Butler’s shot in Celtics-Heat Game 7 yielded a tough result from a correct decision

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2022 (844 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We certainly got a Game 7 from Boston and Miami last night that NBA fans deserved last night, a bit zany at times and certainly not one perfectly played but one full of drama right to the end.

And it parts of it – well, one shot of it – will be debated for years in Miami, I am sure, which makes it even better.

The Jimmy Butler three-point attempt with about 14 seconds left, a shot that would have put the Heat up and might have given them the series, although that’s debatable, is going to be one of those “moments” that goes down in lore.

For my money, Butler pulling up in transition against a back-pedaling Al Horford with the Heat down two was the right decision, the right shot, the right play that just turned out bad.

There’s no reason to think he would have drawn a foul at that moment by going to the rim, he’d hit just about the exact same shot in the first half of the game, he’d played every minute of the game and was probably dreading five more minutes of intensity and he went for the home run.

Can’t blame him in the least.

Besides, even if he gets to the rim and scores, the game’s only tied, the Celtics would have been able to hold the ball and take a shot at the buzzer; if he makes it and Miami’s up one, the Celtics would have to had to tried to score with enough time on the clock to foul if they missed, giving the Heat another chance to win.

No, the right move in my book, for sure, was to do what he did.

Too bad he didn’t make it because for as good as he was the entire playoffs – almost single-handedly carrying the Heat some nights – he deserved a Kawhi-esque moment to end it all.

But it goes to the greatness of sport, doesn’t it?

One superstar, having done everything humanly possible to get his team a step closer to a championship, makes a split second decision in the cauldron of the game and has to live with the consequences of while we all get to sit back and dissect it in the glory of 20-20 hindsight.

I know we hear talk about Kawhi’s four-bouncer with reverence, it’s too bad Heat fans won’t be able to remember Butler’s the same way.

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I’m sure there are pressing issues on your mind and the best way to get them solved is by playing along in Ye Olde Mailbag.

And you do that by clicking on askdoug@thestar.ca and sending something in today.

It’ll make you feel better.

Honest.

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My great friend, the late Rick Bonnell was a huge tennis guy. Played it, knew it, knew some Tour players and we used to always talk about the Canadian men.

And he used to tell me the word around the game by those who really knew it was that the best – by far – Canadian prodigy was Felix Auger-Aliassime.

He had the most talent, the most athleticism and the right mental approach and the only thing holding him back was some big-match experience.

And I thought of that a lot yesterday watching Felix play against the best clay court artist of our time and battle Nadal to a fifth set that went down to the ninth game.

I don’t know a ton about the sport but for what people who know have told me and now what I’ve seen with my own eyes, that might be the best Grand Slam-winning chance Canada’s had in men’s tennis ever.

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My digression.

I am absolutely in favour of some people getting second chances for the mistakes they’ve made, as long as there is some contrition, an admission of past errors and a true effort to change. I think that’s a laudable attitude and many transgressors at so many levels benefit from it.

But …

There are cases when people absolutely do not deserve a second act, or a second chance because their mistakes are so egregious, borne out of evilness, they run contrary to the greater good at so high a level they cannot, should not, be forgiven.

So, this week, consider this:
Countless thousands on Ontario senior died in totally preventable circumstances because the government of the day shirked its responsibility to protect those of us who need it most.

The health care system is on the way to being laid to waste because of the mistreatment of its most vital workers and it is quietly being privatized which runs counter to one of the greatest, most unique and most important aspects of Canada: We take care of our ill at a collective, not individual cost because that’s what we do. Trust me, I’d be in debtors prison or living on the streets if our health care system wasn’t what it is.

Think of who got richer and who got poorer in the last four years.

Try to figure out how any sane thinking leader in this time in the Earth’s history could possibly think a new super-highway that cuts through greenspace and runs parallel to another super highway that’s often empty.

Explain to my why a sitting government party would demnd its candidates not take part in debates, why the leader would duck hard questions he needs to answer. Contempt for the people comes quickly to mind.

Forget for a minute the idiocy of buck-a-beer or license plates that no one could see at night or gas pump stickers that didn’t stick or blowing $40 million of taxpayer money because they couldn’t sell dope. That’s the low-hanging fruit of the incompetence Ontario’s had to put up with.

No, there are simply people who do not deserve a second chance because the mistakes they made are just too, too costly to risk them making the same ones again.

So by all means, please, please, vote.

Rather the devil we don’t know than the devil we do.

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