One of those pathetic, cliche questions reporters feel obligated to ask (but really think they’re creative in doing so) a Big Three group of players is “Who gets the final shot?” Nevermind that the goal is to win every game by enough of a margin where a last shot won’t be necessary, but many media members think this is some huge determining factor in what makes a team. See, unless you have Scottie Pippen on your squad, this is not an issue.
Well, it only took six games but we already got an answer to the question: it’s Eddie House. The Heat were down three against the Hornets 96-93 in the final seconds and needed a three point basket to tie the game. They ran an inbounds play for Dwyane Wade who rose up for a three but elected to pass to House midair. Though Wade had an excellent look coming off a screen, he thought House was the better option. House missed it and the Hornets pulled off the surprise win, handing Miami its second loss of the season.
There’s no shame in losing to the Hornets who are 5-0 and have beaten all very good teams. Chris Paul had 19 assists and Emeka Okafor missed just one shot going 12-13 for 26 points. What’s shocking is that with all the stars on Miami’s roster, Eddie House was the one taking the final shot. Both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James talked about how nice it would be to have a second star to whom they could defer. It seemed like both guys were in defer mode in the final minute and that hurt Miami.
It’s only November so there’s plenty of time for everything to be settled, but seeing Eddie House take the final shot is not what anybody expected.
