Man if that was Dwight instead of Tjones i'm 100% certain Harden makes that pass. Hell even if it was Capella he probably would've dunked it over Iguodala.
man, what a tough one to swallow. i understand this is the very nature of sports, but it's still rare. those lucky bastards. not calling a time out initially was the right play for sure. but when the ball got to dwight's hands, that's the moment we (1)either call a time out right there (mchale probably was a bit slow react to it); or (2) dwight needed to charge to the hoop for a dunk. there's no one to stop him. you can say he lacked killer instinct, but it's a lot easier for we fans to say this after the fact. look, we had 2 close games in the toughest arena, both of which we had a chance to win. my confidence and hope are not down a bit. this is gonna be a long series.
McHale said: "When we got the rebound, someone fell down for [the Warriors] and someone was out of bounds for them. I mean, I could draw up a lot of plays, but there wasn't going to be one guy laying on his back and one guy out of bounds. So I just let them go." Completely agree. By the time they caught up its too late for the to.
So you would rather have McHale draw up a game-winning play from out-of-bounds with a few seconds left?
I probably would need to watch the last play again but did it seems Howard took his time running the floor? I like to think if he ran with a sense of urgency maybe he gets their in time to pickoff one of the trapper with screen allowing Harden more room to create.
i still think not calling t/o initially definitely was the right move. and give them some credit, too. their transition defense on this play and throughout the series was very good.
There are 9 seconds when the Rockets get the ball and the warriors had numbers back on defense. I think you draw up a play for the last shot there.
I screamed for a timeout the second Dwight touched the ball, but the decision was justifiable. You can be just as upset about Dwight (and Harden!) missing clutch FTs
Trying to score on the broken defense is a good idea, particularly when it's extremely clear who wants to take that shot for us. But once they stopped the ball he should have called a timeout, and then Howard should have called a timeout instead of giving it back to a double teamed Harden. I think they both panicked in the heat of the moment. Tough way to finish, but he was magnificent, I can't be too mad that he screwed up on the last play.
Defense wasn't set. We call timeout they get a timeout too. Time to set up, read the play, and call their own timeout. Great call just poorly executed.
This one was on Harden. The problem with Harden is he's got that "I gotta take the last shot to win it all" mentality. That's a good thing to have but the defense (regardless of how chaotic it might be) also know this. So when you're not set and you see Harden have the ball, trap him. Make him pass the ball. Don't let him take the winning shot. Harden, with all his great passing abilities, never learned to trust his teammates. Something the greats like Jordan, Bird, Lebron were able to do. THIS ONE IS ON YOU HARDEN!
McHale's weakness exposed. He doesn't run too many plays and is not X' and O's so I doubt he has confidence against a set defense so he just let his superstar do what he wants and hopefully bail us out. Should have called timeout the moment play broke down and Dwight got the ball
For those of you wanting a timeout on the last play you must not watch many rockets games cause we have been horrible on plays after timeouts we did the right thing by running the floor it just didn't work out
I completely agree with Mchale's decision at that moment. This is what defines superstars...these moments. Harden has done it the entire season...You go with the horse that got you there. If anything, i felt James' mind was running faster than time... He will learn and he will deliver if given another chance. You know it. I know it...If Harden had a clean look, he was gonna let it go. And he most likely wouldve made it. You have to give credit to Curry and Klay for making a great defensive gamble. You gotta stop ripping Mchale's innate deficiency...He has never shown us that he was an X and O guy...but the way his boys are playing is a direct reflection of his leadership...