Gut is a total enigma. He is just a man among boys out there, but how do you miss TWO free throws with the game on the line like that. One is okay.....it happens. But both? Then to stand at the 3-point line and pass the ball twice on the next offensive series? You would think he would be calling for the ball and clearing everyone out just to make up for missing those FT's. Can you imagine what Hakeem would have done in that situation? Guy would have been posting up and calling for the ball before the ref even started the play. LOL. Honestly, I was hoping he would come through because I'm an NBA fan and I love watching great players do great things. But man.....that whole sequence is pretty hard to defend.
Wade and Lebron are horrible free throw shooters in crunch time. Wade also missed a layup. I don't know how much longer I can defend these guys. Last night was an all time low. If they just make their free throws in the 4th, they win. It's that simple. Wade and Lebron choked last night - it was pathetic.
Clyde took the last shot against the Magic in game 1. Hakeem tipped it in. Hakeem deferred to Smith, Horry and Elie when a 3 was needed. What I mean is that Lebron is not a good 3 pt shooter. Chalmers was in the 3 pt shootout. How many times did Jordan pass to Kerr for the big shot? I remember that it was frequent. Horry made the big 3 against Sacramento..not Shaq (obviously) or Kobe. Fisher made plenty of big shots over the years for the Lakers. Shaq and Kobe could have taken those shots. We can do this all day....
If that's the case then he need to have the ball in his hands in the final minutes to defer to somebody and make something happen instead of passing it to wade and let a non mvp winner making the decision.
Still waiting for Lebron to take over a game like this when it matters most. His tendency to shrink in these opportunities is striking given his hype....his free throw percentage in close/late playoff games suggests pressure isn't his deal.
Well, look at it this way, was LeBron drawing double teams and consistently hitting the open man last night?
He only did it when he was double and triple teamed in the post. Also, you'll notice I didn't mention the last possession in my post. I have no problem deferring to your best 3-point shooter when you're down by 3. I was talking specifically about the 2nd to last possession when they were only down by 2 and didn't need a 3. LeBron passed it off twice. He wasn't trying to make a move, he wasn't getting double-teamed, he was standing on the 3-point line - feet planted. He didn't want the ball. Honestly, I'm not a LeBron hater. Today is the first time I've posted in this thread. I have no skin in this game. I'm just commenting on what I saw last night.
Good luck finding a play in the last few seconds of a playoff game where Jordan doesn't touch the ball.
He's averaging double digit scoring in the fourth quarter in the playoffs. He scored more than 10 yesterday if I'm not mistaken. His PER in the fourth was second highest after Paul this season. It was over 30. What he doesn't do well is shoot free throws in the last minute of games when it's a one possession game (60% in the regular season). Whether that's fatigue or not, he just doesn't get it done at the line in that type of situation...playoffs or not.
