My plan was initially to drift backwards, to wander just long enough that I could pass the ball to Wright and have him hoist a reasonable three-pointer. For better or worse, the ship was gonna go down with D-Wright. No, I was going to put the game in the hands of Dorell Wright, who'd been hitting all the clutch shots for me. I thought about setting up a post play for Aldridge, but there were too many variables with him. I had Lillard take the ball out from mid-court, just to make sure that I wouldn't throw the ball away. I used my last timeout, knowing that it all came down to this. Were virtual Dick Bavetta and virtual Bennett Salvatore making these calls? Do the Heat get all the calls even in the digital realm? I watched in horror, my mouth agape, as Dorell Wright was called for a foul, presumably for grazing against LeBron as he was in mid-air.Īfter all the effort I'd exerted to vanquish this bastard, after doing everything in my power to procure a victory, I was going to lose this game in the same way the Mavericks lost to the Heat in the 2006 finals: horribly lame foul calls. Miami was up 92-91 with 22.1 seconds left. I adjusted swiftly with Wright, but I was a half-second too late. Andersen immediately passed it to Beasley, who was right under the basket. At the last second, Swagga adjusted and passed the ball to Chris Andersen, who was open at the right box. Aldridge was there, but I lunged at him with Meyers Leonard. And would the basketball in Matthews' hip eventually deflate over time, or would the shared lungs of Allen and Matthews perpetually pump air into it until one of them died?Īnyway.Allen squared up along the right wing of the three-point line. I wondered how Allen's wife Shannon would handle the news upon learning that her husband had actually melded with another human being. I'd like to think that for just a split second, Ray Allen, Wesley Matthews and the basketball fused together and become one symbiotic being: "Raysley Matthen." I wondered what life would be like for this conjoined creature, how difficult it'd be logistically for Allen and Matthews to play for teams on opposite ends of the country. In celebrating Wright's go-ahead shot, three players on the Blazers bench had taken a step onto the court and were actually crowding around Allen at that exact moment. In fact, as Allen dribbled to the right, you can plainly see in the image below that Allen physically passed through Wesley Matthews, who had both feet planted firmly inbounds despite being out of the game. Allen drove to the right and might have taken a pull-up jumper right there. Allen pump-faked, and I bit, leaping into the air. He crossed half court and dished it to Ray Allen, who was in the top left corner. Swagga inbounded the ball from the length of the court. By now, I had eternal confidence in Wright's long-range prowess, and he rewarded my trust, nailing yet another monster three to put the Blazers up 91-90 with 31.5 seconds left. LeBron James came running at me from the top of the key, and yet again, Dorell Wright was all alone for an open three. With under a minute to play, I was again driving with Damian Lillard when deja vu struck.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |