<object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L60rg5HAPQg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L60rg5HAPQg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object> That was sick.
Yes, look at how they slyly called a charge and a travel on LeBron to make it not look like its fixed...and David Stern and the referees clearly fixed that ball to go in too, giving the Cavs a win. MAN, the NBA is getting really good at fixing these games. I'm not saying you in particular are a conspiracy theorist (and I'm not trying to single you out), because you didn't say it exactly...but to everyone that is constantly complaining, the conspiracy theories and crying and moaning about referees is getting really grating. I'm tired of hearing this kind of garbage from everywhere. We've had 4 great games to watch in 4 straight nights...how about sitting back and enjoying some great basketball for once? That was a great game decided by two basketball players making plays at the end (Hedo vs. LeBron). Appreciate what you're seeing instead of crying about refereeing after every...single....game.
It's a great shot. But, I don't understand why everyone is say doubling Lebron automatically means giving up a potential alelyhoop to a unguarded Cavs. It's a inbound play, you can leave the inbounder open, Duhhhr.
It's a great shot by LBJ, no doubt. The Magic's defense sucked. Turd-a-glue let LBJ run easily with no pressure to the middle of 3 pt line to catch and shoot. But LBJ still had to make the shot. LBJ deserved all the credits. The defense on LBJ by Hedo was same as the defense on Hedo by Pavlovic, it's laughable. Hedo just stood in front of LBJ with at least 3 feet between them with no hand contact or body up, mainly, no defense. Pavlovic let Hedo gain a step on him and drive middle and couldn't even contest the 15 foot jumper. Geeze! these 2 teams' defense really rocked.
The defense by Pavlovic was stupid to the max. First he commits a foul that allows the Magic to run the clock down to zero (which they didn't). If LeBron had missed, this is what we would be talking about. Before Pavlovic's foul, there was an 6-7 second difference between shot clock and game clock. Secondly, he allowed Turkey-Glue to make his favorite last-second-shot move, which is a pull-up jumper going to his left. He's hit 'em going right, but going left is his comfort zone. Pavlovic is not a smart player at all.
This year's playoffs turns out to be extremely interesting. The Celtics-Bulls series. The Celtics-Magic series. The Lakers-Rockets series. Now the Lakers-Nuggets series and the Cavaliers-Magic series look to be both epic. Stern is grinning from ear to ear.
Not that simple in this case. What would you prefer, be it two or three points? Last shot. LBJ takes foul shots or a jumpshot against you?
Late in Game 1 of Lakers-Nuggets, Nuggets had an inbounds pass stolen by Ariza. A critical part of that defensive play was 6-9 Lamar Odom pressuring the shorter inbounder (wasn't it Anthony Carter?), forcing a tougher pass that led to the turnover. On the Lebron 3, the inbounder Mo Williams was being guarded by 6-9 Rashard Lewis, except Lewis was not pressuring Mo at all. He was sagged off of Mo, trying to anticipate where the pass would go. Basically, he was in no man's land. Rashard should've either been up in Mo's face cutting off passing angles, or had his back turned to the inbounder, playing free safety ready to help onto any open cutters, like Lebron ended up being. Massive brain fart by Stan Van right there.
Stan thought they were initially going for the lob, which was the first option but Hedo did a good job of cutting him off. My guess is that's why Rashard was playing that angle.
I give up. With ONE SECOND left in the game, if you honestly believe fouling LeBron was the right thing to do, there isn't much left to say. It is actually very simple that you don't foul with a 2 point lead. Other than it guarantees you put him at the FT line whether he hits or misses the prayer shot. It becomes a lose/lose proposition for the Magic. I assume you know that fouling before the ball is inbounded would give the Cavs one FT and another inbounds pass with no time expiring. The irony of this is that last season (07/08) in a game at Cleveland, Turkey-Glue fouled LeBron on a 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left in regulation with the Magic up 108-105. LeBron hit all 3 FTs to send the game into OT (which the Magic won. A wildly entertaining game BTW). You foul when up by 3 points, not 2, unless there is a foul to give.
Even if the Cavs were going for the lob, Rashard pressuring Mo would have been the right defensive move and made the lob pass (or any pass, for that matterz) more difficult. As it turned out, Rashard was out of position. I don't understand the reasoning behind having Rashard give Mo 5+ feet of cushion on the inbounds play. Giving Mo 5+ feet of cushion does not help in defending a lob pass. He was in No Man's Land.
That was a lucky shot by lebron. Give him credit for making it, but when it left his had I was going to be a little to the right.
After-the-fact when something fails, there are usually regrets. I'm not sure what he had in mind. Maybe putting Pietrus on LeBron instead of Turkey-Glue (what I would have done). Maybe having Gortat contest the inbounds pass instead of Rashard. Any number of possibilities. Who knows?
I was shocked SVG didn't double/sandwich James. I wouldn't let James catch the ball. I wouldn't put anybody on the inbound player, ie. Mo Williams. The other Cavs had to make a shot to tie/beat you. If the Cavs are down 0-2, I bet they will be deflated and done.
I forget to say I would leave Pavlovic more open instead of having Pietrus chasing him out to the mid-court and force Pavlovic to take a shot.
