That's a tough one. He certainly hit that shot in Toronto. He's one of the leagues best long ball shooters. But, we've seen this year, during pressure situations, he missed a few key free throws. Amplify the noise to the levels of the NBA Finals, and I wonder if Blake is mentally tough enough to lead this team. He's won the NCAA title and two High School championship titles, so obviously one would lean towards answering yes. But would you rather answer that with an confident "yes" or a "doubtful "yes"? Replace Blake with Hinrich, Sessions, or Miller in this scenario and I'm still not sure. Anyway, interesting talking point nonetheless.
I think the better question is, how many players in the league can you count on to hit those big shots with the consistency that Fisher does in the playoffs? As I recall, he made 15 of 20 3's one year against the Spurs. He makes it look routine.
Probably he does, yeah. Both were wide open and Blake is more then capable of hitting that shot even under pressure. Really, his 3 point shooting is probably his best attribute.
It's almost the chicken and the egg paradox. What happened first? Fisher was born an ultra-confident player or did he gain that from playing with two of the best players to ever play the game? A bit of both? In other words, can we develop that in Bayless and Blake or do we have to go out and get Robert Horry-esque role player?
I dont buy that he was born with it. I view it as more of a past incident which has given him the confidence for a lifetime. Like hitting that miracle 3 pointer against San Antonio a few years back. A lot of folks seem to have forgotten about his past, and how he got here. Once he hit that shot, he became one of those dudes that you have to watch out for at the end of the game, and a guy that Phil Jackson would never be afraid to go to in crunch time. Now that being said, I don't recall Blake ever hitting a shot that important, and because of that, he will probably not be on the same level in crunch time until he has a confidence changing lifetime event.
Blake might hit the three. I think he is pretty clutch. What he wouldn't do is play the defense Fisher did to get them in that possition.
Not too sure about Blake. He had his chance in Game 3 in a very similar situation and threw up an airball. If Blake was put in a situation where he had to dribble down the floor, stop on a dime, and hit a 3, I wouldn't be too confident. But if Brandon drove the lane and found Steve open in the corner, then I'd think he'd hit it more times than not.
