10-26-2023, 08:38 PM
I went back and watched the final 3 minutes again. We were down 1 when Lively came in for Maxi at about 2:30. Our next possession was a PnR with Luka and Lively. Collins was helpless back peddling all the way to the rim basically. This is the play where Luka didn’t throw the pass, but stopped short and got the and-one. I mentioned this during the summer, but I don’t know how anyone defends that with Kyrie, Williams and Green on the floor. You can’t leave anyone and you can’t guard Luka and Lively two on two.
Case in point…Next time down, San Antonio brought help. This is the wide open 3 from Kyrie.
Next time down was a 3-on-1 fast break…bucket Irving.
Next time Irving misses a long 3, but Lively gets his fifth O-Rebound and Luka 3 and say goodnight.
I wasn’t a huge fan of those last two shots, but the clock was the most important thing at that point. We won’t always have mediocre Johnson trying to do too much in the paint two possessions in a row either. But, that closing lineup is encouraging.
Given we played 36 games where we were +/- 3 points in the final 30 seconds (Credit Damaris), late execution can be a 10-12 game swing in the tight west. Do it well and we could host a playoff round. Do it poorly and we are hoping for ping pong balls again. Part of picking 48 wins was the idea that we have two late game savants surrounded by good defenders who can either hit shots or create massive vertical gravity. Hopefully, Kidd will design some actual plays to run the final play of the game this year.
Case in point…Next time down, San Antonio brought help. This is the wide open 3 from Kyrie.
Next time down was a 3-on-1 fast break…bucket Irving.
Next time Irving misses a long 3, but Lively gets his fifth O-Rebound and Luka 3 and say goodnight.
I wasn’t a huge fan of those last two shots, but the clock was the most important thing at that point. We won’t always have mediocre Johnson trying to do too much in the paint two possessions in a row either. But, that closing lineup is encouraging.
Given we played 36 games where we were +/- 3 points in the final 30 seconds (Credit Damaris), late execution can be a 10-12 game swing in the tight west. Do it well and we could host a playoff round. Do it poorly and we are hoping for ping pong balls again. Part of picking 48 wins was the idea that we have two late game savants surrounded by good defenders who can either hit shots or create massive vertical gravity. Hopefully, Kidd will design some actual plays to run the final play of the game this year.
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