Well...Originally Posted by Big Nick Dudley
It's actually quite understandable. In situations of intense pressure, an individual's focus will almost always change. The greatest athletes have the ability to narrow their focus to exclude useless information but include all important and relevant information. Those with less mental strength cannot accomplish the same. Their focus may broaden significantly (for example, allowing the crowd chanting airball to completely alter their game to the point they have a terrible game and play differently than normal) or may narrow so tightly that they not only exclude useless information but also necessary information.
Most people have knowledge of Michael Jordan's big jump shot as a freshman at UNC to help lead the Tar Heels over Georgetown for the title. What people usually don't remember is that Jordan's shot went through the net with 15 second left. They forget that Georgetown brought the ball up the floor and then their PG threw the ball directly to James Worthy (who was definitely wearing a UNC jersey). That was a great example of the player's focus narrowing so greatly the PG didn't even recognize who was on his team. You can watch it here:
The same thing likely happened to Smith last night. Does it make it okay? No, he's a professional athlete on the biggest stage, he needs to be better. But it is certainly understandable.
100% correct. And for anyone who says otherwise, please show me the last time Michael Jordan's team beat a team of four All-Stars in their prime in the NBA Finals. Hint: you can't.
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