joober jones
Finally Non-Fat Guy
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 4,737
- Reaction Score
- 9,662
We left a high quality win on the table last night. It was within hand and we let it go. It sucks, but it happens and there's nothing we can do but move on. Still, we were very competitive against a nationally ranked team that's earned a strong reputation in recent years. To me, there were three main elements that took us down.
1. Rushing everything
2. Continually engaging in failed strategies
3. Benching Akok for unknown reasons
We play our best offense when at a face pace, but fast and automatic are two different things. Far too many shots were flung up from 3 with plenty of time on the clock when we could have created far better looks. On the interior, both Carlton and Whaley have the tendency to just flip the ball up at the rim before they're in full control, resulting in far too many missed bunnies. That'll kill a team over the course of a season. The vast majority of our turnovers were also on rushed plays or poorly executed hero ball. Vital took a step backward last night. There were plenty of bad calls against both teams, but Whaley seems to be the favorite whipping boy of the refs. I'd estimate that maybe 35% of the fouls against him the past three seasons actually took place.
We need to stop trying to throw the alley-oop pass to Akok. It's attempted every game, our opponents expect it, and it never works. Last night was the only time I can remember it not being broken up by the defense. However, it didn't matter much because the pass was timed poorly and by the time Akok caught it, he was almost back on the floor again.
AG driving the lane will seldom result in good things. He and an uncharacteristically great night at the charity stripe, but we can't count on that every game. What we can count on is Gilbert getting stuffed/injured/throwing up a wild miss whenever he over-penetrates. The guy isn't a slasher and needs to stop trying to become one. He can be a heady playmaker when the situation calls for it and needs to have a more pass first mentality.
Why did Akok see so little time down the stretch? We were playing Sid Wilson at the 5 for intercourse's sake. Unless he was injured, it was absolute madness to not have him on the court during such crucial minutes.
1. Rushing everything
2. Continually engaging in failed strategies
3. Benching Akok for unknown reasons
We play our best offense when at a face pace, but fast and automatic are two different things. Far too many shots were flung up from 3 with plenty of time on the clock when we could have created far better looks. On the interior, both Carlton and Whaley have the tendency to just flip the ball up at the rim before they're in full control, resulting in far too many missed bunnies. That'll kill a team over the course of a season. The vast majority of our turnovers were also on rushed plays or poorly executed hero ball. Vital took a step backward last night. There were plenty of bad calls against both teams, but Whaley seems to be the favorite whipping boy of the refs. I'd estimate that maybe 35% of the fouls against him the past three seasons actually took place.
We need to stop trying to throw the alley-oop pass to Akok. It's attempted every game, our opponents expect it, and it never works. Last night was the only time I can remember it not being broken up by the defense. However, it didn't matter much because the pass was timed poorly and by the time Akok caught it, he was almost back on the floor again.
AG driving the lane will seldom result in good things. He and an uncharacteristically great night at the charity stripe, but we can't count on that every game. What we can count on is Gilbert getting stuffed/injured/throwing up a wild miss whenever he over-penetrates. The guy isn't a slasher and needs to stop trying to become one. He can be a heady playmaker when the situation calls for it and needs to have a more pass first mentality.
Why did Akok see so little time down the stretch? We were playing Sid Wilson at the 5 for intercourse's sake. Unless he was injured, it was absolute madness to not have him on the court during such crucial minutes.