Are We Seeing End of Season Ajustments?

[DogMania]

It seems we are starting to see some ajustments notably:

More switching at the top and less high hedging. We've been torched all season with the high screen, curl and dribble drive, but are seeing less of it, sans Cam Jones. Both Johnson and Reed have defended smaller players better on switches and our guards have been better switching with each other.

Team rebounding has been better where our guards seem to be tracking down more rebounds. That's probably improved execution and effort than an adjustment.

On offense they seem to be attacking the basket early and especially off of mismatches when teams switch on screens, instead of running the motion offense every time down the floor.

Seems they're crashing the offensive glass more. Karaban and Stewart both scored off of some offensive rebounds in the past few games.

I'm still a little concerned with them letting teams get to the rim, but it seems to happen to them in short spurts and not all game long. They're also contesting better at the rim.

Hoping they continue to build on these improvements.

 

[pj]

I wonder if they employ a professional analytics firm to tell them which things have worked and which have not.

Sure, Chief's Briefs are a pretty good guide, but quantitative analysis can be helpful too.

 

[HooperScooper]

I wonder if they employ a professional analytics firm to tell them which things have worked and which have not.

Sure, Chief's Briefs are a pretty good guide, but quantitative analysis can be helpful too.

They do. There was an article last year or the year before about it. I’ll see if I can dig it up.

 

[jibsey]

We are rebounding well right now, and our dual center position is great. Solo is rebounding. I wish we had a drive and finisher but the team is much improved.

 

[Husky Alien]

We are playing a bit better, but I think the refs are letting them play. It's been more physical and that's to our advantage, imo. Earlier in the season they were calling phantom fouls, though they still exist. Our centers would be in foul trouble with 10 minutes to go before halftime. As long as we keep Reed and Johnson out of foul trouble. We may have a chance to make some noise.

 

[alphasigko]

I have not seen a reduction in Samson Johnson's high hedging. He is at the top of the Arc chasing guards one play after another.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I have not seen a reduction in Samson Johnson's high hedging. He is at the top of the Arc chasing guards one play after another.

It's almost like it's intentional, huh?

 

[alphasigko]

It's almost like it's intentional, huh?

Duh! The OP said that he thought that there is currently "less high hedging". I disagree.

 

[REB1094]

If I’m remembering right the switching is just a strategy against Marquette. They don’t have the personnel to consistently punish a mismatch in the paint. The high hedge is definitely still alive, for better or worse

The most important adjustment has been the emphasis on getting the ball to the rim. Whether it’s finding guys on cuts, lobbing up to Samson, or feeding Tarris in the post, there has been a clear effort to put pressure on the rim. This opens up the entire floor offensively, especially since we don’t have individual playmakers who can do it on their own. This is a very important adjustment and has been key to our more recent success

Rebounding has definitely been a focus area. Solo is consistently getting 3-5 rebounds a game compared to earlier in the season when he was good for 1-2. He’s also had some solid assists recently. He’s been developing real time this year. Samson set a career high in rebounds against Marquette and Alex has been fighting on the glass too