tsherkin wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
I disagree that it was an iffy proposition because he clearly had Yao on a string at that point and, more importantly, in the air after the pump fake before the turnaround hook. All he had to do was go up and lean in and BAM, foul called.
Watch carefully at the 21-24 second mark; he gets Yao moving along the baseline and then fakes him up off his feet... but he doesn't see it because he's committed to turning around for the hook at this point. At :23, Yao is jumping from inside of the restricted zone towards the sideline from which Al originated his move, which means he didn't even have to lean in, he just had to go straight up and that's a blatant and egregious foul on Yao's behalf...
And before you wonder about "star treatment" or anything, not only was it blatant but even this season, Yao gets the shaft from the refs on plays like that. It was a money-in-the-bank scenario but he was turning and didn't see Yao lift off so he couldn't react.
It was a mistake.
He had Yao on a string in that he got him to bite on the fake, but drawing the foul was an iffier proposition than the point blank jump hook. Jefferson would have had to jump away from the basket a bit to draw the contact, and the shot he got for himself was money in the bank. There are certainly other times where Jefferson doesn't do enough to draw contact, but he made the right choice in this instance. Al got himself a wide open shot from inside the restricted zone, right in front of the rim. It was more of a sure thing for that shot to go in than it was for the foul to be called.
)
He could have been so great...
