A Late Rotation Ends The Game For Dallas
Late in the fourth quarter of their game against the Thunder, the Dallas Mavericks showed they had one more run left in them, cutting the lead down to seven points with about two minutes left. The Thunder responded by letting the shot clock wind down and then run a pick and roll. A poor defensive rotation by the Mavericks, allowed the Thunder to get a wide open lay-up and effectively put the game away for good.
Jeff Green, who was playing center for the Thunder at this point in the game, comes up to set a screen for Russell Westbrook at the foul line. He sets the screen at the foul line instead of way up top because it allows him to roll and get to the rim quicker.
Tyson Chandler quickly shows at Westbrook, but it just a hedge, not a switch. This means that Jason Kidd must get through the screen and return to Westbrook. With both PNR defenders approaching Westbrook, this means that Green is rolling uncovered to the rim. As a result, Shawn Marion is responsible for rotating into the paint and not let Jeff Green make the catch.
Shawn Marion hesitates though and doesn’t rotate quick enough to make a play on the basketball. As you can see here, the ball is still in the air, and Marion still hasn’t made is rotation yet.
The result is Marion whiffing on the steal attempt, allowing Jeff Green to take an easy lay-up. Here is the play in real time:
The hesitation from Marion really becomes apparent in the video, and this was a key basket for the Thunder. It looked like the Mavericks were going to have a chance to get back in this game, but by extending the lead to nine, the Thunder effectively ended the game.
