I alluded to this play in a post earlier today talking about Farmar’s error on the defensive end.  However, the Nets wouldn’t have  even been in that position if it wasn’t for a fantastic play that Jordan Farmar made seconds earlier.  Down by three points, Kris Humphries was at the line shooting his one free throw granted to him after an And 1.  Now, Humphries is no Josh Boone, but he is a pretty poor foul shooter (69.2% this preseason), so it was a good bet that he was going to miss the foul shot.  Jordan Farmar took advantage:

Now, this play is all about timing.  If Farmar goes ahead and stands right at the three point line, Toney Douglas and the rest of the Knicks would probably figure out what he was up to.

Because he takes a running start from so far away and times it that he is going just about full speed as Humphries releases the ball, Farmar is able to get himself to the rim before anyone puts a body on him.

At first glance, you have to think that Farmar made some sort of violation since he was able to get there so quickly (by watching the Knicks’ protest, they must of thought the same thing), however if you go to the NBA rulebook (specifically rule 10, section I, subsection c), you see that everything is by the book:

A player who occupies a free throw lane space shall not touch the floor on or across the free throw lane line, nor shall any player ‘back out’ more than 3′ from the free throw lane line. A player who does not occupy a free throw lane space must remain behind the three-point line. This restriction applies until the ball leaves the free thrower’s hands.

Now you need a little bit of luck on a play like this (the ball has to take the proper bounce), and it happens here.  Great play by Farmar.

With the game tied at 94, Tyreke Evans was working an ISO situation that he created for himself (he initially waived off the screen that was supposed to be set for him).  Evans is able to get to the lane and hit a crazy double clutched layup on three people.  It was a fantastic individual play, but it was weak help defense from the Clippers that let Evans get to the rim and do his thing.

The primary suspect here is Al-Farouq Aminu (the same man who just banked home a 30 footer).  He isn’t in proper help position, and is more worried about his man than the basketball.  Where should Aminu be positioned?  Well, look at where his teammate is on the other side of the court.  Since, Evans is in the middle of the floor, Aminu should be in the same position as his teammate, one foot on the block, opened up to the basketball, with an eye on your man.

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With the help of Jordan Farmar scored 21 points for the Nets, and made a fantastic play off of a missed free throw to even give the Nets’ a chance (more on this play later today), but when they needed to get a stop, it was Farmar making the key mistake that resulted in a Toney Douglas three pointer.

As the pick and roll gets started, Jordan Farmar walks towards the middle of the court to get himself in help position.

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