An unexpected 17-point comeback by the Blazers bench fell just short as CJ McCollum missed a three-point attempt as time expired. But should CJ have been the one to take the final shot?
The Blazers are blessed with one of the clutchest players in the NBA. Damian Lillard has hit numerous buzzer-beaters to win the game this season and over his career. Most infamously, he swished an off-balance three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to knock Houston out of the playoffs.
Related Story: Damian Lillard's frequent 4th quarter heroics
Even with him sidelined Thursday night, Portland found itself within two points of the league’s best team. 13.3 seconds remained and Terry Stotts subbed CJ McCollum in for the debuting Georgios Papagiannis. James Harden missed his second free throw and Pat Connaughton flew down the court for a game-tying layup!
Chris Paul answered with a go-ahead floater, leaving 0.8 seconds for the Blazers to complete its miraculous comeback.
A lineup of Connaughton, Papagiannis, Jake Layman, Caleb Swanigan and Wade Baldwin staged the comeback. However, Stotts opted to swap Papagiannis for McCollum so he could attempt the final shot.
As expected, CJ took a quick three-pointer off the inbounds pass. It clanked off the rim and the comeback officially fell short.
While a two-point loss without Lillard to the Rockets is a proud accomplishment, Blazers fans couldn’t help but wonder why Stotts elected to have McCollum take the final shot.
CJ not the one to take the final shot
Portland’s deep reserves were the ones with all the momentum. After 44 minutes of trailing by double-digits, only they mustered the energy to push for a comeback. If they were the ones to get back into the game, they should be the ones to close it out.
CJ McCollum was 7/24 from the field and 2/9 from three. Also, he sat for 3:44 in the fourth quarter before popping off the bench for a last second effort. Neither aspect bodes well for a game-deciding, off-balance three-pointer with a hand in face. The best bet to make this low percentage shot is someone already on fire.
Wade Baldwin shot 6/10 from the field and 2/3 from deep; he might’ve been a better option. Caleb Swanigan was 3/4 and only needed a two-pointer for the tie; he might’ve been a better option. Even Pat Connaughton might’ve been a better option; he sunk 4/6 shots and made the game-tying layup 13 seconds earlier.
Next: Who should the Blazers want in the first round?
We all knew Terry Stotts wanted CJ McCollum shooting the buzzer-beater. All important shots end up in the hands of either he or Lillard. The team could’ve used Lillard throughout the whole game, but especially for that final 0.8 seconds. In his absence, CJ became Stotts’ go-to.
And in the end, it didn’t pay off as the attempt fell short.
In being critical of the coach’s decision, we must also remember the slim chance that any of Baldwin, Connaughton, Swanigan, etc. made the game-winner. In fact, they probably had a lower probability of hitting it. But that “white-flag” lineup staged a 17-point comeback against James Harden and Chris Paul. It was only right that one of those guys sees it out with the final attempt.