I did something like this last year... although I included the playoffs last time. Considering that we actually made it out of the 1st round this year, we could probably create a thread on its own to acknowledge great plays in the post season alone. But there were some pretty nice plays this season. Here are the 3 plays that come to mind, feel free to nominate your own. 1) Von Wafer's 3 pointer in Boston- A depleted Rockets team went into Boston to face the defending champions after getting beat at home earlier in the season. Down by 1 going into the closing seconds of the game, Von Wafer found himself open in the corner, and made the 3 giving the Rockets the lead and eventually the victory. 2) Chuck Hayes game winning charge against the Nuggets- Up by 1, Klieza drove to the basket, knocking over Chuck Hayes drawing a charge. Houston went on to win a close game in Denver. 3) Brooks with the game winning drive past Shaq- Nash and Brooks went back and forth on each other throughout the game. Nash won the battle, scoring 34 points to Brooks' 30, but Brooks won the war with the game winning layup just out of Shaqs reach. 4) Scola's game winning layup against San Antonio- It didn't win us the division, but that win put us in the middle of a 4 man race between us, the Spurs, the Nuggets and the Blazers. 5) Yao's game winning and-1 against the Blazers- To answer Brandon Roy's game winning basket in overtime, Yao had his own game winning basket. Officially the game went down as a loss, but we all know who the true winner of that game was.
(won't bite off your list) 2nd game of the season...Artest 3 to put away Mavs @ Dallas. Remember when Washington was kicking our asses? Then T-Mac hit 4 3s in the 4th and Yao Dunked on JaVale McGee to lead our boys to a 12 pt win. Yao's monster 4th qtr vs GS when Anthony Randolph dunked on Yao and it pissed the big fella off. AB's 3 to end the Mavs hopes in his 1st start after the Rafer deal. Yao swatting LeBron in Houston. T-Mac's dunk over Tyrus Thomas.
I voted for other: My play of the season was....... (drum roll) ........... Shane Battier's tan after the All-Star Break There you have it folks!
There isn't a whole lot to pick from. All the best parts have happened in the playoffs. If I had to choose, probably Scola's game winning layup in San Antonio. That's because it's the only one I can remember vividly.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dOtV9zatazk&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/dOtV9zatazk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Classic!
The final two plays of the San Antonio game were the best. Beating SA on their homecourt to take the divison lead was a watershed moment for this franchise. A decade of living in San Antonio's shadow ended that night. It was made all the better because our franchise player assisted our budding international star, whom we stole out of the cubbard of the exact team we were playing against. It was THE play of the season.
Out of the choices, I picked Yao's turnaround jumper. That was THE most clutch shot of this entire season. Just sucks that Roy got that shot off, albeit not in time, to win the game.
Ok... but we're talking regular season here. We could do a separate thread for the playoffs. There are plays just in the playoffs that were epic. Yao's 18 footer after coming back in game 1. Chucks charge against the Blazers to seal the win. Landry's slam the other night against LA. The alley oop in game 4 obviously was nice. Von Wafer's 3 was nice, it was the biggest shot because we shouldn't have been in that game. But I'm thinking either Scola's layup because of the importance of the win, or Brook's drive... because that was almost his coming out party.
I agree. Maybe it's a bit of "what have you done for me lately?" and I'm still pumped about it, but how can you top the incredible halfcourt pass from Artest, followed by hops the nation didn't know he had, with the beautiful finish, from Brooks? Gotta be my favorite play!
