Just assuming that Dwight could catch an alley oop from that angle is nuts. 1) His back is to the basket (would have to be a 360 oop) 2) Lillard is fronting him, notice him jumping in the air as he misreads Lin's pass to Daniels 3) Howard isn't moving towards the basket and 3 feet out so you're expecting him to just jump for the 360 Oop from a stand still position. I think he's more likely to catch and attempt to dunk opening him to a foul on the ground, or worse a deflection/interception by Lillard With Dwight also having deep inside position by the basket for the rebound, I'll take the open 3 by Daniels.
Exactly. Since everyone knows that any decent player scrambling on the floor frantically to corral the ball always has all the views of the cameras, including slow motion before calmly making his decision of who to pass too. . OK LET'S PLAY. iF Lin had passed to Howard who dunked for two and the Blazers came down and Lilliard or Aldridge hit a three to win, you would pissed at Lin for failing to pass to the open three point shooter. BUT OF COURSE.
if Lin lob to Dwight and a Blazers player deflects it... everyone will be calling for his head ... see that is a what if too.
Just a note to the guys saying that people should stop whining since we won: Recognizing and discussing faults and mistakes even after a W is not a bad thing. Same goes for recognizing the things that went right in a loss and looking for ways to retain them while adjusting the rest of your playing. Obviously we're not the coaching stuff so all our discussion is merely for our own entertainment, but discussion is what forums are for. This is a good thing, it's a healthy reaction and the sign of a mature, knowledgable fanbase. The opposite of this is called knee-jerking. Realizing this will probably make it easier to understand why people wanna talk about our alternate options, even on wildly successful plays.
I really don't know, maybe he hesitated a second and then it was too late to pass to Dwight. He was scrambling off the floor. It would have been a difficult pass.
Passing to a wide open player in his preferred position? Of course not. It was a choice that ended up being a good one, but I think it's worth discussing if people feel so inclined, with people of opposing views giving proper replies instead of using "but we won" as a cop-out.
Okay I'll play this stupid what if game. So you say a lob to Dwight was an easy play? Looked like he was still guarded to me. If a lob was thrown to Dwight, it would have been read since he was guarded, most likely he would have been fouled. Also, Lin throwing lobs to Dwight has not been a regular thing during the season, they also have no chemistry on that pass. What if that lob goes wrong? Let's see, Dwight on the free throw line/possible bad lob pass, or Daniels for an open three? I'll take the guy who made a shiet ton of threes, even if it's Dleague threes.
Feigan's article. http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterocke...daniels-instant-celebrity-and-the-final-play/
Dude... give Lin credit in this case. It was a very heads up sequence in the midst of super quick and utter chaos. With the way Lillard had been playing, I honestly would not have been shocked to see him somehow sprout wings and steal the ball out of the air even on a high lob. Troy Daniels was wide open when the D was collapsing on Lin after he saved the ball and when you have a WIDE OPEN sharpshooter on the perimeter, you GIVE HIM THE BALL!
It is funny that you pose that question because I couldn't understand for the life of me why he didn't throw the lob to Dwight when he only had Lillard on him under the basket. That to me would have been the smartest and most logical decision, but it worked out at the end of the day and we wouldn't have even been in a position to win the game had he not stolen the ball back so I'll say I would have been disappointed in his decision to not throw the lob to Howard, but because he was the one that actually made the play to even get us a shot cancels that out in the end.
LOL....what if what if.What if Lillard going backwards undercut Dwight and caused a foul and Howard missed both foul shots?? What if the alley oop did work, and then Portland goes for a 3 which is harder to defend when you're only up 2....and let's say they hit it! Then the Rockets are done 3-0.
Scrambling for the loose ball that Harden lost, managing to grab it while essentially on the floor, and then instantly finding an open man to pass to? Uh, no, I'm not gonna complain about that AT ALL. As far as I am concerned that was just as important as Daniels hitting the shot.
Daniels is in there for one reason only, to shoot that open 3. I know it's only D-league, but he set a record with the most 3s made. That guy can shoot and if he is open, you pass to him.
This line of thought is same as when I see harden iso, and im like pass the ball pass it! and then takes a contested 2 and im like ****!, but then it goes in and im like ok im happy go harden! lol
