Anyone notice smart tried to purposely miss that last free throw ?

[BudweiserCeltic]

https://youtu.be/lxvN4hkFBwg

You can see The whole bench was disappointed when smart makes the free throw so everyone knew the strategy.  It seems Stevens idea here was if you miss the 1st one (or even if you make it), try to get the rebound and quickly score again to seal the deal.

Seemed risky cuz you could get called for a foul in that mosh pit

Not at all lol. You miss because it gives them less time to get a shot off and they don't get to take the ball out of bounds. We were only up 1, so the difference between being up 1 or 2 didn't matter. At best they would get a heave up if Smart was able to miss it.

This is the issue for me. If you're only up 1, you're at the mercy of refs calling you for a foul, which puts Philly on the free-throw line and can take easily the lead. I prefer to be up 2 and let Philly give it their best attempt. Or as you saw, play well the passing lanes and don't even give them the opportunity.

[bopna]

Yes, everyone watching the game did.

I didn't agree with it, glad it went in.

Why so?.
Missing it would be the best plan ever in that situation because the ball can go in any direction if you miss it then it becomes a loose ball which technically could be caromed by anyone.. This runs the clock a bit further and desperation heaves just in case they get the ball has a very low probability of going in.

I really cannot understand how hard is it to intentionally miss a FT... Allyou have to do is shoot it at an angle that hits the side of the rim and not the hole or shoot the board because it probably banks in..

At any case we won with an interception pass but why Simmons went for Covington instead of Saric who was partially open was probably a mistake.. Dodged a bullet there.

[LarBrd33]

I love smart but he’s one of the worst shooters of all time.  It’s hilarious that a shot like that goes in accidentally.  Also the catch-and-flip 3-pointer that came after the buzzer.  Of course that nonsense goes in but he can’t make a standard wide open jump shot.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Yes, everyone watching the game did.

I didn't agree with it, glad it went in.

Why so?.
Missing it would be the best plan ever in that situation because the ball can go in any direction if you miss it then it becomes a loose ball which technically could be caromed by anyone.. This runs the clock a bit further and desperation heaves just in case they get the ball has a very low probability of going in.

I really cannot understand how hard is it to intentionally miss a FT... Allyou have to do is shoot it at an angle that hits the side of the rim and not the hole or shoot the board because it probably banks in..

At any case we won with an interception pass but why Simmons went for Covington instead of Saric who was partially open was probably a mistake.. Dodged a bullet there.

As I mentioned in a post prior to you posting yours, I don't like to be at the mercy of the refs calling a foul on us and letting Philly win it by hitting 2 free-throws. I thought there was too much time still.

[spikelovetheCelts]

I love smart but he’s one of the worst shooters of all time.  It’s hilarious that a shot like that goes in accidentally.  Also the catch-and-flip 3-pointer that came after the buzzer.  Of course that nonsense goes in but he can’t make a standard wide open jump shot.

I hope he has one hot game again against Cleveland we will need all we can muster to win the series.

[Alleyoopster]

What did you think of Marcus' off-balanced, catch-n'-shoot-in-mid-air 3 point shot that he made after the 24 second clock went off? If it happened beforehand it would have been iconic.

As for hitting the foul shot....much better than missing the rim entirely. Not going to fault him. Missing purposely isn't as easy as it looks. We saw Kyrie miss the rim completely this season in a similar situtation. That's probably why coaches don't have their players attempt it very often. 

[libermaniac]

I think you might want to consider changing the title of this post.  "Anyone notice"?  Huh?  It wasn't subtle.  I think you mean "Why did Smart try to purposely miss that last free throw?".

[Ogaju]

Of course, right? The best option there [by far] was missing the free throw, letting Philly secure the rebound, and then hoist up a 90-footer. Instead, he missed the more important free throw, blew the miss, and then picked off the pass in Marcus Smart fashion.

I do think people are overrating the free-safety pick off, though. Almost any other player would have at least gotten a hand on the ball resulting in the clock running out. Even if Philly miraculously caught the ball, they still have to make another off-balance desperation shot.

You mean like Middleton and Battalenni did?

[kozlodoev]

I love smart but he’s one of the worst shooters of all time.  It’s hilarious that a shot like that goes in accidentally.  Also the catch-and-flip 3-pointer that came after the buzzer.  Of course that nonsense goes in but he can’t make a standard wide open jump shot.

I'm a little stunned that you're back But welcome nonetheless.

[GreenShooter]

It's a good thing Philly didn't have a timeout left or we might be going to game 6. They would've gotten the ball past half court. 2+ change seconds left is plenty of time to get a good shot off.

[jambr380]

Of course, right? The best option there [by far] was missing the free throw, letting Philly secure the rebound, and then hoist up a 90-footer. Instead, he missed the more important free throw, blew the miss, and then picked off the pass in Marcus Smart fashion.

I do think people are overrating the free-safety pick off, though. Almost any other player would have at least gotten a hand on the ball resulting in the clock running out. Even if Philly miraculously caught the ball, they still have to make another off-balance desperation shot.

You mean like Middleton and Battalenni did?

It's not a shot you can count on. As I said, any ordinary player would have been able to get a hand on the ball which would have resulted in the same outcome.

As for missing the free-throw - what happened? There are much better ways to miss than throwing the ball as hard as you can at the hoop. I know Kyrie screwed it up earlier this season, but reliable free throw shooters should be able to purposely miss 100% of the time - it's pretty easy.

[tstorey_97]

Why on earth did he get the inbounds pass? Brown has a worse FT%, but everyone else is bettah.

He's still my hero...a lot of that win was his.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Why on earth did he get the inbounds pass? Brown has a worse FT%, but everyone else is bettah.

He's still my hero...a lot of that win was his.

He didn't get the inbound pass, Horford passed it back to him for some unknown reason after Smart did the inbound pass. I guess trying to milk the clock a bit further.