Chief’s Briefs - Memphis Edition

[JohnFSilver]

I agree with the starting lineup issues. Slow start every game this year.
Why did Stewart not play more in second half? Really bad T really bad

Really Bad T? That is underplaying it. That is a coach, literally, losing the game for his team.

Pet peeve is technical fouls. Do it in first half, or, when game is over. Not when it is a tie game. With 40 seconds left in OT. 4 pt possession is a game killer.

Their win probability just cratered there with the T

 

[huskyfan224]

Any of you whining about Hurley are soft as charmin. Dude wants to win and will do whatever it takes, I love him barking at refs, especially when they suck. He’s old school and has balls, too many beta men out there.

 

[Rico444]

Think we'll be OK. Hurley has been absolutely fantastic, but he whiffed in going after Mahaney for the role he did. He may grow into some kind of role on offense, but right now he's a jump shooter that plays maybe the worst defense I've seen a Hurley player play.

 

[giddyup]

They have the competitive grit. The chemistry just isn’t there and defensive athleticism isn’t there. Need to regroup.

 

[RuffRuff]

Many say that in private life he is an awesome guy.
I don't like the "WTF is going on?" DH, like the early DH years.
As a basketball coach he gets high grades for his overall work - his bench coaching is his weakest skill to date.

Downgrading him as a person is pretty harsh. The guy is wired tight and it’s visible on the sideline. Doesn’t make him a bad person. The praise he gets from his former players is a good indicator of who he is as a person. I will say that today was the first time I watched him and almost felt embarrassed for him - he was next level. He needs to figure out a way to dial it down, even in the worst of moments. For a while I thought the expos were part of a controlled act, but today made you realize he doesn’t have any control of it.

 

[Mets8692]

Downgrading him as a person is pretty harsh. The guy is wired tight and it’s visible on the sideline. Doesn’t make him a bad person. The praise he gets from his former players is a good indicator of who he is as a person. I will say that today was the first time I watched him and almost felt embarrassed for him - he was next level. He needs to figure out a way to dial it down, even in the worst of moments. For a while I thought the expos were part of a controlled act, but today made you realize he doesn’t have any control of it.

That's fair, I don't know him nor ever met him. I can only judge based on what I see for 2 to 4 hours a week on the sideline.

 

[3rdbass]

Think we'll be OK. Hurley has been absolutely fantastic, but he whiffed in going after Mahaney for the role he did. He may grow into some kind of role on offense, but right now he's a jump shooter that plays maybe the worst defense I've seen a Hurley player play.

Win some lose some. He hit a home run with Tarris Reed!

 

[metsfan2323]

Some of the comments have me questioning the sanity of the posters. The two-time defending champions just lost an OT game in November, and you are acting like the program is sliding into oblivion. Get a grip.

I remember watching the 2003 - 2004 team play like garbage against GTech in November at MSG. That season turned out pretty well.

 

[homunculus]

This game was almost a carbon copy of the Xavier away game in 22-23. The atrocious, shockingly biased officiating, the battling back in the face of adversity, the Hurley technical, the comments here about Hurley, the comments here about the players, the comments pretending that the bad officiating didn’t happen. Very similar feel, minus the OT. Things ended up pretty well that season.

 

[uconnyankee]

The problem with Johnson on the floor is that there is no physical inside presence that can score and that forces the guards to create or beat their man off the dribble. That doesn't appear to be Mahaney's strength.

Johnsons strength is his ability to get to the basket, he brings a burst of energy off the bench, and his size/reach. He’s also been a ying to either Clingan or Sonogo’s Yang.

I think he gets exposed with long stretches on the floor. He is still prone to foul and I think that goes up as his energy level drops.

I think we’ll see his role trend back to that because that’s where his skills are maximized.

 

[Mr. French]

This experience will let the newbies know what opponents bring every game. Memphis looked like a top 10 team for most of the game.

Every night there will be a Hunter (any position) because we are Champions.

Its King of the Jungle challenge night after night, some player making their name against us.

Tonight we proved we will be able to handle all challenges. Memphis caught us early and inexperienced (as a team). I'm satisfied.

People need to see the value in this. An early season loss for a team like this knocks some sense into them.

It gives them a dose of reality: they are NOT the champs, they are the defending champs. The newbies now realize this isn’t as easy as showing up.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

This game is pretty easy to breakdown and the sky is not falling.

Poor defense, especially on the perimeter. Memphis also shot out of their minds. Defense can be fixed.

Despite some extremely questionable calls throughout the game and very poorly timed technicals, the team fought back and brought it into OT and had chances to win. Losing does stink, but it is early and Memphis is a good looking team.

 

[UConnJim]

Reed needs to start.

I think Johnson would work better with Diarra on the floor, a guard who penetrates and creates.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Simple Truth: Coach Baby Pants cost the team the game in the end with the bad T.
Enlightened Truth: Coach Baby Pants cost the team by not playing Stewart in the 2nd half.
Mega Brain Truth: Coach Baby Pants cost the team the game by thinking an undersized transfer from the perennial 2nd place WCC team was enough to replace Newton, Spencer, and Castle all at once, and continuing to start that player to double down on his own error.

Good points.

I'm surprised we didn't fire him once the season ended last April.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

People need to see the value in this. An early season loss for a team like this knocks some sense into them.

It gives them a dose of reality: they are NOT the champs, they are the defending champs. The newbies now realize this isn’t as easy as showing up.

I like it more for Hurley than anything else. Losses force him to make necessary changes and make choices that he probably should’ve made already.

Mahaney and Johnson haven’t been good all season. Maybe after this loss he’ll finally do something about it.

I wish it wouldn’t take a loss for him to make necessary changes and he can have some foresight about these things though. We probably win this game if Reed is starting and we don’t get off to such a slow start.

Nobody played any different than what else he seen the past 4 games.

 

[BlueandOG]

Any of you whining about Hurley are soft as charmin. Dude wants to win and will do whatever it takes, I love him barking at refs, especially when they suck. He’s old school and has balls, too many beta men out there.

An alpha man would have had the strength to control his emotions, particularly at that point in the game.

 

[Kitaman]

An alpha man would have had the strength to control his emotions, particularly at that point in the game.

Easier said than done. Many alpha men are in jail for not having such strength.

Hurley is intense and likes to argue. Like it or not its his nature and comes with his Coaching. Being married for a very, very long time, this trait does not bother me at all, especially his mean muggin.

 

[Horatio]

Another issue is Samson just doesn’t seem to
learn the game. How fouls are called.

I remember when Calhoun would take a game like yesterday and bridge the fouls between the Big Men. He would’ve played Singare some spot minutes in between Reed and SJ’s foul trouble. No one would’ve fouled out

 

[RuffRuff]

I like it more for Hurley than anything else. Losses force him to make necessary changes and make choices that he probably should’ve made already.

Mahaney and Johnson haven’t been good all season. Maybe after this loss he’ll finally do something about it.

I wish it wouldn’t take a loss for him to make necessary changes and he can have some foresight about these things though. We probably win this game if Reed is starting and we don’t get off to such a slow start.

Nobody played any different than what else he seen the past 4 games.

His rotation has made me wonder if he’s emotional with his decision making at times versus pragmatic. He leaned heavily into his binkies yesterday playing Alex 43 minutes and Liam 31 even when Stew was playing really well.

Today’s game will be interesting to watch to see if he makes any adjustments. Part of me thinks he rolls out the same starting 5 as unwilling to change in a compact tourney.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Today’s game will be interesting to watch to see if he makes any adjustments. Part of me thinks he rolls out the same starting 5 as unwilling to change in a compact tourney.

This would be shortsighted if he does this. You shouldn’t want to win every game so much that you make such short term decisions over long term ones.

Unlike the past two years he does not have clearly the most talented roster in basketball. He has to make the right choices and press the right buttons with this squad. The answers won’t be easy. I’m rooting for him to figure this out.

But being stubborn and not admitting his preseason expectations and decisions are wrong would be serious regression back to pre-2022 Hurley.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hurley’s T did not lose the game. Memphis scored 7 points in the final 40 seconds, all on free throws. All 3 player fouls that led to those free throws were obviously bad calls. McNeeley also would have scored easily off his rebound. That’s a nine point swing.

This is true but, it never should have gotten to overtime. We never should have been down double figures. Need to be a lot better.

 

[Huskybass]

That's fair, I don't know him nor ever met him. I can only judge based on what I see for 2 to 4 hours a week on the sideline.

I met him and he was very gracious. He was way over the top yesterday. He's human. We all need to remember that.