that final play

[chumdawg]

I've watched that final play about 30 times now, and I don't think that it was a play designed for Finley and Finley only. They say they have run the play time and time again, so I guess somebody here might recognize it and know more about what the options were. But here's what I saw, and my thinking about it.

First of all, like Doug Collins I expected that Nellie might look for a three in that situation. I also expected that (especially if they wanted a three) they would try to run more clock down if they weren't trying to get a quick two and then foul.

So Finley takes the inbound. Nash is way in the corner on the other side of the court. Daniels and Najera are baseline. Dirk runs out to get the inbounds pass. He then hands it off to Finley, who goes to the top of the key, and then disappears on the right side of the floor.

Nash is still in the corner, and now that Dirk has moved off to the right, Finley is isolated in the middle. But he's very high, outside the three point line. He's covered, but I wonder if the plan wasn't for him to shoot a three there if the defense sagged.

Nash spots up in the corner, just behind the three point line. Christie stays on him. Nash puts his hands on his hips. It looks like the plan is for Finley to burn some clock. And Nash obviously isn't going anywhere.

Then Finley penetrates, and I think the plan was for Christie to come over and help, at which time Finley would kick it over to Nash for the three.

When Christie doesn't leave Nash, Fin goes to pull up on Peja, and Nash runs around behind him toward the top of the key, still behind the three-point line. Finley could have passed it then, and Nash probably would have had an open look.

But Finley did that "assertive" thing (that others have blamed Dirk for not doing) and decide to take it on his own. That's the way I see it. Even for Nellie, it doesn't make any sense not to at least start the play with the ball in Nash's hands...unless you were setting up the play for him.

I know that they didn't say anything about this after the game, but you can't trust them to say everything to the media. I think they supported Fin because they had no other choice, but I think Fin didn't do what he was supposed to do. I read a quote from him in another thread where he said something like "I know what I did wrong."

[MightyToine]

geez...that being said, Walker would've been a better choice to take that shot attempt than Finley.... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

[grndmstr_c]

Yeah, I see what you're talking about. If Fin would have spun away from Peja on the jump stop and passed it, Steve would have had his pick. Wide open three, running one hander in the lane, try to get to the line and maybe pick up an and-1 on a layup, penetrate and kick out to an open Dirk at the right elbow. All of them were there.

[dirno2000]

I don't have the game on tape...was there any indication that it could have been a pick play between Fin and Dirk? This is what Donnie hinted around yesterday with Bob and Dan.

[grndmstr_c]

was there any indication that it could have been a pick play between Fin and Dirk?

The only time that's even a possibility, IMO, is off the inbounds pass, but even there Dirk really looked like he had only come out there to get the inbounds pass and get the ball back to Finley. Once Dirk got the ball back to Fin that was pretty much it since Dirk's purpose at that point seemed to be to pull Webber out of the paint by drifting out to the right away from Fin. Mike's options were pretty much shoot or get the ball to Steve once he decided to go left.

[chumdawg]

Agreed, GMC. All of those would have been nice options for Nash. Maybe even find Daniels by the basket. And he definitely had a ton of space on Christie.

Dirno, about the only way I can see any kind of a pick play with Fin and Dirk is if you they wanted to do it right off the inbounds. But Dirk made absolutely no effort to pick Peja. And then Dirk just stood around out past the elbow. If that's what they wanted to do, then somebody really blew an assignment.

[dirno2000]

This one play has probably been way overblown since there were so many others that could have rendered that one unnecessary. That being said, it's interesting the way the Nellie's have attempted to spin it. I would have felt better if they just said, "I'm the damn coach and I'll call the play that I think is best". Donnie sounded really uncomfortable even talking about it.

[Murphy3]

Regardless of what options the final play had, one of the options should not have been Fin creating his own shot.
If the Mavs are going to run a pick and roll, it shouldn't involve finley.

Now, if the Mavs want to penetrate and kick out to an open Fin, that's a different story.

[EricaLubarsky]

I admire Nellie for trusting Finley for that shot when he should have been in the doghouse. Finley is the heart of the team but he has also been one of our worst players in the first two games of the playoffs.

[Variant]

With as much time left on the clock as there was, I was thinking that Fin would go up and pass it away--not shoot it.

[DubOverdose]

Anyone see Rasheed Wallace lose the ball out of bounds last night in the Bucks v. Pistons game? He was passed the ball right in the corner outside of the ark and it slipped straight through his hands in to the crowd. If he had made a shot, the Pistons probably would have one, just like if Finley hadn't lost the ball and made the shot, the Mavs probably would have won.