If Paige is the engine, Nika is...

[diggerfoot]

Actually Geno used her last night at the most critical end of game situation, when the risk was to loose the game in regulation.

Score was tied and Liv had just missed both free throws with some 28 seconds remaining, NC State took timeout to go for a last second shot. Geno put her in for that must have stop, to take away dribble penetration or cuts to the basket, which worked, as they ended up with a desperation 3 which is not what they were trying to do.

Did not do so in the end of the first overtime, but there the situation was different, since NC State was down 3. With a tied score and plenty of time, you go for a two via dribble, cut or pull-up, and the 3 is last resort. Down 3 with only a few seconds left you absolutely have to go for the 3, and they designed the whole play for that. In this case, risk of fouling the shooter is unacceptable. Look at how “soft” Paige defended the shot by Brown-Turner. Nika with the afterburners on could have landed into her and given the chance for a winning 4 point play.

IMHO Geno made the right decision both times, by inserting her into the last play of the fourth quarter and not inserting her into the last olay of the first overtime.

Nice observation, but I still maintain my view. One characteristic of risk averse/run our plays offense is they do not go looking for fouls. Though getting a team in foul trouble is a good thing, going away from a usual game plan to do so risks being less efficient and even backfiring. Certainly, they would not look to exploit Muhl in particular with this risk.

However, near the end of close games is a time when a team is more likely to try and draw fouls.

It could be that timing is everything with your observation. It could be with more than 35 seconds left there is no way Auriemma would put Muhl in because NCST would respond by trying to draw a quick foul and go for two for one possessions to end the game. With less than 30 seconds Auriemma might have have been figuring NCST wants to avoid getting to the line until the last second, eliminating the point of concern for Muhl.

If that is precisely what was going through Auriemma’s mind, then a tip of my cap to both his decision and your observation. I am not swayed by the general practicality, but admit it was a good situational response.

 

[Geesworld]

Perhaps if NIka played more minutes the last few games we're not needing heroic efforts to save us. Every engine has these things called Spark Plugs. They help the engine run. That is who Nika is.

Assignment basketball on the defensive end is what's lacking when she isn't on the court, Since Paige has been back we have had a lot of miscues on defense.

They will look to make Paige defend and try to get her tired.
We'll need Nika to keep Azzi and Paige fresh as we will need both of them fresh in the later part of our next two games.

 

[mag 7]

Nika is the glass pack muffler!

 

[AgStatesman]

Nika should be the turbo button that cranks the team into overdrive. Unfortunately her role is more like the pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror.

 

[jcoton56]

That woul make Nika the bottle of Nitrous tucked away secretly but ready and rarin to go at all times.

 

[Shenandoah]

I often defend Muhl. Even now I think she should start. If you are going to play her for x minutes, experience suggests those will x minutes will provide the greatest enhancement and least detriment to the performance of her teammates if they come at the start of halves.

However, I would not use Muhl at the end of games yet to be decided. The obvious reason lies with ill-timed fouls and poor foul shooting, crucial problems at the end of games. Yet her strengths at the start of games, or employed to stop a run, becomes more of a liability at the end of games.

A well coached team tends to be risk adverse when it can be, certainly at the start of games. They want to run their stuff while avoiding turnovers or making hurried decisions. Muhl is a mighty thorn that actually penalizes a team for being risk adverse.

But towards the end of a tight game teams already change towards becoming more risk takers. A pest becomes less effective in changing what already is being changed.

As for her minutes I will defer to Auriemma, but only because he has coached a few more games than me.

If you are going to keep Nika out of the game for her poor free throw shooting, then ONO must also sit. No, Nika's defensive tenacity should be embraced, especially when the game is on the line. As for a pest being less effective at the end of the game, ask Notre Dame about that.

 

[Zinethar]

For those who discount Nika's contributions to the team, there is one telling stat from the UCF and NC State games. Against UCF, UConn was a +7 when she was on the floor for her 6 minutes. Last night, they were +8 during her 8 minutes on the floor.

I totally agree but now I want a minimum of 15 minutes with the same production

 

[AmeriConn]

Nika is the “train track” to get us there!

track”

 

[browns]

If you are going to keep Nika out of the game for her poor free throw shooting, then ONO must also sit. No, Nika's defensive tenacity should be embraced, especially when the game is on the line. As for a pest being less effective at the end of the game, ask Notre Dame about that.

No Liv for the season is a 67% FT shooter..Nika on the other hand is 25%..albeit a small sample..granted Liv the last couple of games was off but that could be from fatigue..Liv has improved her FT shooting quite a bit this season

 

[Zinethar]

Nike pushing the ball is especially desirable when hoping to tire the opponent. That forces the other team to have to hurry back to their defense set before UConn takes advantage of them. Use her to wear down the opponent then feed Paige and Azzi to put them away.

 

[diggerfoot]

If you are going to keep Nika out of the game for her poor free throw shooting, then ONO must also sit. No, Nika's defensive tenacity should be embraced, especially when the game is on the line. As for a pest being less effective at the end of the game, ask Notre Dame about that.

Poor foul shooting is a part of the equation, so making it sound like it is the whole reason is setting up a strawman argument.

But let’s examine that strawman argument anyways. ONO is a big. Unless you want zero bigs in the line-up then either Edwards or ONO should be in it. Not aware of how those two compare statistically, I am OK with you or anyone else telling me it should be Edwards instead of ONO, if only one. I am not OK with putting in five guards because they are the only reliable free throw shooters.

But making free throws is not the only factor, indeed, it was not even the one I focused on.

As to that, there are times when a team wants to foul, and certainly that does not work against Muhl playing. But if a team is in a situation where they need to foul, they also need to come up with quick scores. Subbing Muhl in and out for defensive purposes would work in that scenario, but sometimes it backfires as a strategy when you can’t sub when you want to.

 

[iri10]

Paige is the ego, Evina is the superego, Nika is the Id.

 

[dogpause]

Pretty obvious...

If Paige is the engine, Nika is...the brakes (applied to the other team).​

We have a winner!

 

[vtcwbuff]

Nika is the repair shop. She enables Paige to get a break so she can go back out there and win the game. Gotta say that every player it seemed made a difference in this game and Dorka's involvement had more impact than some. Evina took Dorka's injury very hard as she was right there helping Dorka after it happened. Momma E was there when her duckling needed her.

Nika had a great game and we surely needed it.

Duckling? More like a Husky pup.