Mavericks sharpshooter JJ Redick reacts and explains how Phoenix Sun’s big-man Deandre Ayton’s game-winning alley-oop in the WCF went down.
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Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers went down to the wire. In a wild 104-103 win, the match was decided by a final second game-winning alley-oop. The Suns perfectly executed the play mastermind Monty Williams drew up, resulting in them winning the game and leading the series 2-0.
With only 0.8 seconds remaining on the clock, it was a fairly difficult play to execute, which the Suns did with the utmost perfection. However, there were a lot of NBA fans creating controversy.
Several people accused the referees of not blowing the whistle on Deandre Ayton before he received the pass. Several analysts like Skip Bayless, believe that Phoenix’s big man grabbed LAC’s Ivica Zubac’s jersey on his way to the rim.
Also Read: Skip Bayless indignant with NBA referees for blown out-of-bounds call in Clippers vs Suns Game 2
“By the book, on an inbounds pass, there is no offensive goaltending”: JJ Redick
Following the controversial Game 2 game-winning basket, Dallas Mavericks veteran JJ Redick reacted and explained the final 0.8 seconds of the game. On his “The Old Man & the Three” podcast, the former Duke Blue Devil explained:
“By the book, by the rule, on an inbounds pass, there is no offensive goaltending. So, you can literally throw the ball and it could be in the cylinder and a taller player, such as Deandre Ayton, can touch the ball, in the cylinder and dunk the basketball.”
“Monty Williams is the most detail-oriented guy, I’ve been around. Like he’s Stan Van Gundy, Brad Stevens level of just detail, detail, detail. There is just 0 chance in my mind, that they haven’t run that play, they haven’t prepared for that scenario.”
“My observation on that play- first of all, tremendous execution. Jae Crowder great pass, Deandre Ayton great play, Devin Booker great screen. I love Ty Lue… He’s a championship level coach, he deserves tons of credit.”
“I don’t understand why Zubac was in the game at that point in time. Cause it’s a dead ball, you have a chance to sub him out and you have a chance to put 5 players out on the court they can switch. And with that amount of time, there is no reason why you shouldn’t switch a back screen.”
Had Ty Lue subbed out Ivica Zubac for any other player, the play could’ve been disrupted by the defender. However, what done is done. There is no point for the Clippers to cry over spilt milk. What they can do is, learn from this situation and move on. With the WCF shifting to LA, the Clippers will hope to fight back into the series.
