When it comes to game-winning shots, Dwyane Wade’s floater at the buzzer in double-overtime earlier this month was just about as dramatic and unbelievable as they come.
“That’s one of the best shots I’ve actually ever been a part of,” said teammate Jamario Moon. “That’s right at the top.”
But that wasn’t the first time Wade’s been the savior. He’s done this sort of thing again and again and again, which is why so many people are insisting his name belongs in the MVP discussion right along with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Two weeks later, when the Heat came to Chicago for a rematch against the team Wade embarrassed with that incredible floater, people were still talking about that shot.
Miami forward Udonis Haslem, who’s been with Wade for the MVP candidate’s entire career, chuckled, “That was a great shot—probably the first time I’ve ever seen him take a runner from behind the three-point line off one leg—so I would tell you that it was definitely more creative than the other ones.”
“Just the way he did it, in overtime in dramatic fashion,” rookie Michael Beasley added. “It’s fun playing with him. You’re always wondering what’s going to happen next.”
Wade himself could do nothing but grin remembering that shot, calling it one of his better buzzer-beaters. “That was number one or two right there,” he said coyly.
“The main thing,” Wade continued, “is trying to get the best look possible. You shoot them like you shoot the rest. That’s the only thing you can do. You can’t put too much into it. Some you’re going to hit and it’s going to be amazing, and some you’re going to miss. It happens.”
But hitting clutch shots isn’t just about draining shots as the clock winds down, as Heat head coach ErikSpoelstra pointed out.
“He’s had so many for us over the years,” Spoelstra explained, “either at the buzzer or down the stretch. He hits as many, if not more, than anybody else in the league with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, when people don’t necessarily count that as a clutch shot at the end of the game. But he’ll hit on consecutive possessions with that pull-up jumpshot, and he does that time and time again.”
But Wade, ever humble, just shrugged off his coach’s accolades.
“Whatever title people give me is what they give me,” Wade conceded. “It’s not really a worry of mine. I’m about winning a title. What my team needs me to do, I try to do it. To me it’s not just about being a clutch shooter, it’s about being a clutch player. This season I’ve done that on both ends of the floor because I’m trying to help us win ball games. That’s what I’m about.”
Regardless of his philosophy, Wade has been one of the league’s most amazing last-moment shooters the last half-decade and still has plenty more years ahead of him to do more of the same. His now-famous shot in the “El Heat” jersey, the steal against John Salmons and the floater at the buzzer, is only the beginning.
And that’s perhaps the scariest thing about Dwyane Wade—he’s only going to get better.
Last April Kevin Durant matched Carmelo Anthony shot for shot down the stretch and helped the Seattle SuperSonics to a double-overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets. What Durant did late in that game was largely instinctual and it was clear that even as a 19-year-old rookie he had a knack for knocking the down the big shot. Most around the league had a hunch that this might be the start of something big.
As clutch as Durant has been early in his NBA career, he admitted that this wasn’t always the case when he was a younger player.
“Earlier on I’d be nervous, you know, when I was younger or in college I would be nervous,” Durant explained. “But now that I’ve got in the league I’ve seen guys do it and it’s just another shot for me. Every time I get that opportunity I’m going to take advantage of it.”
One team Durant always seems to torture with his late game heroics is the Denver Nuggets, and that continued this season when Durant nailed a shot on February 4th with just a couple of seconds left in Oklahoma City that looked like it was going to bury the Nuggets. This time, though, turnabout was fair play as Carmelo Anthony hit the game-winner from the corner just before time expired.
When asked about why he seems to perform so well late in games against the Nuggets, Durant replied with a smile: “I just play my game. I wouldn’t say it’s something about Denver. I just play my game and go with the flow of my teammates. Some games I’m hitting shots, some games I’m not. Fortunately when I play Denver I’ve been hitting some shots. Hopefully we get a win next time we play.”
So what exactly makes a player good in the clutch, especially a player who hasn’t even played two full seasons in the Association?
“You can’t let the pressure get to you, that’s the main thing — that’s the only thing I would say,” Durant explained. “Just go out there like it’s a regular shot. The worst thing you can do is miss. Just know that you have another game the next day or the day after that. Games come and go in this league and that’s the best thing about it. During those times you can’t be nervous, just go out there and take the shot.”
Thus far in his young NBA career Durant has shown no fear when it comes to taking the big shot. And given the fact he just 20 years of age, fans around the league should expect to see many more late-game theatrics from Durant over the course of the next 10 or 15 years.
The Portland Trail Blazers have seen this act before.
You would think by mustering two mere wins out of their last 20 meetings with the Dallas Mavericks, the scouting report on Dirk Nowitzki would be officially ingrained in their collective memory.
You would think.
In less than a minute, Nowitzki hit a pair of big shots down the stretch to seal the 93-89 victory for the Mavericks, snapping the Blazers 12-game win streak at home. Two tough shots with guys in his face each time: a 17-foot fade away jump shot with Dallas up four points, and a deep jump shot seconds later to shut the door.
“That one shot was probably a little lucky but I was just happy it went in,” Nowitzki said of the fade away jumper that put Dallas up by four points late.
Dirk finished with a game-high 29 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds for his 21st double-double of the season.
“LaMarcus (Aldridge) was pretty tight on me and it was just a matter of looking at the rim and getting it up over him, because he’s long and athletic. I was able to get him up and shoot over him.”
How do you defend that? With the 7′0 Nowitzki, it’s nearly impossible when he is falling away or with his textbook high release. Scratch that. It is impossible.
While he started the game strong – going 8-11 for a game high 17 points in the first half – Dirk straight struggled in the second half. Double teams came between early and often. His shot was falling. But he kept shooting hit them when it mattered most – twice.
“He’s a great player. He wants the ball in his hands when the game is being decided and we do everything we can to make sure he gets it,” added head coach Rick Carlisle, “he delivered last night in a huge way and tonight he delivered again.”
That’s what Dallas will remember most– not how Portland basically won three of the four quarters of the game – but how Dirk delivered in déjà vu fashion on back-to-back nights in Phoenix and Portland.
“It was tremendous,” Mavs guard Jason Terry, who finished with 24 points off the bench, said of Nowitzki’s hot hand late in the fourth quarter.
“With the ball in my hands in that situation I was just looking to get a shot off, but Dirk’s defender took his eye off for a split second and I got it to him and he knocked it down. He’s in rhythm right now that I don’t care what he does out there. There is just a good chance it is going to go in.”
With the win, Dallas lives to fight another day in the postseason picture as they sit in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Chances are the playoff race out West will come down to the final days of the regular season.
And chances are Dirk has still a few more big shots to hit before it is all said and done.
“Some of those shots he hit tonight, there is no defense for that. Even with great defense he just makes those shots,” Terry said with a smile.
“That’s why he was MVP a few years ago and that’s how he’s our most valuable player today.”
Most people think of passing when they hear the name Jason Kidd. The Dallas Mavericks acquired him in a trade that sent scoring phenom Devin Harris to the New Jersey Nets because they were looking for a set-up guy.
Kidd, now past the 10,000-assist threshold for his career, fits the bill perfectly. Kidd is a capable scorer, too, but he’s never been the first - or even second - option when it comes to putting the ball in the hole directly. He’s much more likely to be once removed from all baskets scored. This season, however, we’re seeing more and more of Kidd with the ball in his hands when it counts the most - and he’s delivering the big shot himself instead of deferring to others.
Classic case in point, a recent win over the San Antonio Spurs. After leading by ten with a few minutes to go, the Mavericks saw the Spurs cut that lead to two with 30 seconds left in the game. The Spurs played Kidd to pass, as most teams do, and Kidd fooled them. Anticipating their inattention, he set himself up for a corner three. He drilled it, icing a huge win for the Mavs.
The “Other” Jason Kidd
“I had a feeling they were going to double Dirk,” Kidd said of the play. “We put Dirk at the free throw line so he could see the double-team. I chose to go to Terry’s side because I felt that if they doubled off of me then I would have a wide open shot and it was just up to me to make or miss. I felt that I was going to make it, so that’s why I went over there. I wanted the shot and I would go from there.”
“It was huge,” said Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. “It was huge. But ever since Jason Terry went out with the hand injury, (Kidd) has stepped it up and he’s looking to score. He’s coming off at mid-range and we’re running stuff with people coming around screens and he’s knocking down shots. He is a great player, and the things that he does for this team from an analytical standpoint have the computers overheating churning out all the (stats). It’s beyond belief how much better he makes guys when he’s on the floor. I’m really happy for him because that was a game that meant a lot to him because it’s a big-time team in our division, the match-up against Tony Parker is one that everybody talks about, and so much of Kidd’s greatness gets overlooked when he doesn’t put up big scoring numbers. That’s a sin. Shame on the media for that.”
OK, Rick, here you go. This season Kidd is scoring a career-low 9.2 points per game, but he also has three top-notch scorers around him in Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry. In late February and early March, when the Mavs were without Terry for a couple of weeks due to a hard injury, Kidd averaged better than 10 points per game and shot over 50% from the field and over 45% from three.
“He can take and make the big shot,” says Terry. “We’ve seen him do it time and time again. At the end, when it’s on the line, we want the ball in his hands because he is going to make the right decision, whether it’s shooting himself or getting it to the guy that’s open. He’s done it throughout his career and it’s nothing different now.”
Kidd is still somewhat reluctant to look for his own shot most of the time. A familiar sight for Mavs fans is Kidd all alone at the top of the three-point arch with defenders scurrying away to cover passing lanes or position themselves for rebounds. Lately, however, that maneuver is costing opposing teams three points, especially late in games.
“I think at the end of the game, he’s going to be the guy that’s open,” says Dirk Nowitzki. “For some reason, he doesn’t have the reputation of a good shooter, but for us actually, when his feet are set, he’s been a great three-point shooter. When he’s got the time to set his feet, split his legs a little bit, it always seems to look good. When he’s open, I totally trust him, no matter if it’s the first quarter or the fourth quarter.”
That vote of confidence from his franchise player, together with a few more game-winning three-point shots, should do wonders for both Kidd and the Mavs. Though they sit in the Western Conference’s eighth seed today, they’re also just a couple of games removed from home court advantage in the playoffs.
With Kidd gaining confidence and knocking down big shots, the Mavs don’t need much of an opening to move up over the season’s final 20 games.
It was the biggest shot of Bulls guard Derrick Rose’s professional career. Well, so far.
Battling back from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit, Rose—a clear favorite for Rookie of the Year—scored sixteen points in the period against the Houston Rockets, shooting 7-for-8 from the field en route to a pretty incredible come-from-behind victory in his home arena.
The biggest of those seven field goals, however, came with just over half a minute left in the game and the score tied at 102. Blowing past the speedy Aaron Brooks, Rose drifted into the lane off balance and floated up a rainbow of a shot that bounced around the rim a couple of times before dropping. It was the first game-winning shot of his NBA career.
“I finished a game in Minnesota and some other places where I got the last shot,” Rose admitted following the big win, “but this time I finally made one.”
He added, “I’ve found that in the NBA the game is never over. Hit some shots and put yourself back in the game, and you can win games. In this league you can never give up.”
Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro explicated his game plan down the stretch, explaining, “We tried to get some high screen rolls and Derrick was hitting his floater in the lane. He got it going and pulled us out in the fourth quarter.
“The thing with Derrick,” Del Negro continued, “is we want him to stay aggressive.”
That is something Rose has struggled with this year, often deferring to teammates and letting other people take the big shot. However on this night, Rose scored more points and took more shots than anybody else in a Bulls uniform, and the results set him 3 assists and 2 rebounds away from a triple-double.
“He killed us,” said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman, “especially off the pick-and-roll. He got into the paint and just killed us.
“Interestingly enough, after the game Rose refused to credit his offense for the exciting win; it was defense, he says, that made the comeback possible.
“Everybody came together in the huddle and said the game wasn’t over,” Rose explained. “We came out there and controlled them on the defensive end and scored on the other end… Everything starts with defense and rebounding. We got them into a shot-clock violation or something like that and the crowd really starting getting into it. We just went from there.”
As Rose’s defense and offense both improve with age and experience he will get many more opportunities to knock down game-winners, but the first one is always the sweetest. It was the biggest shot of Derrick Rose’s career.
by Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld.com
By Joel Brigham of Hoopsworld.com