Here’s the play:
Dwane Casey commenting on the play:
The look was for Rudy. They did a good job of double-teaming and getting the ball out of his hands. He had options with DeMar and they left Amir there, and Rudy coulda, woulda, shoulda, had a shot, didn’t take it. He found Amir, and he had a clean look, it was straight, right on line and he works on that shot every day in practice. He had other options, but he made that decision and we got to live with it. I trust Rudy in that situation.
Please notice that in the GIF there is zero ball movement. Zero. None. The entire play is Rudy going one-on-one, making it a very easy double team for the Nets. Obviously, the Nets helped off of one of the worst three-point shooters on the floor and got the result they wanted – a long jumper by a guy who rarely shoots threes and is, you know, a power forward. This is a victory for the defense and a loss for the offense by any standards. How you can dress this up as “I trust Rudy in that situation” and “[Amir] works on that shot every day” is beyond me. The post-game comment from the coach should be “we didn’t get the shot we wanted”, that is all.
We were down two at home, not three and the age old rule goes go for the tie at home and the win on the road. Make the refs make the call, not bail out the defense that’s been on its heels for the last three minutes. The shot was also taken too late, not leaving sufficient time for offensive rebounding and, not to mention, there are ZERO offensive rebounders on the floor as the shot goes up. Where is Valanciunas? Where is Hansbrough? Why is Steve Novak the main offensive rebounder?
Shocking way to lose to an injury-ridden out-of-form Nets team.
