what does "go to down three" mean in the following sentence?

Question

"Yao played big," Rafer Alston said. "When you have a dominant player to go to down there down the stretch, that really helps your team."

i'm sorry, not "go to down three", but "go to down there".

Answer 1

"...dominant player to go there down the stretch.."

Since it's a direct quote lifted, apparently, from an interview, it's not a complete message, but knowing that Yao Ming is a center gives it away. He's talking about Yao's going deep in the paint, going close to the basket. That's the "there".

Yao Ming is big, but the first part about "played big" has nothing to do with his size. It means he played very well.

Answer 2

It is basketball, not football - any quick search on google will turn up that simple fact.

"Down the stretch" is a term used over and over on all the basketball sites and I am unable to find a definitive meaning of it - sorry.

"To go down there" is referring to the phrase after it - "down the stretch" so that's what I was looking up.

As far as I can tell it's referring to the last part of the game before the end, perhaps the idiom is taken from racing and the "home stretch" - the straight part of the track just before the finish line where the horses go their fastest to decide which one wins.

Answer 3

The reason you had trouble understanding this is because the phrase "shut-down" originated as slang that has since been adopted as acceptable terminology. The word "shut" means to "close" (as in doors.) But, when the word "down" immediately follows, it suggests a permanent condition. Usually, the phrase "shut down" or "close down" is used to describe a failed business that will "close down" or "shut down" (and never reopen or start again.) In this instance, "shutting down" refers to vital organs, such as the kidneys, which have "shut down" or permanently stopped working or ceased functioning. As a result of the vital organs of the body no longer functioning, the body or person will die very soon, right away, or within hours or days.

Answer 4

You say "three" in your header and "there" in the text - but I'm assuming it should be "three" as it makes sense to me then.

I think its a reference to American Football. "Down three" or third down is the last normal play a team can have to achieve a first down (and another series of four plays) or score a touchdown, before they would normally either kick the ball away to the opposition or try to kick a field goal.

The third down is therefore very important and the team's best players are often put on the pitch for this play to ensure they get a first down.

Answer 5

its a confusing sentence.. it could refer to football...but it might refer to racing.