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This year's NBA playoffs have produced numerous pulsating,
close-fought, down to the last second contests.
I have been following the NBA since 1984 and I cannot remember another
playoff series that has wrought as many game winners in the closing
seconds as the first-round matchup of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the
Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference.
Here, I'll explain two terms - "game winner" and "buzzer beater" - to
help the growing legion of Chinese fans better appreciate the game.
First, definitions.
A game winner, as the name suggests, is the game-winning shot, the last
successful basket near the end of a game that proved to be the difference
in the final score.
A buzzer beater, on the other hand, refers to a shot made as the game
clock expires and the buzzer sounds - the buzzer is the little
noise-making gadget that is used to signal the beginning and the end of a
game. The buzzer rings a bee-like buzz, hence the name.
Needless to say, the most breath-taking, palm-sweating, heart-stopping
play at the end of a nail-biting game is a game-winning buzzer beater.
This is a shot that a player takes (with his team behind or tied on the
last and final possession of the game) and makes for the winning score as
time runs out. If the team's behind, the game-winning buzzer beater
effectively saves the trailing team from the snatching jaws of defeat. I
get kicks just typing out these words, seeing vivid images in my mind's
eye!
Take the Cavaliers-Wizards series - a best-of-7-games matchup - for
example.
First, in Game 3, LeBron James hit a game-winning shot with 5.7 seconds
left to give the Cavs a 97-96 victory. Video replays showed James traveled
on the play but refs collectively turned a blind eye to it, a blatant
piece of evidence of what is perceived as perennial favoritism from
officials for the game's star players. James, of course, is the hottest
star since Michael Jordan hung his nifty shoes up for good.
This is an AP report the day after Game 3:
As far as the Washington
Wizards are concerned, LeBron James' first NBA playoff game-winning shot
came with an assist -- from the officials.
And, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said Saturday, what he thinks should
have been a traveling call is part of a pattern of James getting
protection from referees. He said that's the type of help Washington's own
All-Star, Gilbert Arenas, isn't receiving in the first-round Eastern
Conference series that Cleveland leads 2-1.
"I'm not going to get fined for saying what's obvious. Everybody sees
it," Jordan said after practice ahead of Sunday's Game 4 against the
Cavaliers.
"I want to give all the credit to Cleveland, (coach) Mike Brown and his
staff and their players, but the truth is the truth. I want our players to
understand that we did a lot of things to win the game, and because a
travel wasn't called, you don't win the game."
......
Controversy - which is nothing new - aside, more drama was to come. In
Game 5, Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards' own superstar, thought he had the
game won after swishing two free throws with 3.6 seconds left. But James
had other ideas, driving hard to the basket to deliver another game winner
to give the Cavs a 3-2 lead in the series.
AP crows:
With the Cavs down by one, James, who finished with 45
points, grabbed an inbounds pass from Larry Hughes with 3 seconds to go.
Nearly trapped in the corner, he delicately slid past Antawn Jamison and
knifed inside.
As Michael Ruffin, Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood collapsed around
him, James rose in the lane and softly dropped in his game-winning layup,
sending a sellout crowd of 20,562 into frenzy.
......
Still greater drama yet came in Game 6.
Again, Arenas had a chance to be the hero but ended up a scapegoat.
Arenas, who had shot an improbable 3-pointer from way beyond the 3-point
arc to force overtime, had the chance to put his team up by three with 15
seconds left when he walked up to the stripe for two free throws. But
alas, Arenas, who has made about 8 free throws out of 10 in his career,
missed them both, giving the Cavs a chance to win the game.
The Cavs duly obliged when Damon Jones (the only NBA player who wears
Li Ning shoes) made a shot to win the game and clinch the series 4-2.
"It is hard to swallow," Arenas said afterwards. "The basketball gods
wasn't with us in this series. We lose three games on game-winning shots."
Well, at least each time the Wizards were given a second or two to get
back at their opponents. Each time, their shot attempt at the buzzer
failed to come through.
In the Western Conference, though, Kobe Bryant came through with his
buzzer beating shot in Game 3 of the Los Angeles Lakers first-round series
with the Phoenix Suns on April 30. Kobe, in fact, came through for his
team twice in this one game.
First, he made a tough running shot on a drive to the basket with 0.7
seconds left in regulation. Then, he pulled up and masterfully made a
5-meter jumper as the overtime buzzer sounded, giving the Lakers a 98-97
victory and a shocking 3-1 lead in the series.
Now, that's a great game-winning buzzer beater from a great player who
has made numerous buzzer beaters in his career.
Again, AP reports:
The Los Angeles Lakers needed two last-gasp shots
from Kobe Bryant to beat the Phoenix Suns.
...
Bryant made a
looping runner with seven-tenths of a second left in the fourth quarter to
force overtime, and a 17-footer as time expired to lift the Lakers to an
improbable 99-98 victory over the Suns and a 3-1 lead in the first-round
Western Conference playoff series.
...
Well, the Lakers had the best individual player. But the Suns had the
best team - they went on to win three games in a row to advance, sending
Kobe and Co to an early vacation.
Keep watching.
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