Wammy Giveaway wrote:
That's what I got off of tonight's game vs. Warriors. Gilgeous-Alexander made a rookie mistake where he could have tear dropped a shot but instead passed it to Bradley because he wanted the dagger, a highlight reel play that would have demoralized the Warriors to a sulking defeat. There are acceptable times of gluttony in basketball, but when it's a close game with some time remaining, two things to keep in mind are the lead and the shot clock. Clippers were one point away from taking the lead; a two-pointer was dandy. What if that same moment was less than a second left, and the moment you either made the pass or shot the ball yourself en route to the cup, the game was over. Now it becomes a Sudden Death Shot. If you passed the ball for a 3-point dagger, you would have lost instantly. Always go for the shot even with the fear of the opponent having just a tenth of a second for their own hero ball shot. But because Shai made the wrong decision with the pass for a Bradley 3-pointer, the Clippers were immediately punished with a Curry 3, with Bradley fouling for good karmic measure.
Shai played 28 minutes, scored 3 points with 2 assists but 2 turnovers, and finished with by far a team-worst minus-15. He sucked across the board.
You could call it karma, or just that Shai is struggling bigtime because he also had a crap game vs. the Mavs, a team-worst minus-19 where every other starter was in the plus, even Gortat.
Everybody struggles from time to time. I believe in Shai. And this was his first exposure to championship-level NBA basketball, playing the Dubs, one of the greatest teams of all time. Shai's mind was blown, as well it should have.
Even against the greatest guard tandem in the league, Avery and Pat Bev had pretty good games, they're veterans. Next time Shai faces GSW, he'll be a veteran too.
