Wizards Chalkboard is a semi-regular series in which we look at the X's and O's of basketball and some of the key sets and plays from recent Wizards games. Today we look back on the Wizards thrilling double-overtime win over the Tulsa 66ers on January 13th - specifically the final play of the first overtime in which Mike Anderson tied the game on a last second jumper with .9 seconds remaining.
Games like the Wizards 113-109 win over Tulsa a little less than two weeks ago are reasons why I, and so many others, love basketball. Fortunes can change in an instant. It really isn't over until it's over - even with less than a second to play. Mike Anderson's fallaway jumper as time expired at the Civic Center sent the arena into a frenzy, gave Dakota new life and powered the men in purple to a win that stands as the most exciting of the season to date. The play itself was based on the simple principle that so many coaches preach to their defenses: beware the screener. More often than not on any play involving a screen, it's the player setting the screen who is the most open give the attention being given by the defense to the man cutting off of the screen. Let's look at how the play broke down to better illustrate this point.
Games like the Wizards 113-109 win over Tulsa a little less than two weeks ago are reasons why I, and so many others, love basketball. Fortunes can change in an instant. It really isn't over until it's over - even with less than a second to play. Mike Anderson's fallaway jumper as time expired at the Civic Center sent the arena into a frenzy, gave Dakota new life and powered the men in purple to a win that stands as the most exciting of the season to date. The play itself was based on the simple principle that so many coaches preach to their defenses: beware the screener. More often than not on any play involving a screen, it's the player setting the screen who is the most open give the attention being given by the defense to the man cutting off of the screen. Let's look at how the play broke down to better illustrate this point.
The Wizards obviously had a lineup of shooters on the floor for this play, in desperate need of a basket to tie or win the game. Shy Ely is the man inbounding on the nearside, with Mo Baker on the opposite wing, Justin Johnson down on the far block, while Mike Anderson and Edwin Ubiles are in a stack at the foul line. As the play begins Baker cuts off of Anderson and Ubiles and rotates down towards the near corner - but only as a decoy. You'll notice on many plays like this one, the first man to move rarely gets the ball, unless absolutely wide open. This initial movement serves to a) hopefully distract the defense from where they want the play to develop and b) force the defense to commit a defender at the risk of leaving a shooter open.
As Baker clears the stack, Anderson sets a quick screen freeing Ubiles to flash to the top of the key. Again, Ubiles is an option here if left totally wide open, but in this case he serves as a decoy. As soon as he clears the screen, Anderson flashes to the ball at the near side elbow and Ely delivers.
Of course we know how the rest plays out: Anderson hits the shot and propels the Wizards to a win. Credit Tulsa though, as you can see the shot is well defended despite a well devised plan by Dakota, Anderson just manages to get the shot off and connect.
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