This analysis does not intend to blame anyone, just try to give a full picture about what has happened on that play. Lillard PnR with Aldridge , 2 pts lead, 41 sec notice Metthews sneak through baseline, Howard delay Aldridge Aldridge is 20% 3pt shooter, rarely make a 3 attempt. Both Bevs and Parson went to cover Aldridge. Two wide open 3pt shooter, about 40% chance they make the shoot, this play setup spends only 4.6 second. Lin had the ball, he had a chance to call a timeout. He made the decision not to. "When we have a plan you just have to stick with it, we said when we get the rebound, we said unless we have a clear break, we're going to take a timeout" -McHale Why Mchale sub in Lin? 2pt lead with 33.7 sec left is not safe at all , if rockets milk the clock without score pts, it left 10 sec to Blazer to make the last shoot, could be a 3pt kill. Mchale sub in Lin in order to run a fast break, if there is a clear chance, it would potentially seal the game. Parson and Beverley was preparing the run, Parson was clapping his hand waiting for the pass from Lin. Either run a break, or just pass the court and milk the clock. Mahale had chance to call a timeout up until this moment, Howard set a pick for Lin at baseline, Mo and lillard chasing Lin. Howard very often set a weak pick, and left very quick. This time, if he could hold his position a little longer, Mo may not be able to catch Lin. THE steal and save by Mo, Blazer missed the 2pt shoot again, Lillard got the rebound eventually...
Lin shall not be trusted. McHale should have stuck with this principle he preached to himself the past 2 years. Period.
It happens. We can't worry about game 4 anymore. The Rockets need to worry about game 5 now. Game 5 is the only thing that matters now. We need to show up and forget about could-ofs.
Ping pong ball play that ended the worst way possible. For McHale to not to call a timeout, I can only deduce that McHale must have seen a potential fast break, as you mentioned with Parsons clapping for the ball and Bev ready to take off. I would like to believe that McHale would have called a timeout himself if Portland were in set positions to defend. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fGu7kGXAa-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Look at this awareness by Doc, calling time out with 17 seconds on the shot clock. (He prevented the 8 second violation) Now I see a full proof way to call a time out if you're a coach. JUST RUN ON THE COURT calling time out and refs will stop the game.
Really not to try to blame anyone, Lin made the mistake, he take the hit. It just when I actually look at it, there are so many details worth noticing.
Pretty sure he said "Lin had the ball, he had a chance to call a timeout. He made the decision not to."
maybe it would have went better if howard got the last rebound. I'd imagine it would be hard to rip it out of his clutches.
You probably should have posted this instead of some of the other observations. You implied that McHale had Lin in because he wanted him to run the break, as well as some other mistakes that had no bearing on the play. I see what you're getting at, but it really does read like you're pointing out irrelevant facts to distract from the big mistake.
i don't think he is trying to distract at all. i think he made some observations that we can interpret ourselves.
Lin made the right decision not to let Howard get the rebound. In the process he got careless to bring the ball down.
It comes down to performance. And ultimately, he failed. The decision works if he protects the ball and finds Chandler for the easy dunk. Just like no one would question his layup attempt with 40 seconds remaining if he makes. Obviously he thought the ball was protected by the line. It wasn't. That's why excuses aren't accepted, because one can find countless what-ifs of this sort. Even if the excuse is true it fails the reality test.
From the time Lin got the rebound until the ball was stolen, how many seconds did Rox have? If there were more than 2 seconds, sure, somebody had enough time to call a timeout. Did other Rox player call timeout once Lin got the rebound if there were 2 seconds before the ball was stolen? Lin certainly made a bad choice though I just wonder whether the team practice the last 2-minute drill or last possession drill. It should be an instinct to call timeout for every player.
Of course, at least one of the major reason Mchale put Lin in because Lin can run fast break, if there is a CLEAR break. But it is up to Lin to make the decision, if the risk of lose ball is significant, he should consider play it safe. Anyway, the result is most important, he had the ball and lost it, that is what matters most.
OP gives a breakdown on the TO that caused the game, gets attacked by something as trivial as the opening post
Sorry, did you say "Parsons and Beverley was preparing the run"? Is that what it looks like to you? Parsons leaning toward the defensive end, Bev walking slowly, Howard walking slowly, Harden facing the defensive end, Lin doing WTF?
