Last 10 minutes: Good sign going forward?

[Waquoit]

If "Bazz has to do it all himself", this team isn't going very far. The good news the last minutes last night showed he doesn't have to. When he sat with about 10 to go, the team extended the lead. When he came back in, outside of one shot late, he wasn't all that great. But the team was. Team ball is what is going keep us moving forward. We know what are core 5 is now - Bazz, Boat, Giff, DD and AB. They are a good unit, we just need to ball as a unit without one guy with the mindset that he has to "make things happen."

 

[Peacefrog]

What I didn't like about the last 10 minutes was our inability to handle the press. We had lots of ball handlers out there including two point guards and it looked like they were pressing our walk-ons. Coach really needs to focus on that in practice this coming week.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

What I didn't like about the last 10 minutes was our inability to handle the press. We had lots of ball handlers out there including two point guards and it looked like they were pressing our walk-ons. Coach really needs to focus on that in practice this coming week.

I posted something similar on another thread. I don't get how, with our personnel, we can be so inept against the press.

 

[Migs]

Turnovers happened for two reasons, they got physical and we went into victim mode. Can't happen tonight.

 

[Stinger92860]

Two of the turnovers can be attributed to lazy passes by TS and Lasan. Both were immediately removed. I remember a bad pass by Neil's and then KO had Bazz inbound.

 

[blackbird]

Part of the problem is our inability to get the ball in bounds. Then the press works because a player is trapped near the sideline. I think KO has to work out a few in bounds plays to help. (The one where Giffey got the ball then handed it right back to Napier might be our best strategy. Giffey seems to get himself open for the pass better than anyone, but Napier needs to hurry and get the ball right back.)

 

[Strummer]

This is a nutty, crazy point, maybe.

I think the reason we so bad breaking the press is the same reason we are so bad at inbounding the ball - our two primary ball handlers have a very limited reach. That means that their window to pass over/around/through a double team is small, and the window into which you pass to them is small. So you have Bazz, a great ball handler, attempting to pass over a 6/3 and a 6/4 guy double teaming him, and the target is 5/10 Boat. So your margin for error goes way down.

Kromah is a decent ball handler, but not a great one. He is not capable of dribbling through traffic.

Bazz is a great ball handler, but does not have amazing end-to-end speed, so he can't blow by defenders like a Kemba could.

Finally Boat has the ball on a yo-yo string, to be sure, but his dribble is very high. I'm not sure where he picked up the habit, but watch him. He has the ball coming up to his shoulder when he's dribbling up the court unmolested. In traffic, he lowers it down to his rib cage. He needs to bend more and dribble that ball near the top of his knee when he's trying to dribble out of the double. At his height, with his ball control and foot speed, it would be near impossible to get a hand on it.

Throw in that our 3rd and 4th options (Giffey and Daniels) with the ball are so-so on the move, and you've got a team that is easy to press. Which is the MAIN reason Ville has eaten our lunch twice.

Harken back to Kemba - guy had the ball on a string, was lightning quick, and had a low dribble. He virtually NEVER coughed the ball up in a press, and was a one man press buster.

We can get better at breaking the press, but we are working with limited options. Kevin Ollie - this is where you earn your money!

Bullocks!

 

[Tenspro2002]

This is a nutty, crazy point, maybe.

I think the reason we so bad breaking the press is the same reason we are so bad at inbounding the ball - our two primary ball handlers have a very limited reach. That means that their window to pass over/around/through a double team is small, and the window into which you pass to them is small. So you have Bazz, a great ball handler, attempting to pass over a 6/3 and a 6/4 guy double teaming him, and the target is 5/10 Boat. So your margin for error goes way down.

Kromah is a decent ball handler, but not a great one. He is not capable of dribbling through traffic.

Bazz is a great ball handler, but does not have amazing end-to-end speed, so he can't blow by defenders like a Kemba could.

Finally Boat has the ball on a yo-yo string, to be sure, but his dribble is very high. I'm not sure where he picked up the habit, but watch him. He has the ball coming up to his shoulder when he's dribbling up the court unmolested. In traffic, he lowers it down to his rib cage. He needs to bend more and dribble that ball near the top of his knee when he's trying to dribble out of the double. At his height, with his ball control and foot speed, it would be near impossible to get a hand on it.

Throw in that our 3rd and 4th options (Giffey and Daniels) with the ball are so-so on the move, and you've got a team that is easy to press. Which is the MAIN reason Ville has eaten our lunch twice.

Harken back to Kemba - guy had the ball on a string, was lightning quick, and had a low dribble. He virtually NEVER coughed the ball up in a press, and was a one man press buster.

We can get better at breaking the press, but we are working with limited options. Kevin Ollie - this is where you earn your money!

Bullocks!

I disagree completely with your first sentence. That's not a crazy point at all. It's exactly what the problem is!

Our ballhandlers have no size, and our size has no handle. It's incredibly easy to deny the ball to someone whose reach you exceed by 6 inches, and traps on the sidelines are extremely effective because a 5'10 guy can't pass it over a 6'4 guy.

Unlike in previous years where we had no trouble with the press, Ollie is going to have to be creative and design press-break plays that get guys open in space or that allow a taller guy like Daniels to win a 1-on-1 leap for the ball with ease.