No. Simple uncontested pass for an uncontested layup. The right play was made. WB blew the game by missing an uncontested layup. To say he shouldn't have taken it doesn't make sense because you don't use hindsight as the only judge for plays like this.
It wasn't exactly uncontested. There's a defender there. He had to hurry the layup to avoid being challenged at the rim. The right play would be either Westbrook or Braun pulling back and play cat and mouse with the ball to run out the clock. Braun is a 80% FT shooter. He should have kept the ball.
Not what I said. I think you missed my post where I said WB made a decent decision (to take the open layup). He also could have tried to run out the clock, but he's not a good FT shooter so I thought his decision was fine. He just missed it. My point was Braun, a better and pretty decent FT shooter, should have tried to run out the clock instead of making the pass to WB for that layup.
Honestly . . .. . Running out the clock should have been the #1 play Even hitting the layup the wolves would have time for a 3 to tie Rocket River
Why are so many saying "run out the clock"? They couldn't. There were almost 10 seconds left. At best, they could have run off another 1 second. Take the gimme 2-points and make sure the lead is 3 when the T-Wolves take the ball out from mid-court. (The only reason they didn't call a TO is because WB blew the layup).
Even Braun, who is a good free throw shooter, only has about a 68% chance to make both free throws on a given trip (and that's not taking the pressure of the moment into account). Russ would have an abysmal 41% chance. Neither of those is a better option in the moment than a routine fastbreak layup. The fact that Russ smoked it doesn't change that.
When he isn't injured, AD is one of the few big men you can give the ball to for a game-closing shot.
