The Chicago Bulls lost again on Saturday night, this time to the Miami Heat. The 106-101 defeat was their seventh in the past 10 games and means they’re now 1.5 games behind the Washington Wizards for the final play-in tournament spot in the Eastern Conference.
But while there were major playoff implications — the Heat also climbed to within half a game of the sixth-place Boston Celtics — in this game, that’s not what we need to talk about. No, we need to talk about Denzel Valentine’s ill-advised 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, which might be the worst shot of the entire season.
First, let’s set the scene. After trailing by as much as 24 in the first half, the Bulls put together a spirited comeback to give themselves a chance in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute to play they had cut the deficit to five, which while not an enviable situation was certainly not game over.
At least not until Valentine decided to take things into his own hands. He grabbed a rebound, pushed the ball up the floor and then for some reason decided to just launch a 30-footer that sent the Bulls’ announcers into shock and caught nothing but air.
As amazing as the shot was, the commentary from the Bulls’ announcers, Adam Amin and Stacey King, made it even better. They simply couldn’t believe it.
The full commentary:
King: “No.”
Amin: “Oh my goodness, Valentine!”
King: “No, no no.”
Amin: “That is not the shot at that moment.
King: “That is a horrible shot. Noooo. Wow. I mean, he’s by the hash. That’s Steph Curry range right there, come on.”
Amin: “Not in a two-possession game when you’ve worked this hard to get back in it. You can get a better shot.”
King: “Oh my goodness, that was just not a really smart play.”
Unbelievable. The Heat, as you know, went on to seal the game, and Valentine is going to have a hard time living that one down.