The small margins of victory, and the horror of one bad pass
Plus, adventures in nepotism, and innovation in ... curling?
There were exactly eight seconds left in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night, and the Indiana Pacers had the ball out of bounds, leading the Boston Celtics by three points.
It’s difficult to lose the game from that point. Get the ball on the court, dribble around, almost certainly get intentionally fouled, make at least one free throw, and it’s pretty much the ballgame.
But, about that inbounds pass. Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard tried to hit a cutting Pascal Siakam, and Jaylen Brown closed on the pass like a defensive back, and the ball glanced off Siakam’s hand, bouncing out of bounds. Turnover.
History will remember that it was Brown’s subsequent three-pointer from the corner that tied the game for the Celtics, who won the overtime period comfortably when the Pacers stopping making any shots. But it was that late turnover, bound to be a forgotten part of NBA lore, that opened the door instead of slamming it shut.
And it instantly made me think of a moment late in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in 2019. There were exactly nine seconds left in that one. The Toronto Raptors were leading by a point, and they had the ball at midcourt. The inbounds pass had been no problem, but Kawhi Leonard had given the ball up to Danny Green, and as he passed half court he was hemmed in by two Golden State Warriors. He panicked a little, leaned back to create space and heaved the ball toward Leonard in the corner.
I was sitting in a press row that was behind the basket at the opposite end of the court. The angle meant that the moment Green threw the ball, I could see it looked wayward. Uh oh. Leonard couldn’t reach it and stay in bounds. Turnover. Suddenly I was considering the possibility of having to scramble back to Toronto for Game 7.
Unlike the Celtics on Tuesday night, the Warriors of 2019 couldn’t take advantage of the gift. Steph Curry missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession — not something you would bet your house on — and Leonard made some free throws and that was that. The story of that Game 6, told over and over since then, was how Kyle Lowry hit a bunch of shots early, and Fred VanVleet made some huge threes late, and Siakam hit the very late jumper that ended up the game-winning shot. And all of them became NBA Champions, their legacies forever changed.
Lowry left as the greatest player in Raptors history and seems a lock to be the first to have his jersey retired when his playing days are over. VanVleet signed a massive free-agent deal in Houston. Siakam is expected to do the same thing in Indiana. Leonard turned that Finals MVP award into successive giant paydays with the Los Angeles Clippers, even if his actual results there have been mixed. In the Raptors’ executive suites, Masai Ujiri has been all but untouchable since that title run, granted a level of autonomy and respect that has survived several bleak seasons since.
How much might all of that changed because of one bad pass?
It’s a question the Indiana Pacers probably don’t want to think too much about now. Yes, it’s only Game 1, and they’ve already proven that they can trade blows with a Celtics team that went 64-18 in the regular season and should be cruising to the Finals. But losing a game they should have won is the kind of thing on which a series turns. In their last series, already down 0-2 to the New York Knicks, the Pacers were on the verge of losing a third straight game when Nembhard made a miraculous three-point buzzer beater to essentially save their season. The Pacers went on to win in seven games. A lot happened as that series wore on, notably most of the Knicks ended up hurt, but that early moment ended up being crucial.
Indiana can hope that the same isn’t true for them this time. But it feels like that bad pass is the mortal blow that was struck early in the fight. Even if they haven’t noticed all the bleeding quite yet.
Adventures in nepotism
LeBron James is either the best basketball player ever or the second best, depending on your thoughts on Michael Jordan, longevity versus peak, weird baseball interludes, and various other things that can be debated at length.
LeBron James, Jr., best known as Bronny, just completed his freshman season at USC and was, by all accounts, kind of average. And yet he has declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft. It’s a fascinating subplot to what is expected to be a dull draft night. Will some team take Nepo-Bronny in hopes of landing LeBrons Pere et Fils? I consider the possibilities in my latest for theScore, which went up over the long weekend and therefore I forgive you for missing.
Hurry! Hurry! HurrrrrrrrrrY!
Also in the category of Things Published Elsewhere is this story I wrote for The Logic, a subscription-only business and technology publication based in Toronto. It’s about curling. Innovation in curling, to be specific, which is how it made its way into the hands of The Logic, focused as it is on the innovation economy. It’s an interesting tale, and I even managed to get a swear word up high in the copy, which is an innovation of sorts.
Very sharp writing. I think the best sports writer working today,.