Games that replace momentum in NBA playoffs take place in the offensive aspect with a large overturn or clutch basket opposite the launch clock. But some of the most important moments of the postseason came here in defense with large-scale blocked shots.
That lap was remembered Tuesday when Bam Adebayo faced Jayson Tatum in a matte’s sensible attempt to seal a victory in the East Conference final in the first Miami Heat game.
The game raised the question: What are the playoffs of all time?
Kawhil Leonard’s defensive prowess is legendary, and begins with the length of his hands, hence the nickname “The Klaw”. This manifests itself in ripping the ball out of people’s hands to steal, but in Game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals opposed to the Denver Nuggets this year, Leonard discovered a primary blockade.
With the Los Angeles Clippers up six with two minutes to play, Jamal Murray took Montrezl Harrell to a overturn that replaced the momentum as Leonard rotated. Just as Murray tried to drop the hammer, Leonard’s big glove avoided rejection. His giant hands allowed him to do so, to keep Murray from dying dry.
Leonard not only blocked that attempted overturning with his hands, but blocked it with one finger, the middle finger, a proper denial of the poster.
Defense is James Harden’s greatest skill, this is not breaking news. The clips in which it is hit by the back door or blown up are all over the Internet. However, his biggest play in the bubble came from the defensive aspect of the court.
In the final moments of Game 7 of the first circular opposite the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets were at the forefront and unemployment. Thai Gilgeous-Alexander pushed and threw the ball at Luguentz Dort in the wing for three. Steven Adams’ defense in painting a race to the wing to block the attempt.
Of all the Rockets, Harden is the least likely to be summoned to defensive heroes, however, his blockade helped send them to the round of the moment.
Manu Ginóbili was a key member of several San Antonio Spurs championship groups and had an incredible ability to locate the right game, whether it’s a three, a tray, a pass, a serve or a block, the Spurs can count. in Ginóbili.
He met the Spurs in his second-round series against the Rockets in 2017. With the series tied 2-2 and San Antonio through 3 points, he came here with an extra-time reserve block. Harden was given through Ginóbili after a change, however, when he went up for a shot, Ginóbili arrived and blocked his 3 that might have tied the game.
Just piece to climb to manu’s legend.
LeBron James’ blockade of the 2013 Finals is lost in the history books as Heat returned to Game 6 to force Game 7 on the way to back-to-back titles.
The Heat tied the series against the Spurs in a brilliant way in Game 2 James put an exclamation point in victory when Tiago Splitter ran down the track in a top pick-and-roll. Just as Splitter returned the ball, James left his boy and met him in the basket.
As is this block of James, the latter is even better.
He is early in Bam Adedabyo’s career with the Heat, but shows that he will be an NBA star for a long time. Defensively, he must overturn the guards while patrolling the painting.
Look no further than the first game of the East Conference finals. With the Heat up to two, Jayson Tatum beat Jimmy Butler with just a few seconds to play and got up to match, only to be overturned through Adebayo on the edge. He turned to the weak side as Tatum drove and found him with the same amount of force, if not more, for the block.
Adebayo has averaged 1. 3 blocks this season, however, it is the biggest and most empathetic of his career so far.
The Chicago Bulls terrorized the New York Knicks in the 1990s. After the Knicks took a 2-0 lead in the series in the 1993 East Conference Finals, they left the Bulls behind. returns with two direct defeats, leading to a very important fifth game.
One less in the last few seconds, the Knicks were in jamming mode. When Patrick Ewing fell to the ground, he threw the ball at Charles Smith, who gave the impression of having a tray, that is, until the Bulls’ defense collapsed. about him, when Horace Grant, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen blocked their four shots before getting the rebound and put the game aside.
The Bulls left Madison Square Garden with a 3-2 lead and finished with the Knicks in the next game, the fifth game known as the ‘Charles Smith game’.
The 2004 Detroit Pistons championship race nearly ended before the NBA Finals. After losing 1-0 to the Indiana Pacers in the convention finals, the Pistons could not lose the game at the moment. ball more and Reggie Miller made a getaway.
In transition, Miller thought he was alone and slowed down a little, however, no one was counting on Tayshaun Prince to come out to eliminate that and save the Pistons. The timing of this game was perfect: Prince measured the distance to succeed in the ball before hitting the glass and committing a foul on Miller. The game advances through the game call of the Clippers’ head coach, Doc Rivers.
The Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in their first championship since the Bad Boys era and would possibly not make it unless it was because of that chase block that saves Prince’s game.
En route to the Los Angeles Lakers to their first championship in the 2000s, they faced their greatest challenge in the Western Conference final against the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite a 3-1 lead, the Lakers couldn’t keep them out. Game 7, they lost up to 15 issues in the fourth quarter.
Just as the Lakers were starting to oppose Portland, Bonzi Wells rode Rick Fox and needed to have a simple bucket before Kobe Bryant turned to help. Bryant skied through the air and propelled Wells’s shot to the ground, holding the ball. in play and getting a defensive stop from the Lakers.
It is the fourth block of Bryant’s game, and the Lakers would win the series and their first of the three Kobe-Shaq-era championships.
The Rockets’ first name in the NBA came here in a seven-game war against the Knicks in 1994, something that has never happened without a save block at the end of Game 6, one of Hakeem Olajuwon’s 4 rejections.
The Rockets were up two and had to hold on for the last five moments. The Knicks inflicted the ball on John Starks. Coming out of a ball screen, it looked like Starks had bought enough area to shoot, but Olajuwon recovered. at the last minute to block the attempt.
Olajuwon’s blocked shot forced a seventh game, which the Rockets would win, and he won his first Finals MVP award.
The seventh game of the 2016 NBA Finals had several incredible moments in the last quarter, but “The Block” will be remembered. It was the defensive moment that defined LeBron James when he led the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors at 73 wins the name.
With two minutes to play in a draw game, the Warriors had a quick two-on-one break. Stephen Curry switched to Andre Iguodala, who thought he was about to sneak in to make a tray. Out of nowhere, James, who nearly halfway through the area when Curry made the pass, nailed the opposite shot to the back panel.
Given the importance and cases of the game, this may be the biggest blockade only in NBA Finals history, but also in playoff history.
Mo Dakhil spent six years with the Los Angeles Clippers and two years with the San Antonio Spurs as video coordinator, as well as three years with the Australian men’s national team. Follow him on Twitter, @MoDakhil_NBA.