MyDorona
The Hebrew Hammer
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2018
- Messages
- 230
- Reaction Score
- 1,446
Excellent observation. I am also a "Big Hurley Guy," but I acknowledge that this is one of his blind spots.I’d like to see this staff mix and match players more thoughtfully. We saw a lineup out there today that consisted of Diarra, Alleyne, Jackson, and Clingan. When Diarra takes over for Newton, he should be paired with offensive-minded players like Hawkins and Sanogo. Meanwhile, someone like Joey C should be paired with good defenders like Jackson and Clingan. Obviously this is oversimplifying things for example purposes, but you get the idea.
There are better ways to get 8-9 guys consistent minutes on this team than how they’ve been doing it all year.
Perhaps this is something Hurley could delegate to an assistant on game day, or a staff member in between games. I understand that a number of lineups are dictated by Hurley in real-time, according to what is happening on the court- e.g., A-Jax picks up an early second foul; Creighton is not doubling Sanogo; etc.
However, it would be helpful if the staff self-scouted the tape and crunched analytics to devise some hard-and-fast, inviolable lineup rules that should always be followed on gameday. Your suggestions are only a few of the best examples of things that should never occur, no matter what the game dictates. (This was not as applicable in the prior seasons, when COVID absences and lack of talent throughout the roster really limited which lineups we could play).