On Saturday, in the game 7 of the season which turned out to be a decisive one the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets by 96-87. JaVale McGee, the former Washington Wizards center accomplished 6 points on 1-for-7 shooting as well as the team-high 14 rebounds and 5 blocks in defeat. Now the question is whether this loss will act as a wake-up call for the fourth year center or the future agent will disappear again.
The sporty NBA fans have just begun to be familiar with Pierre, aka Big Daddy Wookie, aka the JaValevator, aka JaVale McGee. On one hand, McGee is a machine with his rare left hand hook or his more usual right hand slam dunk,; an individual who has the potential to make smutty blocks and succulent jams. However, on the floor and in an effort to get back up, McGee is still a trivial among true NBA centers.
McGee’s final image from the game last night was the aggravated expression following an unsuccessful attempt to recoil his own missed free throw. This was followed by the hit from Lakers center Andrew Bynum with 4.9 seconds left to play in regulation. Technically, this was not a foul but even so it was a Playoffs-hearty foul.
On the floor of the court, squirming in pain McGee put on theatrics that suggested he had a dislocated shoulder, or even worse. Despite the pain, he got up and proceeded to the free throw line. He made the first of the two shots, followed by attempting a miss, but as aforementioned, it did not quite work out.
In the game in which the team was led by McGee with 14 rebounds, the tandem of skill Spaniard Pau Gasol and enforcer Bynum accomplished a total of 35. In the fourth quarter alone, the duo was able to secure 10 of their 20 offensive rebounds. However, those numbers were cushioned by Gasol, who entered a tip-miss frenzy which got him 6 rebounds in just six seconds midway into the fourth quarter.
In McGee’s justification, there was nothing more that he could accomplish from his position. Again, he led the Nuggets at the free throw line with six attempts, out of which he made four. Although McGee is yet to prove himself as a substantial, go-to option and his poor performance in free throw shooting overall implies that he will get hewed each time he attempts to go strong, the Nuggets went a dreary 2-for-12 from behind the three-point arc in the fourth quarter. Denver would have suffered a worst loss without McGee and his theatrics.
The Nuggets united in spite of a 1-3 Playoffs series hole and in the fourth quarter of last night’s game they lead even being in a 16-point deficit. McGee held a major role with an averaged 8.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks over the seven-game series. He timed 25.9 minutes off the bench following Timofey Mozgov, who in comparison accomplished less at starting center.
Mozgov remained the starter in all the seven games while McGee got most share of the minutes during the playoffs. Also the fact that Denver has the huge Kosta Koufous on the deck indicates that the Nuggets could pass on McGee in this year’s NBA Free Agency period. Although McGee’s performance was better than Koufous and Mozgov during the regular season but it still is not clear if Denver is willing to keep the 3 centers on the file and bear the cost.
