Quite frankly, if I did a deep dive on everything, the original Briefs post wouldn’t be brief. Due to overwhelming interest about Tyler, Chief will add a few insights. Thanks for the feedback, it’s always appreciated. As with the players, if used correctly, it’s how we get better.
On to Tyler now. True, he was given the toughest defensive assignment of the night and with a little help from CV and Sid, they held McDuffie to 9 points - less than half of his 20 point game average. Danny’s plan was to use primarily Tyler but to also give McDuffie more than one look.
Two things Chief would like to review. First, we did this shutdown without fouling. Danny’s unspoken agreement with the League Office is working. Call the game roughly even and he will largely cut back on his sideline antics. Our players have also learned fundamental aggressive defense minus the “sloppy” tendencies, as Danny would say ( reaching in, not moving laterally, playing screens correctly).
The second change has been for our guards to gang rebound rather than cheat on the break. This is why Jalen got 12 rebounds tonight and it prevents the other team’s star from getting those second chances that allow him to get hot and go off.
I hope this deep dive helps.
