One that comes to mind is James Worthy’s bad pass that Henderson intercepts and scores to tie the game in Game 2 of the 1984 Finals. Most remember that game for Magic dribbling out the shot clock but Worthy’s play was just as bad. It’s possible that the shot clock incident never happens if Worthy does not make that bad pass. That changed the series as much as Magic dribbling out the shot clock. The Lakers probably should have swept the Celtics but fumbled in the clutch in 2-3 of the games, leading to the Celtics winning.
What is one underrated bad decision in the finals that comes to your mind?
1993 NBA Finals Game 6, Bulls down 2 late in the 4th quarter, Suns with all the momentum in the world. Bulls run an inbound play and Ainge doubles down on Horace Grant near the basket leaving John Paxson wide open for 3. On its own maybe not a terrible decision but Grant was awful in Games 5 and 6 and had no confidence, at worst he could tie the game. Ainge wasn’t going to affect his shot anyway. Paxson and the rest of the Bulls outside shooters were on fire in that game (set the record for threes made in a Finals game which has since been broken many many times over). Underrated horrible decision by a heady veteran champion. It could be argued that Ainge should have been subbed out by Westphal though as an offense-defense sub out of the timeout.
Anyway, as a Bulls fan this was a great memory for me!