Ball Don't Lie

Sorry, but when he's that hot and has a shot available at 18 feet, a shot he hit about 8 times throughout the game from different spots on the floor, passing it there is insane, especially to a struggling shooter.

18 foot pullup by the sizzling hot best player in the NBA, or a 16 foot shot for a great role player who had been struggling throughout the game. The choice was clear.

And if Spoelstra actually drew that play up for Haslem, if I was Pat Riley, I'd fire him right after the game. That would be one of the worst coaching decisions so far this decade if he actually did that. If Lebron wasn't in ridiculous Beasley/DWilliams type God mode(from Clips game), then maybe I could see it from the attention he was drawing, but given how insanely in the zone he was, anyone else taking the shot is completely ridiculous. You have to shoot that shot 100% of the time.

SomeDPlease

Nites

Torap is like Steven A. Smith lol

Toby

Anybody see a tank with a Blazers symbol go by? Or is that a Raptors only product?

Fudge

Toby

And the question isn't why LeBron passed to Haslem for the final shot.
The question should be: Why the heck did Spo put Haslem in the lineup, knowing you had to hit a final second shot?

LX

Haslem can make that shot in his sleep, most of the time. If you start acting like a guy can't shoot while he's in a slump, then you're lost. I've seen a hot Lebron start trying to do too much himself too many times, with terrible results. I've seen him drive against Utah late, this season, and be shut down.

Maybe there's something going on his head. Maybe. But it's not like he's never hit clutch shots before, let alone taken them, so seeing him make the right play in this particular situation, all things considered, isn't worth too much concern.

bjjs

First, I thinking blaming anybody is a bit farfetched for a final play in a regular season game that led to an open shot.

But...

I understand where you're coming from. Fact is, there is something going on with Lebron in the clutch. You can see it in his face, and they need to get him confident in that situation going into the playoffs.

If I'm Spo I leave Lebron at the top of the key and spread the court. You send the message to him and his teammates that you trust him and you're going to win or lose with him.

Running a pick and roll is bringing a second defender to Lebron, and when both defenders stick the right play is the pass that he made.

And if teammates are stuck watching Lebron, not ready with the balls to make the clutch shot like a Fisher has been for Kobe over and over again. You stick them on the bench in that situation next time.

bjjs

Haslem is a good teammates, he's probably sick that Lebron is taking heat for his miss. He's the type of guy who will want the opportunity to knock it down next time.

Ball Don't Lie

Haslem hits that shot a lot of the time, but again, he was struggling bigtime in that game, and the best player in the NBA was hot as fuck, who should have taken the shot? Its clear IMO.

And there's a difference between struggling and just having no confidence in your shot, and I think with Haslem it was the latter in the Jazz game. I remember him throwing up at least 2 airballs on wide open shots in the first few quarters.

But again, if Spoelstra is the one that drew that play up, I'd fire his ass.

But as a Heat hater, I hope they dont and they continue to draw up plays like that in the playoffs when one of their big 3 is scorching hot so they continue to lose.

ClutchCity

This just isn't true man. He will not make that shot most of the time. Most of the time means OVER 50%. That's simply not true...especially in this season where he's shooting well below 30% from 10-15 feet. And that number only drops with the game on the line. Coming off his foot injury from last season, combined with no training camp, shortened season, less frequent practices, etc., he just isn't making that shot consistently enough. Now, I'm not saying he's not capable of making that shot. I've seen him make it consistently throughout his career...but to suggest he makes that shot most of the time is simply untrue. Maybe in previous years yes, but even then it may be a stretch. In fact, starting with his rookie season he has shot 42%, 45%, 39%, 37% from 10-15 feet. Last season he played just 13 games but shot over 50%. This season? He's shooting a miserable 16% from 10-15 feet. Haslem's bread and butter is the midrange jumper, but the way he's been shooting it this season, combined with the fact he had just 4 points and the game was on the line, I don't think LeBron should have passed it to him. No doubt it was a decent shot...the question is, did LeBron pass up a better shot? IMO he did.

JDMtors

I love Mike Wilbon, Magic and Jon are all talking about this before the Knicks game. Lebron needs to feel more comfortable in taking that last shot. They showed stats, and even Bosh is more clutch than Lebron

LX

I could be wrong, but as I remember it, the shot was within 10 feet. If he would have hit this shot, it could have helped him tremendously. The Heat need him to be able to hit that shot, so it wasn't terrible to see if he could gain some confidence before it gets to the point where he becomes Ben Wallace and just gets left undefended.

ClutchCity

I just watched it again, and it was a 16-17 footer.

LX

The play-by-play says 18 ft, so you're more than correct. But it still would have been a very good thing for U if he'd made it.

Honestly, as a Heat fan, I worry more about Lebron going the other direction and needing to take all the big shots. There is enough talent on that team that he should be able to set up the perfect shots for someone else, especially once Bosh is back. If nothing else they might have a clear indication of what your saying about Haslem not recovering his form completely since his injury.

ClutchCity

I agree. That's exactly why I didn't rag on him after the All-Star game. I thought me made a good decision. I just didn't agree with the pass to Haslem, that's all.

bjjs

Ord-lin-ary

Knicks will have a pg controversy going into the playoffs. Lin needs some more seasoning, if I was D'Antoni I would feel more confident with B.diddy and Lin off the bench.

Beans

"Great job Utah Jazz for leaving Haslem open."

Beans

I don't watch a ton of Celtics games. I get the impression that Keyon Dooling = Bayless? A guy that's probably best suited as a backup SG energy player. Boston doesn't seem to have a decent backup PG which kind of makes me wonder about the validity of Rondo trade rumors.

Too bad Peaches isn't shooting well today.

Beans

Lin with as many turnovers as points

ClutchCity

Jeremy Lin!