10 burning questions about Damian Lillard's series-winning shot
It was the type of shot that deserves proper-name capitalization and its own Wikipedia entry. It was the type of shot you'll always remember where you were and what you were doing while you were watching it. It was the type of shot that reminds you of everything wonderful and inspiring (and also everything miserable and spirit-crushing) about postseason basketball. It was the type of shot that makes you write thousand-word columns about it in the middle of the night because you know there's no way you can get to sleep after it anyway.
Damian Lillard. Game Six. Good God Almighty.
Yeah, that's a game-winning, series-winning walk-off three-pointer, shot on the run across his body from several feet behind the arc, with .9 seconds on the clock and the team down two. If Lillard decided to promptly quit basketball and focus instead on his latent snowboarding career after making that shot, they'd ask for his jersey on the way out and hold an impromptu retirement ceremony for him right there and there, flinging that thing towards the rafters right next to Walton and Drexler.
A million thoughts run through your head after seeing a shot like that, and in the moment, they tend to filter out through your mouth at once in some kind of unintelligible "WAUUUUGGGHGHGH!??!?!" But now that I've had a few minutes to compose myself, I've tried to collect those thoughts into the ten principal questions I think are raised by the shot, with my best attempts at answering them underneath. I doubt I'll still have fully processed the shot by the end of this, but it'll be a start.
1. What are we calling this thing?
As I alluded to up top, a shot like this needs a name, a proper one that can be easily referred to and identified and tells you all need to know about it without being too over-explainy. Alliteration is always helpful, and puns off the player or team name are usually pretty good ideas, particularly if they can reference some famous phrase or historical moment in the process. It's still early in the shot's legacy, and sometimes such names need to develop organically over time, but here's a couple starter ideas to get the ball rolling, at least:
-The Damian Dagger
-The Blaze of Glory
-The Rip City Reckoning
-The Moda Center Miracle
-The Omen
"The Omen" is the least descriptive, but also the one that feels the most inevitable. And even if it's a well we need to go back to--and based on Damian's predictably badass "The biggest shot of my life...so far" comment about the game-winner, we probably will--then that's fine, it just becomes "The Omen II," "The Omen III," etc. You can even make your own subtitles! But please, other better suggestions would also be most appreciated.
2. Was this the greatest NBA walk-off series-winner ever?
It's a tough call. If you're talking about the modern NBA, there's only two shots you're really discussing alongside it:
The MJ series-winner--commonly known, of course, as "The Shot"--has the advantages of coming in a do-or-die Game Five, and involving both the greatest player and one of the most lasting images in league history, not to mention the priceless reaction of a deflated Craig Ehlo kinda crumpling to the ground. (And it's called "THE SHOT," ferchrissake.) Working against it, however, is that the shot itself was significantly less impressive than Lillard's--it's a tough, well-contested pull-up jumper, but it's only from the free-throw line and he had several seconds to get it off.
The Stockton series-winner--which doesn't seem to have an easily identifiable name, way to go late-'90s sports media--gets points for occurring in the Conference Finals instead of the first round, coming from a Hall-of-Famer (with a jarringly uncharacteristic display of unbridled jubilation to follow) and for also being a three from decent range. But it came with the Jazz tied rather than trailing, also in a Game Six, and it's cheapened a little by the fact that Stockton was sprung for the shot by what really might be the most illegal uncalled illegal screen in NBA history, courtesy of a Drexler-hugging Karl Malone.
Ultimately, for mostly historic reasons, I'd say Lillard slots just behind The Shot, but maybe a step ahead of the Stockton three. And taken purely on shot degree-of-difficulty, it's Lillard in a heartbeat.
3. Was this the greatest shot in the playoffs since...well, what was the last shot that was better than this?
For a second, I wondered how far back we'd have to go to find a big-time NBA shot that matched this one in terms of difficulty, unlikeliness, significance and instant unforgettable-ness. Had there been one in the last five years? Ten years? Would you have to go all the way back to the '90s, maybe?
Then I remembered: Oh, right.
Why you gotta be so mean, Ray?
4. Has any current point guard had a better start to their playoff career than Damian Lillard?
Let's not let this one incredible, iconic shot overshadow the fact that Dame's whole series was absolute white hot--his first-ever playoff series at age 23, in case we forgot. Here's the line Lillard put up in six games against the Rockets:
25.5 PPG, 6.7 APG, 6.7 RPG, 47% FG, 49% 3PT, 1.3 SPG, 2.3 TOV (Avg. Basketball-Reference Game Score: 22.0)
That's, uh, not so bad. Here's how he compares to how some other of today's current marquee point guards did in their first playoff series:
Stephen Curry ('13 vs. Nuggets, 4th Year, 25 Years Old): 24.3 PPG, 9.3 APG, 4.3 RPG, 47% FG, 44% 3PT, 2.2 SPG, 3.3 TOV, 20.5 GmSC (Won in 6)
Tony Parker ('02 vs. Sonics, 1st Year, 19 Years Old): 17.2 PPG, 2.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 50% FG, 53% 3PT, 0.6 SPG, 1.0 TOV, 11.6 GmSc (Won in 5)
Chris Paul ('08 vs. Mavericks, 3rd Year, 22 Years Old): 24.6 PPG, 12.0 APG, 5.6 RPG, 50% FG, 27% 3PT, 2.0 SPG, 1.2 TOV, 25.2 GmSc (Won in 5)
Rajon Rondo ('08 vs. Hawks, 2nd Year, 22 Years Old): 11.6 PPG, 7.3 APG, 4.1 RPG, 46% FG, 25% 3PT, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 TOV, 12.3 GmSc (Won in 7)
Derrick Rose ('09 vs. Celtics, 1st Year, 19 Years Old): 19.7 PPG, 6.4 APG, 6.3 RPG, 49% FG, 0% 3PT, 0.6 SPG, 5.0 TOV, 12.5 GmSc (Lost in 7)
Russell Westbrook ('10 vs. Lakers, 2nd Year, 21 Years Old): 20.5 PPG, 6.0 APG, 6.0 RPG, 47% FG, 42% 3PT, 1.7 SPG, 2.3 TOV, 17.6 GmSc (Lost in 6)
Deron Williams ('07 vs. Rockets, 2nd Year, 22 Years Old): 16.3 PPG, 8.4 APG, 5.0 RPG, 43% FG, 14% 3PT, 1.1 SPG, 3.4 TOV, 12.8 GmSC (Won in 7)
Lillard is probably outclassed a little bit by that ridiculous Chris Paul playoff debut--no shame in getting beaten by the best, Dame--but otherwise, he stands alongside and likely above everybody else on this list, even last year's playoff breakout star Stephen Curry. And while Steph might have hit more ridiculous shots over the course of last year's first-round upset of the Nuggets, no single one was quite as ridiculous as Lillard's final make.
5. What was the most subtly brilliant part of the play, Lillard's get-me-the-damn-ball handclap, or that ho-hum, nothing-to-see-here expression he fakes out Chandler Parsons with before turning on the jets?
The first five or six times I watched the clip, the quick double-handclap Lillard does while in transit behind the arc--telling inbounder Nicolas Batum in no uncertain terms It will be I who takes this final shot and lord have mercy on your eternal soul if you attempt to deny me this--was what caught my eye. I mean, I don't know about you, but I couldn't do that while remaining in stride a good step ahead of my defender and still keeping my hands available enough to catch and fire from such a distance in such a short amount of time (Not to mention that he gets pretty good sound on that clap--it's clearly audible on the broadcast and everything).
But the more I watch it, it's clear that the true moment of inspiration for Lillard came before the whistle is even blown, when he basically lulls his defender to sleep with shrugged shoulders, dragging feet, and a general air of C'mon, let's get this play over with already.
If you're wondering how Chandler Parsons ends up so badly behind the play, it's not because he really gets taken out by the screening of Mo Williams or Wes Matthews--it's because the transition from Lillard's Charlie Brown routine into him Meep-Meeping his way to that sweet spot beyond the arc caught Parsons enough by surprise that it bought him the extra step or two he needed to get the shot off.
He also might push off Parsons the tiniest bit, but only as if to say "Tag!" before scampering away.
I can't wait to see this diversionary tactic take off around the league. Kevin Durant checks his watch before darting out for a catch-and-shoot. LeBron James exaggerates a yawn--complete with the "one sec" finger motion for politeness--before exploding to the rim to throw down an oop. Blake Griffin challenges a defender to a thumb war, but then spins into post position in the middle of the "I declare a..." intro. It's gonna be chill.
6. What the hell was that switch?
If you're watching that clip and wondering why Parsons was given Lillard-chasing obligations rather than Houston's designated Lillard-stopper, Patrick Beverley...well, that's a pretty F-ing good question. Here, you can see a little of how before the play starts. Beverley initially goes to Lillard and Parsons to Williams, but for reasons that are not totally clear, they switch assignments on the play before the whistle sounds. At time of publishing, Yahoo!'s Dan Devine was trying valiantly to ascertain the reasoning behind the switch, but to no avail--just some talk apparently barked by Coach Kevin McHale (and filtered through James Harden) about the Rockets sticking to their assignments.
The Switch--and really, if you were going to give the shot a "The Shot"-like moniker, that would probably be the detail to key in on--is likely one that will be mentioned and questioned in Houston for some time to come. You'd have to think that Rockets fans would have to have felt better even with a gimpy Patrick Beverley chasing Lillard behind the arc on the biggest shot of the year--even if he couldn't have gotten up a good contest, he at least would've shouted an irritating knock-knock joke at Dame or something--than a two-steps-slow Chandler Parsons. Stay tuned on that one.
7. Speaking of, was that shot the dagger that killed Kevin McHale's coaching career?
McHale was already starting to feel the heat from the Rockets trailing in the series, from the team's oddly shrinking rotation, and from too much of Houston's fourth-quarter execution amounting to clearing out for James Harden and watching him juke his way into a contested, stepback two--a methodology that had found little crunch-time success through five games.
But with 0.9 seconds to go, it looked like McHale had been bailed out. The Rockets' final possessions both led to groan worthy Harden tete-a-tetes with Wes Matthews, which in turn led to predictably ugly stepback jumpers, both of which missed badly. But the first one landed with the Blazers out of bounds (arguably), and the second one ended up in the arms of Parsons, who deposited the rebound to put the Rockets up two. In a pro sports world where results are still mostly valued over process, it seemed likely that McHale's job would be safe for another day, and possibly for the whole series. If they escaped with the win, anyway.
Of course, they made no such escape, and now not only do those last Rockets possessions look pretty bad in retrospect, but the team's defensive strategy on the final play (and their execution thereof) comes off as borderline-catastrophic. If GM Daryl Morey believed that it was time for McHale to go, he'd have everything he needed in that final minute of the Rockets' season to present a pretty convincing case as to why. Good thing, too: Dwight Howard's old buddy Mike D'Antoni just became available!
8. Does "The Omen" push Blazers-Rockets into Bulls-Celtics territory?
You know this first round has been good when people start invoking the memory of the greatest first-round series of my basketball lifetime, Bulls vs. Celtics in 2009, and wondering if some of the series from this year could measure up. You could present a case that either Blazers-Rockets or Grizzlies-Thunder could be considered on the same level as B's-C's, but before last night I didn't really want to hear that: There was just so much going on in Bulls-Celtics, such a high level of competition, so many priceless moments, so many players to fall in love with for the first time (or just all over again) and it captivated me so profoundly at the time that I didn't think my heart could ever feel that way about another first-round series again.
After Lillard's dagger, though, I have to at least consider that Blazers-Rockets has one over on B's-C's in terms of the Ultimate Highlight factor. It still falls short of that gold standard for me by virtue of having a much less compelling cast of characters (Dame aside), and by only going six games (though the B's-C's denouement was actually the least exciting of the seven games), but it had just about everything else--the overtimes, the superlative individual performances, the inter-team testiness, the incredible finishes, and now, one of the greatest shots in the annals of NBA postseason lore. Definitely could have used some Brad Miller, though.
9. Does anyone deserve this moment more than Portland fans?
Doubt it. There are certainly other franchises that have experienced their fair share of heartbreak and public embarrassment over the 21st century, but to go through a 14-year dry spell like the Blazers fans have--encompassing the national shame of the Jail Blazers days, the broken promises of the Greg Oden and Brandon Roy era, and six straight first-round losses, a curse essentially brought on by another all-time NBA playoff highlight at the turn of the millennium--while still remaining one of the NBA's model fanbases and greatest home-court advantages...it's hard to imagine there are any hoops fans more deserving of a miracle.
It's not surprising that the Portland fans were still hanging around the Moda Center well after the final buzzer had sounded. I imagine I would too if I rooted for the Blazers--not just to soak the moment in, but to make 100 percent sure that it was a real thing that totally actually happened, and that the refs weren't going to come back to be like "nah, just playing" and say the clock was actually a half-second late and Lillard didn't actually get his shot off in time and Rockets win. So far, so good on that count, though: It really might just be a new day for the Portland Trail Blazers and their fans. A hard-earned one, for sure.
10. Does this moment finally get the first round out from under the shadow of Donald Sterling a little?
I'd like to think so, though it might just be wishful thinking on my part. The Sterling story was so big, so pervasive and so ultimately impactful that it's hard to imagine that won't still be the first thing that most people think of when they think of this postseason's first round, and probably rightly so. But this was also the best first round most of us have ever experienced purely on basketball play alone, and it was a shame that as great as so many of the games have been, they were still dwarfed in coverage and attention by the ongoing saga with Sterling's idiocy and the fallout that came from it. This was a postseason that deserved to stand on its own.
And the greatest gift of last night might have been that it gave us a moment of such unique presence, such obvious brilliance and such generally positive feelings--unless, of course, you're a Rockets fan, in which case I think I owe you a pint of ice cream--that for a good moment there, the NBA world seemed to forget all about the tragic shenanigans of the Clippers' soon-to-be-former-owner. Like Louis C.K. once said, when you have bacon in your mouth, it doesn't matter who's president. And in the full breakfast buffet that has been this first round, that Lillard shot was still the sweetest, smokiest, crispiest bacon the NBA has fed us in some time.
Bonus Question 1: Is this the coolest up-close NBA vine ever?
Yes. Yes it is.
Bonus Question 2: Is this the best literal walk-off after a game-winning NBA shot ever?
Yes. Yes it is.