Everybody talks about how important “two for one” possessions are.  While I agree, I tend to believe (at least early in games) that I would rather get a good shot and not have a “two for one” situation, rather than forcing up a bad shot just to preserve the “two for one.”  However, one thing I believe is that a team should always get the last shot of the quarter if possible.  In the first quarter of game three, the Celtics found themselves in a situation where they could hold for the last shot, but they weren’t able to execute.

Despite the fact that the shot clock isn’t off, the Celtics should have been able to hold for the final shot of the quarter, because you have to consider the time it takes for a shot to get to the rim and for the rebound to bounce in the hands of a rebounder.  Here is the play that closed out the 1st quarter:

So what happened here?  Well for one, Rasheed Wallace comes up to set the screen way too early.  Also, Nate Robinson decides to use the screen too early and this sets into motion the Celtics’ play…yup you guessed it…too early.  So instead of taking a shot that clanks off the rim as time expires, the rebound goes long and lands in Derek Fisher’s hands who kicks it ahead to Lamar Odom, and Odom finishes with the three point play.  So it is bad enough that the Celtics don’t get the basket, but what makes it worse is that the Lakers get three points out of it.  A big six point swing, that I kept thinking about as Boston struggled to get over the hump late in the fourth quarter.