MrSparkle wrote:Was it me or did Maxey travel on the insane 4-point play (2nd to last make, in regulation)? I'm genuinely curious how the F* you can take 2.5 steps behind the 3P line without dribbling, switch to the left pivot foot, and then jump off the right foot? Looked at it in slow-motion several times, and if I was a Knicks fan, I'd be livid. Cause on top of that, Embiid is clearly moving on his screen (with a shoulder bump on top of it), at no point in stance.
Otherwise , as a 3rd party watcher, it was a wild shot (not to mention the next one), and exciting ending. And despite my problem with the footwork, in real-time, that would've been dicey to call a travel for any ref, and Maxey totally deserved that MIP award over Coby (despite Coby's bigger jumps statistically). He went from MIP (fringe star) to MIP 2.0 (perennial all-star).
Maxey was a prospect I liked... along with Jrue. Sometimes these clear stud guards drop to the late first round, and it makes no sense to me. My hot take is that college FG%s need to be taken with a grain of salt. Smaller sample size with way less games and minutes, 1-and-done/quicker learning curve, wild variances in SOS, usage, tighter spacing, tighter coaching, etc.
In general the "swallow the whistle" trope in the last possession never made any sense. I agree that Joel was moving, and they will never call that there, and that's wrong.
