Lebron is on the inside of this pass, and there is no clear possession (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
The standout moment of the Cavs-Pacers game came after TJ Ford hit a jumper with .8 seconds left to give the Pacers a 95-93 lead.
Last night was the first time of the season that Cleveland was put in the situation of having to inbound an alley-oop pass 30 feet into a defense that knows the play is coming. Normally, the defending coach will instruct his team to collapse on the guy rolling towards the rim, and start to celebrate because this play fails 99.9% of the time.
But as Mo Williams made his desperation heave towards the basket, it became clear that Lebron could conceivably score off of this play. The physical requirements of outjumping your opponent and muscling ball through the hoop, while your defender is left with no choice but to foul you relentlessly, fall directly into Lebron’s repertoire.
Danny Granger must have made this same realization, because as the ball went up, he knocked his hip hard enough against Lebron’s for the ball to sail through his hands, and out of bounds. Pacers fans were understandably pissed off by the late foul call, but if you check the replay, you can clearly see the hit. Every contender should also watch this replay, because without a foul or a ref swallowing his whistle, I’m not sure if you can stop Lebron from scoring.
The negative side to this revelation comes with the referees calling a foul with so little time left in the game. On the ensuing possession, the Pacers tried the same exact play, and received a practically obligatory foul call that sealed up the win for them. It’s important to note, however, that Lebron didn’t foul Granger. There was no hip contact, and Lebron had the inside positioning on the pass, so any contact should have at least resulted in a no-call. But it’s the home crowd, and many foul calls are subjective with.
One gem that might be overlooked is that Lebron sunk two high pressure free-throws, either one of which would have lost them the game right there. It’s an MVP-prerequisite play, because I believe Kobe and Wade would have made those.
