Earlier this year I wrote a post about defending the inbounder on end of game plays. I am revisiting this post after the Derrick White putback in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

First let’s review the play. Miami is three seconds away from going to the NBA Finals, they just need to get one more stop against Boston. As the play is being set up, Max Strus is not defending the inbound passer, White. Instead Erik Spoelstra is using him as a second defender to deny. Jayson Tatum from getting a catch.

That allows White to make an easy pass to Marcus Smart for the shot attempt. But more importantly it has given White a free run to crash the glass as Strus cannot go from denying Tatum near half court and recovering to White for the box out. The rest is history.

This decision from Spoelstra has put the Heat on the brink of being the first NBA team to ever blow a 3-0 lead.

Below is the post from earlier in the year.

Defend the Inbounder

Nothing drives me more insane than teams at the end of games leaving the inbounder wide open at the end of games. Too many teams have allowed the inbounder a free look to make the pass. 

The idea of not defending the inbounder allows the defense to defend the play with an extra man. That extra-man defender can double anyone coming up for the ball and limit options for the inbounding team.

There is just one issue with this concept; it takes all the pressure off the inbounder. It allows the passer to place the pass just perfectly. There are several examples of the inbounder not being defended which has led open shots at the end of games. 

Take a look at this game-winner Joel Embiid hit in the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors. Fred VanVleet started defending the ball but was called back to sit in the paint by Nick Nurse. This allowed Danny Green to see the whole play unfold, and had a clear passing lane to Embiid for the game-winner. 

The Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks recently played a game down to the wire, and both teams played the end-of-game inbound entirely differently. First, the Mavs had Luka Doncic turn his back to the ball, and it looked like he was to take anyone that came his way. The problem for the Mavs is that the Bucks set up a backpick lob play for Brook Lopez. You can see on the replay there is zero pressure on the passer as Doncic does not move at all while George Hill drops a pinpoint pass. 

On the Mavs’ next possession, the Bucks not only put someone on the inbounder, but they also put seven-foot Lopez on the job. The goal was to ensure no clear lines of sight. The ball still gets inbounded to Doncic, but Spencer Dinwiddie has to put some air on the pass, throwing off the timing a hair and allowing Jrue Holiday to recover. 

Not defending the inbounder was a prevailing theme at the end of the Golden State Warriors-Detroit Pistons game. Down three, Steve Kerr drew up a great play but pay attention to Bojan Bogdanovic’s defense against Ty Jerome, the inbounder. He started three feet behind the line and then turned his back to the passer. This allowed Jerome to throw a perfect pass to Anthony Lamb, who hit Klay Thompson for the three. 

But the very next day, Kevon Looney fell for the same trap. He was defending the ball, then shaded toward the sideline as Bogdanovic was running that way. Looney never squared back up, so Killian Hayes had a clear passing lane when Saddiq Bey ran up from the baseline and hit the game-winner. It was a tough shot to make, but it was an easy pass to make. 

Yes, teams will score game-winners even with someone defending the inbounder, but why should the defense make it easier for the offense? Putting someone on the ball will at least add to the degree of difficulty. 

Please don’t take my word for it. Grant Hill threw one of the most incredible passes in the Men’s NCAA Final Four history. He threw a long bomb to Christian Laettner for a game-winning shot for the Duke Blue Devils. Notice that Kentucky elected not to put a defender on the ball. 

Hill reminisced about the play with Thomas O’Toole and said, “I was surprised I had such a good view of Christian. I got a clean shot of him”. The lesson should have been learned, but it has not stuck with everyone.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Lakers took game one of the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets by putting Lamar Odom on the inbounder. It forced Anthony Carter to lob up the pass and bought time for Trevor Ariza to come up with a huge steal for the game. 

Please, coaches, put a man on the inbounder. 

Mo Dakhil spent six years with the Los Angeles Clippers and two years with the San Antonio Spurs as a video coordinator, as well as three years with the Australian men’s national team. Follow him on Twitter,@MoDakhil_NBA.