Utah Jazz: DWill second-guessing last play
Perplexed Jazz fans likely went from asking Deron Williams via KJZZ-TV or TNT "Why DID you pass him the ball?" to "Why DIDN'T you pass him the ball?" with no time to spare between second-guessing queries.
The first "him" was Kyle Korver. Williams, who had done just about everything else right in his 28-point, 12-assist night, tossed Korver the ball on the right elbow as he tried to set up a game-winning play with about 10 seconds remaining. He didn't see that Shane Battier was closing in fast.
Korver managed to quickly return the ball to sender, giving Williams one last chance at pushing the Jazz to a 3-0 first-round lead.
This is when many, including Williams, wished he could have gotten the ball to the second "him" — Carlos Boozer. As Williams drove to the hoop with six seconds left, Utah's power forward was left alone under the basket because his defender collapsed on Williams.
Instead of dishing it to Boozer for a game-winning assist, the 6-foot-3 Williams tried to float a game-winning attempt over 6-foot-9 Carl Landry.
In retrospect, Williams said he shouldn't have passed to Korver and he probably should have passed it to Boozer for a likely 13th assist. The third-year point guard had to shoot off his wrong foot as Landry smothered him and time ticked away.
"I knew Booze was probably open when I saw Landry jump. It was just so hard to get it back to him," Williams said at practice Friday morning. "It probably would have been a turnover, so I tried to shoot it and Landry made a good block."
The entire play didn't go the way Jazz coach Jerry Sloan had envisioned or called for, not that he blamed anyone.
"Deron's in a tough situation where a guy's pressuring him," Sloan said. "I think he was trying to get something going. I don't have a problem with that. I don't think he was trying to do anything other than trying to win the game. That's part of basketball. You can second-guess that all day long, he and everybody else."
The common refrain from the Jazz the day after was that one broken-down play wasn't the biggest reason they lost Game 3. Rather, it was because of Houston's hustle, inside presence and intensity, and the Jazz's lack thereof.
Recent comments
Sloan probably set the play up in the last timeout. Houston simply...
Rich | April 27, 2008 at 12:02 a.m.
I don't blame D-Will for taking the shot. No one else was really...
FOCUS | April 26, 2008 at 6:27 p.m.
Maybe Sloan should have called a time out to set up a play. The type...
ZEKE | April 26, 2008 at 4:24 p.m.
