The issue with Solo Ball has already been discussed in another thread. What I find interesting is the lack of minutes for Malachi. I feel like the guy comes up big in most of our big games. Maybe Providence was just a bad matchup for him or Dan needed a different mix out there.
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+/- from our toughest games so far
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Nice work!
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There was no one he could guard. He got blown by on a straight line drive right away. Thats Hurleys #1defensive complaint.
The thing is, our best overall player changes from week to week it seems. To start the season I thought it was Solo or Reed. After Kansas I was telling people it was Mullins. But throughout this whole time you could probably argue it’s been Karaban. After last night, Silas? It might really depend on matchup and who’s looking the best on a given night.
JonnyRI
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I am really not sure if this conundrum is the real strength that will get us to the FF or prevent it. I tend to think it’s the former, but it should be a fun time finding out.
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Solo is the only player I worry about and honestly most games he’s played well even with his three point shots not falling. He really has been better in every facet but three point shooting this year.
Now let’s just keep everyone healthy.
Don’t think it was matchups with Malachi. He makes a ton of unforced errors. The difference between what he was advertised to be and what he’s delivered so far reminds me a bit of Mahaney last year.
Dan gives players lots of time to figure things out on the court - unlike Calhoun.
But as the season goes on, the time to figure things out get’s shorter and shorter. Solo and Malachi found that out the hard way on Wednesday….
If Malachi wants to play more, he’s got to play much better than he has - it’s 100% on him.
Solo doesn’t have anything to “figure out”. Dude had a bad defensive half and got benched because the lineup without him in it was rocking. Let’s not start goofy narratives or compare an all big east kid to the backup pg.
Malachi is a poor man’s Diarra. He’s a great spark off the bench sometimes but he’s got his limitations. He’ll figure it out and as Silas keeps improving it won’t matter as much.
Remember when the geniuses on this board were calling for Malachi to start over Silas? Pepperidge farms remembers
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Malachi is extremely limited. In ideal world he is averaging <10mins game.
That requires Demary to stay out of foul trouble.
Malachi has had some great stretches of play but also some terrible ones. He needs to get more consistent or else he cannot be relied upon.
Also he aimlessly pounds the rock way too much and ruins all offensive flow.
That requires Demary to stay out of foul trouble.
Malachi has had some great stretches of play but also some terrible ones. He needs to get more consistent or else he cannot be relied upon.
Also he aimlessly pounds the rock way too much and ruins all offensive flow.
The thing is, how the team plays matters the most. Neither Silas nor Solo will win a championship. A team does that. Up until this game, the team played better, in our toughest games, when Malachi was in there. The numbers don't lie. In this game Silas played well and Malachi struggled in his limited minutes. Dan seemed to make the right decision in this case. The question is, was this an isolated case or a new new trend.
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I think why Smith didn't play a ton is pretty simple. Our starting PG had 23 points and 15 assists. He was our best player that game and wasn't coming out of the game unless he absolutely had to. The lineup did much better defensively with the size Stewart brought to the 3, and Mullins was shooting the lights out. Neither of them were coming off the floor either. So who was coming out of the game for Malachi? There just weren't minutes available for him.
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Numbers certainly can lie in the sense they can mislead. Just because someone has a good plus minus does not automatically mean they are the main reason for that good plus minus. I've been critical of Smith from the beginning. He is too small, can't shoot and dribbles in place too much, not running offense. That being said, he has had some good games. At his best he is active on defense, even though like the rest of our guys, he has trouble keeping guys in front of him. Even I have to admit he looked pretty good in the Illinois game and his eurostep against Florida was a cool moment. But even when Jay Bilas and others were touting Smith as "the best backup point guard in the country" I had my doubts. Unfortunately for UConn, he has been proving me right lately. But I am trying not to be hater and wish success for him because we certainly are going to need him at some point. Unfortunately his body language is not great right now but that is understandable. He knows he is struggling. I am rooting for him to turn it around and get back to doing what he does well, bringing us energy off the bench while Silas rests. But I'm pretty sure his proponents are done wondering if he should be our starting PG.
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The pendulum swings re certain players on this board game to game are really something to see.
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Players do not play against teams, they play against individuals. Yes, there is a scheme and our scheme is heavy man-to-man. MS is small, not exceptionally fast or quick. He depends on his smarts, experience, ability to anticipate and pass. He does a good job harassing the opponent PG. There are a lot of bad match ups for Smith in D1 ball. The fact he has had some very good games is a testament to his understanding his game and taking advantage of opportunities. He has definitely had an impact for the Huskies in games where he had been needed to produce.
I agree that context matters or the numbers can be misleading. You definitely wouldn't want to conclude much based on one game, for example, for the reasons you gave. Looking at a bigger picture using 6 or 7 games becomes more relevant. As for the last game, the players that played most of the game will have a +/- that is constrained by the final MOV. For the players that played half the game, their numbers are more revealing. Solo was definitely bad and Jaylin was definitely good.
As for Malachi, I am not sure if his play or body language limited his minutes or the other way around but, yes, Silas was clearly playing well so that also impacted Malachi's minutes. I just wouldn't ignore everything that happened before this game. It is pretty clear that the team played really well when Malachi was in those other tough games. Sometimes the reason can't be found in stats or even personal observations. We don't always see everything and we have personal biases. Sure, he may dribble too much or whatever but he has to be doing SOMETHING that greatly helped the team in those games. Help defense? Boxing out so our bigs can get rebounds? Something.
First World problems. Our guys were playing too well.
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I recall him scramble to pick up a long rebound in one of the recent games. Not sure if that counted as a rebound since it hit the floor first but there are lots of little things players can do to make a difference. I'm not saying Malachi does NOTHING, my point is more anecdotal. I just don't feel confident when the ball is in his hands or he is on the court at all. Ultimately it doesn't matter how uncomfortable I feel as long as they win, but there is something about his game that makes me feel that way. And it has been a feeling that bugs me throughout this season. I probably expect too much of PG's, so maybe I just need to lower my expectations. I certainly shouldn't expect Silas to play that well every game. He was unbelievable.
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I know the numbers are the numbers..but I have a really hard time believing them if they tell me that the starting PG and the leading scorer of a 15-1 and top 5 team are essentially a net 0 in terms of productivity
Never been a fan of plus minus in basketball. Too many moving pieces. Who is on the floor with you? Who the other team has on the floor? A lot of times the top +/- player is a reserve because the other team has a bigger drop off from their starter. If the reserve has a better plus minus, does that mean they are better? Of course not. Stupid stat. Google Mark Twains quote on statistics.
Actually, it is the opposite. For example, if only 5 guys played all 40 minutes, they would all have the exact same +/- which would equal the MOV.
This isn't hockey with line changes. There is quite a good mix of matchups over 7 games. Perfect? No. Just one piece of data. And Mark Twain was a writer, not a math wiz.
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Keep in mind that those numbers are for our 7 toughest games. I intended to focus on those. If I included all games, all of their numbers would be much higher. But, maybe you will like the following more. I added BPM, which is different and adds another piece of data. It probably aligns more with your expectations. But it also still shows that Malachi has been really good in most of these games. Also, I took out the Illinois game for Braylon. It is unfair to include the kid's first college game.