Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Bow to Devin Harris

As I sat in bed last night absorbing my nightly hour of Sportscenter I saw something that made me sit up and just go "he did what?!" Luckily, through the magic of tivo I was able to watch over and over again. Yet, some 30 views later, I still don't believe it.

Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets without question made the play of the year against the Philadelphia 76ers to steal a win at the buzzer. To set the stage: 1.8 seconds left, Nets down by 1 and must go the entire length of the court. Then Harris pulls out this convenient little gem...



Somethin' else huh?

It's not the fact that he hit a half court shot. We see guys do that all the time. It's not even that it was to come from behind and win the game. That happens too.

What impressed me the most was Harris' awesome awareness and absolute determination to get a shot off even after the ball got knocked away from him (and the fact that he still got the shot away before the buzzer was pretty ridiculous too). How many guys in the NBA could we honestly expect to keep playing and not whine when something like that happens. All I can imagine is guys like Ron Artest or "Starbury" immediately screaming "OH he fouled me!" and giving up on the play.

But not Devin Harris. So I stand up and applaud a guy who shows heart in a league that has precious little left. Oh yea, I guess I should probably applaud his skill too, I figure not all of us could've done that.