Brandon Jennings and the Bucks could celebrate after the Warriors came up empty at the end.
All the attention and highlights from Saturday's Warriors-Bucks game will focus on Brandon Jennings, and rightfully so. The rookie had a historic night, scoring 29 points in the third quarter and 55 in the game.
Despite the rookie's scoring binge, the Warriors (3-6) had the ball out of bounds with 17.7 seconds remaining, down by two points. For the second time this year, the Warriors called on Anthony Morrow to take a late shot. And for the second time, Morrow and the Warriors came up empty, losing 129-125 in Milwaukee when Morrow's 3-point attempt with just over 10 seconds remaining strayed off target.
"Obviously it was a tough shot," said Morrow, who led the league in 3-point percentage last year but is 0-for-2 with the game on the line this year. "It was a contested shot but ... I felt like I had a real good look. It was a tough situation coming off the bench. I was thinking get the win, but at the time that was the best shot."
Or was it?
Yes, Morrow is the team's best pure shooter and led the league from long-range last year. Yes, he has a quick release and can get a shot off with defenders in his face. And yes, going for a second-straight win on the road is a chance worth taking.
But here's the problems with the shot. Morrow, a spot-up shooter who excels on the back end of a drive and dish, tried to create his own space by dribbling away from his defender. That's not his strength. The Warriors had battled back from nine down and were one more drive to the basket away from tying the game and going into overtime, where Jennings and the Bucks couldn't possibly stay as hot as they had been. And, perhaps most importantly, as Morrow pointed out he hadn't been in the game.
Morrow went to the bench in the final minute of the third quarter and didn't return until there were 23.4 seconds left in the game. He had just sat out an entire quarter. There's a reason teams warm up before games.
Besides the fact that he had sat out the entire fourth quarter, Morrow had taken only three shots in the game prior to putting up the game-winning attempt. He was 1-for-3 for two points, having missed his only 3-point attempt. Yet, it seemed, he was put back in the game specifically to take that shot.
The way coach Don Nelson explained it, there were other options.
"That was a look to see if we had a three that we could get open and Monta (Ellis) had the ball, and if he didn't like that I just wanted him to go to the basket," Nelson said. "I thought he could beat his guy into the paint somewhere. It was a look that we wanted. If it was open we wanted to go ahead and shoot it to go from two down to one up."
Ellis had 26 points on the night and was 11-of-19 from the floor. He had made three straight 3-pointers to help the Warriors fight back. Maybe he was a better option.
Stephen Jackson pointed out that he's a proven scorer and thought he should be more involved than being the person in-bounding the ball. Jackson had 21 points and maybe he was a better option than a cold Morrow.
And then there's Corey Maggette. Lost in Jennings' crazy night was the fact that Maggette scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. Maybe he was a consideration as he did touch the ball, but it just seemed the play was designed from the start to end up in Morrow's hands, regardless of the defensive pressure.
"I don't know if it was a good shot or not," Nelson said, "but it's what we got stuck with."
Such are the growing pains of a young team. Maybe a more experienced team would have thrown out the book and simply went with the hot hand -- either of them at that point. Maybe Morrow could have been a decoy, because the Bucks -- like the Rockets on opening night -- were keying on the sharp-shooter with the growing reputation. Or maybe they would have had confidence to win a game in overtime.
Then again, the odds are growing in the Warriors' favor that the next time, Morrow will hit the shot.
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Comments
OR maybe Morrow should have gotten more than 3 shots all game long and then we would probably have been up by a few buckets instead of down by 2. maybe Morrow should average the most shots on the team. Maybe stephen jackson should pass the ball EVERY game instead of just 1 game all season to prove that he can.
OR maybe Morrow should have gotten more than 3 shots all game long and then we would probably have been up by a few buckets instead of down by 2. maybe Morrow should average the most shots on the team. Maybe stephen jackson should pass the ball EVERY game instead of just 1 game all season to prove that he can.
I put that one on Nellie in full. There should not have been any options for Morrrow to choose from. I am all about Morrow but in that final moment there were two guys on fire and he was not one. Mags can pretty much drive to the basket score and get one at will.
But I do like that Jackson did not get the nod and a young gun did. Props for that.
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