As he has demonstrated many times in the past and on multiple occasions this season alone, Joe Johnson’s handle is not something to be taken lightly. At any given moment he can and will exploit even the slightest lapse in discipline or loss of balance, leaving defenders stumbling or even sprawled out on the floor. Yesterday, Johnson’s behind-the-back crossover actually shook Chris Bosh so badly that he turned into something of a projectile, taking out a help defender in Udonis Haslem as he careened out of control. Joe Cool used the five or so feet of space created to simply pick up his dribble and drain the uncontested 20-footer.
From a fundamental standpoint, Bosh made a catastrophic error when he stopped sliding his feet laterally and turned to run alongside Johnson. As you can see, this makes it virtually impossible to react to the sudden movements of a talented dribbler. Unable to control his momentum, Bosh tripped when Johnson stopped on a dime. He then bowled into his own teammate, serving as a fantastic screen.
Aren’t mismatches fun?
