Eliot Shorr-Parks
@EliotShorrParks
That shot is something that happens to a special team that is going to make a special playoff run
#Sixers
10:53 PM · Apr 20, 2022·Twitter Web App
Brock Otten
@BrockOtten
That was not the finest 5 seconds of Nick Nurse’s coaching career. Terrible defensive strategy decision on that inbound and then a terrible play call on that last shot. Love him but that was brutal. #Raptors
10:53 PM · Apr 20, 2022·Twitter for iPhone
I agree with Eliot completely and with the first half of Brock’s tweet. Toronto wasn't playing man-to-man on Joel. He shook free from a scrum at the top of the key and raced to the left wing where he was free momentarily. He was able to catch the ball and milliseconds later two "Raptors" ran at him, one making no play on the shot for fear of drawing a foul. It was a beautifully-called play by Doc Rivers, who had the in-bounds guy throw it to Joel's inside, that is with his back to the Toronto defenders and the basket and with the sideline in front of him. If there had been a defender glued to him the defender could not have stolen the ball. If he poked the ball loose he risked a foul or knocking it out of bounds and it would still have been Phila’s ball. That beautifully-designed play however required Joel, with his fucking back to the basket, to catch, jump, turn completely around and shoot. He got nothing but net.
I don’t know what happened on Toronto’s last possession, though, so I can’t agree with or contest Brock’s second point. The ESPN play-by-play had one Toronto guy subbing in and then 0:00 on the clock.(?)