So, would you say that a game winning shot at the buzzer is not more critical than a field goal earlier in the game?
Yep. With a field goal added earlier, the game-winning shot becomes unnecessary, doesn't it? Of course it's all hypothetical once you start saying "what if X had happened instead?", but when it comes down to it, points are points. A missed free throw early in the game can be just as costly as a missed free throw down the stretch -- you just might not realize it until later.
Who knows how the results would have played out if we beat Denver in that early season game. Maybe our Blazers would have been less focused and dropped a couple of games afterward. Maybe the Denver loss GAINED two wins for us and was good!
