Grant Williams Missed A Game-Tying Shot Because He Used His Right Hand At The Wrong Time

Tennessee forward Grant Williams is an incredible talent whose size and skill allow him to play games with real-life consequences like he’s on rookie mode in 2k. There’s no better example of this than his ability to utilize a spin-move in the post to get a shot past almost any defender. He demonstrated this move in two key overtime possessions on the road against No. 13 LSU on Saturday. The first came with about 45 seconds left in the period over not only his defender, but a second big man that came over to try and stop Williams.

The second came just 15 seconds of game time later on what appears to be the exact same play—or at least one that’s incredibly similar. Williams once again receives the ball near the top of the key, and spins past his defender to get an edge on him. This time, help doesn’t arrive in time for the Tigers player, and he ends up committing the foul on his opponent, giving him an and-1 opportunity.

Not only was the play that No. 5 Tennessee ran in both clips the exact same, the shot and direction were the same, too. Williams spun to his left and took his shot with his left. Even though he’s right-handed, the 2018 SEC Player of the Year isn’t known to really favor one hand or the other on the floor. Even the slightest glance of his highlights shows that he can power to the rim on either side and can dunk on you with whichever hand he pleases. Still, one couldn’t help but notice that a bit of a pattern had been forming.

After a failed charge attempt from Williams gave LSU two free throws, and the lead, the star forward was looking for redemption on the last play of the game with 0.6 seconds remaining. As if the basketball gods had shined a light down on him, Williams was left open by his LSU defender who had misjudged the destination of the full-court pass. Like he had done in two prior possessions, Williams spun and shot. But this time did not end like those other times, and the light from above was immediately shut off. The ball clanked off the back corner of the rim and fell harmlessly to the court to end the game with an 82-80 LSU win. The most likely reason? I’m guessing he was so used to scoring from his left that when he finally chose to go to his right, he just got confused.

The obvious takeaway here for teams facing Tennessee moving forward is to let Williams have as much space as possible because he clearly doesn’t know what to do with himself when he’s that wide open.