In a back-and-forth affair in Milwaukee, point guard Brandon Jennings punctuated a perplexing night (13 assists, but 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, four turnovers) by nailing a 3-pointer as the buzzer expired to lift the Bucks to 2-0. The game was extremely competitive for the last 28 minutes, with Monta Ellis and Mike Dunleavy Jr. filling up the scoring column for the Bucks until Jennings performed a coup de grace on the Cavs.
For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Kings-Pistons game?), and celebration, and gives it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, who is kind of the patron saint of last-second daggers.
How does Mr. Jennings’ shot Saturday night stack up? Let’s take a look. (more…)
Is it just me, or does Ricky Rubio live the most fun-filled existence on the planet? I feel like every video or tweet I see about the guy seems like he’s doing something that sounds amazingly fun.
At first I was about to get all judge-y on what kind of TV show has a random puppet just chilling at the bottom of the screen, but then they broke out the Connect Four via basketball set up, and now I am frantically searching eBay to figure out how to gets mine. This would also make a way more enjoyable Price is Right game than the one where the dude yodels up the mountain.
Most mornings I wake up to the sound of an alarm clock, angry that my sleep has been interrupted and cursing myself for getting to bed so late, but not this morning. Today I awoke to the sound of a text message, an alert from my partner in crime Sekou Smith that while I was sawing logs, the one and only Patty Cakes, aka Australia’s Patrick Mills, had hit a game-winning buzzer-beater (scroll to about 1:36:30 to watch it all unfold) against Russia in Olympic play earlier today and it was time to wind up the Horry Scale machine. Ask Sekou, and you shall receive.
For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Clippers-Nets game), and celebration, and give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys.
How does Pat Stacks stack up? Let’s take a look.
Difficulty
This shot reminds me a lot of Kevin Love‘s “Are you not entertained?” game-winner over the Clippers from last season. The shot itself is fairly easy (a mostly straight-on 3-pointer), but the credit for that goes to the excellent screen set by Matthew Dellavadova that frees Mills for the open look. Russia gets two defenders over to try to harass, but it’s too late — the ball is out and the ballgame is over.
Game Situation
Russia leads Australia 80-79 thanks to Vitaliy Fridzon‘s free throws with 4.1 seconds left. There is some time to work with, but the Aussies trail so there is no margin for error if they want to pull out the win.
Importance
The game actually had little chance of affecting the positioning for either team in the knockout stage, as Australia clinched a quarterfinal bid with a win over Great Britain on Saturday and Russia was previously undefeated and through as well. In fact, either way the Aussies will most likely take on the U.S. in the quarters pending Team USA’s game against Argentina later on Monday, so this could be the last celebration the ‘Roos.
Celebration
This has been an excellent tournament for Mills, who re-signed with the Spurs earlier this summer, and set the tournament high with 39 points against GB. I love his reaction here. As the crowd erupts and his teammates race to mob him, Mills triumphantly walks down the court with one fist raised in the air.
Grade
4 Horrys. I got chastised by Horry himself during our NBA TV segment for judging these things too harshly, so I’ll take his advice on this one. The shot was well executed, the celebration was great, and Australia trailed at the time. Even though the stakes were low given that both teams had already qualified to move on, come on — it’s the Olympics. The importance of everything is elevated.
Add one new move to your offensive arsenal, that’s what every NBA superstar is supposed to do in the offseason if they want to stay ahead of the game.
LeBron James unveiled his newest weapon at Team USA practice yesterday, and ummm, yeah, good luck trying to defend this:
I don’t know if we’ll ever see LeBron pull this out in an actual game, but it’s nice to know that if and when he hangs ‘em up, he’s got a career with the Harlem Globetrotters waiting for him.
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Memorial Day weekend is a great time for leisurely pursuits, like grilling out on the barbecue or throwing a frisbee in the park. Or you can work on your trick shot skills to compete with our latest entrant, Boston-area high school football player Nick DiChiara. The weapon of choice this time? The long snap. You don’t often see many long-snapping trick shot videos, but maybe this is just the video to tip the scales and get people interested:
DiChiara is heading to Colgate, where he is sure to shore up the Big Red’s punting unit come football season this fall.
Looks like we missed one of these during the regular season when we were on vacation, but can’t let the playoffs get too far gone without acknowledging LaMarcus Aldridge‘s handiwork before his season-ending hip injury.
For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Clippers-Nets game), and celebration, and give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys.
The Blazers had a tough season, losing many, many players to injury, but at least we know one night ended happily. What’d Horry have to say?
Difficulty
Medium-difficulty shot. Aldridge gets the ball pretty far out on the perimeter with his back to the basket. He gets a nice little shoulder into Brendan Haywood as he makes his move towards the paint, creating some space for a step-back jumper. LA is one of the sweetest shooting big men in the game, so I’m not surprised he cans this one. I know you got bumped a little there Brendan, but a little more effort there on the contest might have been nice.
Game Situation
Tied 97-97 in overtime, the Blazers have just 3.7 seconds left to make something happen. Just enough time to get the ball to Aldridge and let him go to work.
Importance
This game was played on April 6, at which point the Blazers were still very much alive for the 8th spot in the Western Conference playoff race. So yeah, a pretty important win. Unfortunately Aldridge would be lost for the season just a few days later, and Portland would be lottery bound.
Celebration
Portland is an awesome place to hit a game-winner. And though the Blazers were away from the friendly confines of the Rose Garden, they still get a nice huddle going on the Mavericks’ homecourt. A tip of the cap to the sportsmanship of Nic Batum, who ended up smack-dab in the middle of the Mavs’ bench when the shot dropped, but refrained from preening as some might have.
Grade
2 Horrys. A tie game, a somewhat easy shot (though LA’s smoothness deserves a lot of credit for making it look so) makes this one a little on the pedestrian side. I’ll give it 2 though for the potential playoff implications at the time and for doing it to the (since departed) defending champs on their home court.
What do you think?
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Michael Jordan may not be able to dazzle on the basketball court like he once did in his heyday, but that’s the beauty of golf. You can still pull off magic at the age of 49 the same way you did as a younger man:
Now about those Bobcats, MJ …
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NBA vet Marcus Camby has a few things he can tell his grandchildren about. He has experienced a lot around the Association. But I’m almost certain this full-court heave is a first:
With MLB Opening Day around the corner, The Cambyman flexes his long-toss muscles. Unfortunately, he was slow to the draw as the almighty time clock spoke.
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When last we spoke around these parts, we were singing the praises of the Bulls’ Derrick Rose, one of the game’s great closers and someone we expect to see many Horry Scale entries from as the years go by.
Unfortunately Mr. Rose is currently out of the lineup for Chicago, having missed the past six games with a hamstring strain. So when the game came down to the final possession against the Raptors tonight, it brought up a quasi-philosophical question: if the Bulls need a game-winner and Rose isn’t around to take the shot, does it make a sound? (Or something like that).
Looks like we have our answer.
For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Clippers-Nets game), and celebration, and give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys.
The Bulls may not have Rose, but they still have one more All-Star, and that is Luol Deng. Let’s see how his understudy did:
Difficulty
The time element was the only thing difficult about this shot. Deng set a pick for C.J. Watson at the top of the key, then immediately dove to the basket to put himself in position for exactly what was to come — a potential tip-in situation. I would give Deng credit for a nice box-out to get his hold in the lane, but the Raptors really made it easy on him. To be fair, there is always a lot of chaos in a final-shot scenario like this, it’s easy to lose your man. But Deng faces no opposition at the basket once he gets in the air, and the ensuing tip-in after Watson’s shot comes up short is a piece of cake.
Game Situation
The Raptors led 101-100 after James Johnson hit 1-2 free throws with 15.2 seconds left in overtime, then failed to extend that lead when Gary Forbes missed a pair with 6.4 on the clock. The Bulls then inbounded the ball at midcourt with 6.0 seconds left — plenty of time to get a shot off, but with no room for error since they were trailing.
Importance
Here is what I wrote after Rose’s GWBB back on March 7:
The Bulls fell to the Heat in last season’s Eastern Conference finals, and the two teams appear on a crash course to go at it again this May. With the way Miami has improved, home-court advantage could certainly play a big role in that series, and as such, every win for Chicago will matter from here until the end of the regular season.
Since that win over the Bucks, the Bulls have gone 6-2, but have gained only one game on the Heat in the standings. The sentiment still stands.
Celebration
If I had to make a list of every player in the NBA, then rank them most to least expressive, I’d probably put Deng somewhere next to Tim Duncan down near the very bottom*. So you know Deng has to be pumped to react the way he does after the ball drops — immediately pointing to the stands to celebrate with the fans. Of course by the time the camera pans in on his face the emotion is gone, but we’ll take what we can get from Lu. Bonus points for John Lucas nearly spinning like a top on Deng’s head, plus the shot of Rose watching it all unfold from the bench. By the way, someone tweeted after the game that in the Bulls’ last 82 games covering this season and last, their record is 68-14. Going to be an interesting postseason in the East, no doubt about it.
* Who would be at the top, you ask? That’s easy — Ronny Turiaf.
Grade
3 Horrys. Last-second tip-ins are always a fun sub-genre of the Horry Scale. I’m tempted to debit a half-Horry for the way the Raptors gave this one away, but I won’t. The stakes are always a little higher when you trail at the end, and Deng deserves a lot of credit for making a very difficult situation look relatively easy. Good on the Bulls for doing it all without Rose as well. And the cherry on top? The win made the Bulls the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff berth this season.
What do you think?
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Catch up on every single game-winning buzzer beater during the season and see how it rates on the Horry Scale.
