Breaking Down Chris Bosh’s Game-Winning 3 vs Nets in Game 4

With 1:13 left in Game 4, the Miami Heat found themselves tied with the Brooklyn Nets despite 40-plus points by LeBron James. The Nets wouldn’t go away, but neither would Chris Bosh.

Bosh, who previously missed two three-pointers, never loses the confidence to put it up.

Interestingly enough, Dwyane Wade brought the ball up the court. LeBron and Bosh hovered on the baseline below the basket, Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers on opposite wings.

With perfect synchronization, all five players began moving. LeBron started his curl up to the top of the key, where he would set a screen. Meanwhile, Bosh dragged Kevin Garnett to the corner. Chalmers ran around the baseline and up to Allen’s original position on the wing. Allen ran the three-point arc and toward Chalmers’ launch point.

After LeBron slipped the screen, Wade found him right away rolling to the basket. Joe Johnson, covering LeBron, was sucked into helping on Wade, who Paul Pierce was also covering. (This is the point of slipping the screen. It creates confusion among the defense. The person defending the slipper thinks he is supposed to switch while the person covering the ball handler can see that the screener didn’t set a hard pick and so remains on his cover).

Pierce frantically runs back to LeBron while Garnett crashes in to help protect the rim. Shaun Livington is unsure what to do and runs around with his hands up, first toward LeBron then fearfully back toward Allen in the corner.

The ex-Celtics surround LeBron. He manages a pass out to Chalmers, still on the wing. Chalmers, almost without completely touching the ball, passes it over to Bosh. Bosh is wide open (because Garnett didn’t have enough time to get back) and hits the three-pointer. KABOSH.

Some notes:

• Wade brings the ball up rather than Chalmers as to best utilize Rio’s spacing, as well as the threat of Wade driving to the basket off the LeBron pick.
• LeBron on the slip screen has become a secret weapon for the Heat.
• His pass was extremely difficult with Pierce and Garnett hounding him.
• Chalmers’ touch pass was essential. A moment later and Garnett could have recovered for a healthy contest of Bosh’s shot.
• Chalmers thought about shooting it himself before making the pass. Not sure when he had time to think about it.
• Bosh missed a previous three-pointer that LeBron was not happy he took. He thought Bosh should have continued swing the ball, rather than shoot a three from the top of the arc.
• Look at the gravity that LeBron has on this play, with four of the Nets’ defenders on him at one time.

This game was all LeBron for the most part, but this final play was a team effort, beautifully designed by a great coach.