After the Wizards hit a three pointer to send the game into overtime, I thought that the Wizards were going to be able to use that momentum to steal the game from the Bobcats. However, the exact opposite happened as the Bobcats outscored the Wizards 13-4 in the final 5 minute period.
The key seemed to be the Bobcats willingness to attack the basket. The Bobcats seemed determined to get themselves inside the paint every possession of overtime. Each time, it resulted in one of two things; a trip to the foul line or an easy basket:
Possession 1 – Gerald Wallace Gets To The Line Using A Screen
On this play, the Bobcats set up what looks to be an ISO set for Gerald Wallace. At the last moment, Tyson Chandler comes up and sets a screen for Wallace. Wallace uses the screen and gets all the way to the rim, where he is fouled.
Usually when I talk about plays late in games, they end up resulting in a win or a tie. Last night against the Cavs, the Spurs missed a game tying three point shot, but we are still going to talk about it here. Why? It was one of the best late game play calls I have seen in a really long time.
The Spurs start this play by sending George Hill into the far corner, Manu Ginobili into the near corner, and Roger Mason off of a Tim Duncan screen right to the ball. It looks like the Spurs are trying to set up a quick hitter for Roger Mason off the inbounds, but Richard Jefferson inbounds it to Manu instead.
When you watch a NBA game, there is a pretty good chance that you will see a pick and roll ran a couple times. It is one of the few sets that you see every team in the NBA run. The reason? When run correctly, the pick and roll is probably the hardest play in the NBA to defend. This is because there are so many options: you got the guy coming off the screen, you have the screener either rolling to the basket or popping out for a jumper. Not only that, but because you have all eyes focused on the two men running the pick and roll there are opportunities for the cutters or guys spotting up for 3. I put together a video of all 30 teams running the pick and roll. What I think is awesome about this (besides the fact I made it) is that this is one play ran just about 30 different ways. Enjoy (3 or 4 NSFW words in there):
