Quote:
Originally Posted by Firebot
The timeout timing was odd, until you saw the shot of Kawhi on the sidelines barely able to catch his breath. He had just scored 10 straight points and could barely stand, and Nurse clearly saw that. He was totally gassed.
The timeout disrupted the flow, but at the same time, the Raptors let 3 straight 3's go in from great passing plays while not scoring the other way. GS are a dynasty, and still remain the defending champions for a reason. They miss one of those shots, and the game is pretty much over. The vets from GS came through in the clutch.
|
Another factor: you get only two timeouts per side in the last 3 minutes, so if Nurse wanted to buy his players some extra rest, he needed to do it right then rather than waiting another possession, and he couldn't count on the Warriors to call one since they were already down to 2. So yeah, I think it was a decent decision to call a timeout when he did; it's consistent with the way he's used them all year, occasionally calling a time-out when his team has momentum in order to make sure they're focusing on the right details.
Now, not calling one before that last play, I don't agree with. I think they could have gotten a better shot out of an ATO play. With the Warriors taking Cousins out, maybe put both Ibaka and Gasol in, try and get something at the rim with a couple seconds left on the clock so there's a chance at a putback.