky in that situation that could have been a foul when Adams gets reamed especially with you know who officiating.
come on now. The play was for Gallo and Russ blew up the play because he knew the play was coming. Then Russ (and PJ) disrupted a last ditch pass to Adams. Even if Adams secured the pass, what was he going to do with it with the time left with his back facing the basket?
Yeah, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say that being surrounded and seeing Russ NEARLY tip the ball had an impact on Adams reaction to the incoming pass, not to mention the fact that the play was obviously not drawn up for him. Also, I"d have to re-watch to be sure, but did the video creator say that Russ tipped the ball? I thought he was just suggesting he disrup
This is all I need Russ to do when Harden is out, Just settle down a bit. I haven't re-watched the game, but Russ was good in the 4th with Harden sitting.
Agree, Adams was facing the wrong way in the wrong place. And yes, Russ prevented the pass to Gallo. Full points there. And I don't mean to take away from the pressure Russ and PJ put on the pass. Adams definitely collides with Russ after the fumble and was probably thinking about it when he needed to focus on the ball. I'm just saying, the ball came straight to Adams' hands, and he lost it. If that's any of their guards instead of Adams, he's turning with the ball, with Russ and PJ behind him, and a chance to get off a shot.
What was Adams even on the court for? And, being on the court, why wander 40 feet from the basket to receive the inbounds? He HAD to stay within 2 feet of the hoop as a lob threat Chris Paul burning a timeout after the Harden block just before was a pretty dumb move, cost them a chance to reset again.
Russ has his back to the ball looking at the play unfold. He sees Adams and Gallo before he blows up the Gallo pass and then back to Adams. Maybe Russ sells out so hard on Gallo because Adams is there and not someone else like Bazley. Russ knew exactly what he was doing, IMO.
OKC fans drew comparison of OKC's inbound play to Westbrook's game winner against Denver in '17. Just as CP3 knew some of our tendencies. Russ most likely knew what Donovan and OKC wanted to run and disrupted it. He's been with OKC a lot longer. 2017 2020 Clip: Russ, then PJ, both guys saved that possession.
In all fairness, having PJ coming at him from one side and Russ from the other caused a momentary lapse in concentration that resulted in that fumbling of the ball.
Actually this play is more similar. Look at how Russ was guarding the inbound vs Reddick. Russ first shaded Paul at the corner, then shaded Gallo at the top. The play was broken from there. There wasn't enough time to do a handoff with Adams and Gallo with 1.1 seconds. It's also great that Gordon prevented Paul from going through so easily on the pick further wasting time. Shai eventually just panicked and threw it to Adams at the 3 point line which was a dead play imo.
Game is more than just 1 possession. WB kept the team offense alive when Harden was getting depressed over his shooting he kept going to the hoop like a trucker. Sure it kept going out but if the leaders don't lose heart and keep charging the rest of the troops follow suit. tucker and WB may or may not have had a hand in the ball but if they just stood there I doubt Adams would have fumbled that pass. All you really need are the results the hows or whys you got there are irrelevant at the end of the day. WB saved that game 7 I would rather have him than C "Pout" 3 when Harden is in a funk.
