Is it true Tony Parker was not on the floor for the final play in game 4?

[WayOutWest]

Heard on the radio that TP was not on the court for the final shot.  WTF?!?!  TP and TD were the ONLY consistent players for the Spurs so why was he not on the floor.  I think it was TD, Horry, Finely, Manu and Barry, TP should have been in there instead of Horry or Finely, those guys did NOTHING in that game and pretty much nothing for the series.

Say it aint so Pop!

[msc]

Pop is such an idiot.  He should have only put BARRRDAWG on the floor.   1 on 5 Barrdawg would have smoked the Lakers! 

Seriously, I guess he was going w/TD surrounded by his best 3 point shooters.  With only 2.1 left, unless you lob it to TD, it's doing to be a long jumper for the tie or win.

[westkoast]

He wasn't..

Finley, Barry, Horry, Duncan (to set a screen), and Manu were out there.  All their best long distance shooters.  Sounded reasonable to me since they only had enough time to get a 3 off and not get into the paint.  Had there been say 10 seconds left he would have been in.

[WayOutWest]

Pop is such an idiot.  He should have only put BARRRDAWG on the floor.   1 on 5 Barrdawg would have smoked the Lakers! 

Seriously, I guess he was going w/TD surrounded by his best 3 point shooters.  With only 2.1 left, unless you lob it to TD, it's doing to be a long jumper for the tie or win.

I totaly disagree, 2.1 is a life time in the NBA.  Just look at what Billups earlier in the playoffs, he knew with only seconds on the clock the defender would bit on any pump fake.  Billups pump faked and got hit in almost the exact same way BUT Billups was smart enough to jump into the shooter and attempt a shot.  IMO Parker and Manu should have got the ball because they would have drawn the call on the exact same play by jumping into Fish and going to the FT line for 3 (THREE!!!) shots.  Not to mention if you set the right picks you CAN get something going to the hoop and get a layup, 2 FT's or even an "and-one". 

IMO bad execution on the last play, you don't put your playoff life in the hands of Barry, no matter how hot he was, with TP, TD and Manu on your team.

[westkoast]

Pop is such an idiot.  He should have only put BARRRDAWG on the floor.   1 on 5 Barrdawg would have smoked the Lakers! 

Seriously, I guess he was going w/TD surrounded by his best 3 point shooters.  With only 2.1 left, unless you lob it to TD, it's doing to be a long jumper for the tie or win.

I totaly disagree, 2.1 is a life time in the NBA.  Just look at what Billups earlier in the playoffs, he knew with only seconds on the clock the defender would bit on any pump fake.  Billups pump faked and got hit in almost the exact same way BUT Billups was smart enough to jump into the shooter and attempt a shot.  IMO Parker and Manu should have got the ball because they would have drawn the call on the exact same play by jumping into Fish and going to the FT line for 3 (THREE!!!) shots.  Not to mention if you set the right picks you CAN get something going to the hoop and get a layup, 2 FT's or even an "and-one". 

IMO bad execution on the last play, you don't put your playoff life in the hands of Barry, no matter how hot he was, with TP, TD and Manu on your team.

According to Matt "Money" Smith of KLAC (who sat court side at half court doing stats) the play wasn't called for Barry.  It was called for Manu.  Manu set the screen to allow Barry to catch the ball (as the best ball handler on the floor) and he was suppose to give it back to Manu once he got to the 3 point arc.  Manu never got free'd from Sasha and did not make it up to the top to catch the pass.

[WayOutWest]

According to Matt "Money" Smith of KLAC (who sat court side at half court doing stats) the play wasn't called for Barry.  It was called for Manu.  Manu set the screen to allow Barry to catch the ball (as the best ball handler on the floor) and he was suppose to give it back to Manu once he got to the 3 point arc.  Manu never got free'd from Sasha and did not make it up to the top to catch the pass.

If that is the case the Spurs were screwed from the get go.  You don't have time catch THEN pass unless it's a lob to the rim, even then it's cutting it WAY too close.

[westkoast]

According to Matt "Money" Smith of KLAC (who sat court side at half court doing stats) the play wasn't called for Barry.  It was called for Manu.  Manu set the screen to allow Barry to catch the ball (as the best ball handler on the floor) and he was suppose to give it back to Manu once he got to the 3 point arc.  Manu never got free'd from Sasha and did not make it up to the top to catch the pass.

If that is the case the Spurs were screwed from the get go.  You don't have time catch THEN pass unless it's a lob to the rim, even then it's cutting it WAY too close.

It takes just as much time to catch a pass then give it to another player as it would for Parker to catch the ball at the top of the 3, get around his man, and get into the paint like you are suggesting.

It only takes .4 to get a shot off.  They had 1.8 seconds to move the ball back into GNob's hands.

[msc]

The play was drawn up for Manu, but there were other options and Barry was one of the options when Manu was shut down.  Several players and Pop confirmed this is post game interviews. 

[WayOutWest]

The play was drawn up for Manu, but there were other options and Barry was one of the options when Manu was shut down.  Several players and Pop confirmed this is post game interviews. 

That is my problem with the whole play, Manu was NOT shut down.  Manu set a screen on Sasha and then held that screen hard so Sasha had no shot at getting above the arc to defend.

[WayOutWest]

It takes just as much time to catch a pass then give it to another player as it would for Parker to catch the ball at the top of the 3, get around his man, and get into the paint like you are suggesting.

It only takes .4 to get a shot off.  They had 1.8 seconds to move the ball back into GNob's hands.

I would not expect a play like that, I expect a play where the target is already heading towards the rim when the pass is inbounded.  Otherwise you run a play where a player is fading away from the basket for a catch and shot or catch pump fake and shot.  Plenty of time for that, just ask Billups.