- 1,625
- 412
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2003
Was that not the right basketball play to make though? Anybody who has even played Pick Up Ball knows that was a great pass to an open player. Hill got fouled, missed the go ahead free throw, JR tricked the game into OT, Lebron didn't close it out. The hate overshadows real basketball logic in here but continue lol.
First, I mentioned three different things in my post. You focused on one of them, but you also admitted to the one that I would consider the most important (i.e. "Lebron didn't close it out [in OT]").
Second, I never said passing to George Hill in that situation was "not the right basketball play to make."
Even if I had said that, I would say that we don't know what would have happened if Hill hadn't been fouled. From an in-game perspective, I don't know which opportunity would have had a higher probability of success... George Hill in the lane with a collapsing Warriors defense (assuming he caught the pass) or lebronze one-on-one with Curry on the perimeter. I'm not saying which one is better, but I think you can argue both ways, especially if you hold lebronze in high regard.
I would also note that a team's best player doesn't always make the "right basketball play," especially in crunch time. Typical perimeter player isolations at the end of a game are definitely not usually the "right basketball play," but they happen all the time... and that's exactly what lebronze was about to do before Hill made his move. The way that lebronze "executed" that sequence, it seems he was intending to hold for the last shot. (Note: You could argue that, since they were down by one with plenty of time remaining when their possession started, the "right basketball play" was not to hold for the last shot in that situation.)
However, holding for the last shot is what a team's best perimeter player usually does in crunch time situations, and that's where you cement your status as a legend when you deliver. We have seen lebronze shy away from this situation many times (yes, I'm aware he made two game winners previously in the 2018 playoffs; honestly, that should have given him more reason to throw one up in this situation). Outside of true point guards who are pass-first and/or don't have a physical advantage over their opponent (and lebronze), I don't recall anyone else getting a pass for trying to make the "right basketball play" that ultimately failed. Why does he get a pass for this when almost every great player is judged by the end result when they fail, whether they took the shot or not?
Finally, if we're really looking for who made the "right basketball play" here, George Hill should get the credit for moving around to the open space, since lebronze was just sitting out there with the ball for about 5 seconds with time almost running out. (On the telecast, Mark Jackson almost immediately praised Hill for "moving without the basketball" after the play occurred.)
Again, I never said it wasn't the "right" play to make. However, I do think there are legitimate arguments to question it, and, ultimately, his decision failed.