ESPN NBA

Not long ago I pointed out how sad it was that with the game on the line and four seconds left, the best the Sacramento Kings could manage was their point guard heaving it up from half-court.



Last night practically the same exact play happened again at the end of overtime between the Grizzlies and the Sonics. Seattle was up 115-112 as the Grizzlies had to go the length of the floor in about four seconds. Chucky Atkins turned on the jets, used a little more clock than the Kings did (Bibby shot from half court with a second and a half left), got to somewhere just outside thirty feet from the hoop, pulled up, and nailed it. Looked good all the way, and makes for some great video.



The Sonics had some kind of soul collapse at that point, Rudy Gay started reverse dunking, and the Grizzlies won easily in the second overtime.



I was so disappointed in the Kings' lack of team play at that point--they seemed to have no plan at all. The Grizzlies weren't much better in this case, but Chucky Atkins imposed his will so thoroughly on the late parts of this game--he made it look good anyway. (And, frankly, there's a big difference between a really long three with half a second left, and a half-court shot with a second and a half left.)