Game 1 between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers was full of heroic acts from various players. Chris “Birdman Birdman” Anderson was hitting clutch free throws, shot seven-of-seven from the field and came up with key defensive plays. Dwyane Wade was, at times, incredible on finishing plays at the rim. Chris Bosh, who was visibly absent on the glass throughout the game, grabbed a crucial offensive rebound in overtime (only his second rebound of the game) and converted on a putback for a 3-point play for an all-important tie. Paul George was close to being the ultimate hero, hitting a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, then hitting three clutch free throws to take the lead after getting fouled by Wade with just 2.2 seconds remaining in the game.
In the end, though, it was LeBron James – who finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double – that came through and ended the game on a driving layup against an unsuspecting George from the left side out of the final timeout:
With shooters spreading the floor and rim-protector Roy Hibbert out of the game, James had an open lane to attack and didn’t think twice to do just that. It was somewhat of a curious decision by George to let James have so much room to attack by guarding him from the left side rather than face him straight up, given how comfortable James is at driving to his left. Why give him a lane at all with so little time remaining on the clock? In George’s defense, James did give him a bit of a shove to get some space on the catch, which is about all he needed to throw George off rhythm.
The bigger question, however was raised by a number of people on twitter, including former defensive big man Jermaine O’Neal and Grantland’s Bill Simmons:
It’s true that if Hibbert was in the game and in the paint, James would not have gotten such an easy look to conclude the contest. The problem is this: if Hibbert did stay in the game, he would have been forced to guard Bosh, who was about 16 feet from the basket (and would have been even further out had Hibbert been in the game). You could argue that you’d rather have Bosh shoot a jump shot over a James’ layup, but now you’re under the assumption that James was going to blow by George in any circumstance, which wasn’t supposed to be the case. You also can’t assume that Hibbert would rotate that quickly away from Bosh to protect the rim against James with such little time remaining on the clock. Most importantly, you don’t just give a wide-open shot to a knockdown shooter like Bosh to end the game. That’s called bad defense. Given these scenarios, Frank Vogel’s decision to bench Hibbert wasn’t the most unreasonable one, as some claim.
After the game, Hibbert admitted that he has had issues guarding Bosh out in the perimeter in not only Game 1, but throughout the season. Vogel probably understood this fact better than anyone, and chose to go with players with better mobility to defend the perimeter. Obviously, it didn’t quite pan out as he may have hoped, but this is just one of those scenarios: tip your hat to LeBron for a brilliant decision and finish.
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You all got to understand that their was only 2 seconds, they would not of had too much time to kick it out to Bosh and him fire away. he might of got it off but it would of been a low percent, but i dont think Lebron would of passed it all.
If LeBron didn’t pass his shot would have been contested. If he did pass then someone besides LeBron is taking the shot. That is why Hibbert needed to be on the floor. Thanks for reading.