Picking Your Poison

[Bama fan]

"Inconceivable."

I don't think that means what you think it means!

 

[LoTrader]

You can't really talk about Oregon without mentioning Cazorla. She's nearly as important to them as Ionescu is. Also while Hebard rarely scores from more than 5 feet from the bucket, she's extremely effective at doing just that. Most teams were unable to stop her, even though they knew exactly what to expect. The 33 straight field goals over a 3 game stretch and #4 in the nation in FG% (65.9) is fairly impressive I'd say.

So many forget Matai--why? I guess it would be like leaving Crystal out of a conversation about the great UCONN team. Ducks are far less impactful without Matai on the court. She is a force, and yes, she would hold up against the UCONN pressure defense. Matai is that good--best PG in the PAC12 without question. This all coming from an OSU Beaver fan.

 

[wallman]

Not I. Both her and Heard are the key to OR. However, OR has trouble with defensive pressure. UCLA should have won the game and blew it because we cannot finish but it showed that when we attacked the OR defense we got what we wanted. Our problem was that we didn't do it enough SMH.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Not I. Both her and Heard are the key to OR. However, OR has trouble with defensive pressure. UCLA should have won the game and blew it because we cannot finish but it showed that when we attacked the OR defense we got what we wanted. Our problem was that we didn't do it enough SMH.

All 3 games were close, but Oregon beat UCLA 3 times this season. Found a way to win each time. That's not a fluke. Also 2-0 against USC who probably applies even more defensive pressure than UCLA does.

 

[LoTrader]

Not I. Both her and Heard are the key to OR. However, OR has trouble with defensive pressure. UCLA should have won the game and blew it because we cannot finish but it showed that when we attacked the OR defense we got what we wanted. Our problem was that we didn't do it enough SMH.

BTW, what team wouldn't have trouble with both UCLA or USC pressure. I haven't seen any other WCBB teams this year that can put as much pressure on another team just trying to get the ball over the half court? I'm sure there are a few other WCBB Teams that press as well (LSU comes to mind), but there are not many.

 

[oldude]

BTW, what team wouldn't have trouble with both UCLA or USC pressure. I haven't seen any other WCBB teams this year that can put as much pressure on another team just trying to get the ball over the half court? I'm sure there are a few other WCBB Teams that press as well (LSU comes to mind), but there are not many.

UConn does not press all the time, but they like to occasionally put on either a man or zone press to speed up an opposing team. When the Huskies have pressed this season, they have been extremely effective forcing TO’s and bad shots.

 

[jonson]

Not I. Both her and Heard are the key to OR. However, OR has trouble with defensive pressure. UCLA should have won the game and blew it because we cannot finish but it showed that when we attacked the OR defense we got what we wanted. Our problem was that we didn't do it enough SMH.

Anyone can engage in this kind of hypothetical (I know I do), and it's particularly difficult to resist the "ifs" and "should have wons" after a tough loss. But, as reasonable as statements like this may seem--couldn't I say that the game wouldn't have been close if Oregon had shot its normal percentage from the field or from the line?--in the end they don't matter. What did matter was Oregon's ability (and UCLA's inability) to handle a different kind of pressure: the pressure that attends a close game in the closing minutes. Oregon ended the Pac 12 semifinal on a 10-0 run. A fluke? Don't think so, since the score in overtime for the UCLA/Oregon game in Eugene was 11-4 in favor of Oregon, and--even further back--Oregon outscored UCLA 12-2 during the last 2 minutes+ when they played in Los Angeles, going from one point behind to a 9 point win in the process.

UCLA has an extraordinarily gifted senior point guard, an almost as talented 6'4" senior forward whose athleticism is second only to Gabby's, and at least 4 other players whom Hoopgurlz ranked among the top 15 prospects the year each of them landed at Westwood. I don't think that any other Pac 12 team has a roster with those credentials, and it is no accident that the Bruins were picked to win the conference this year. They should also be a shoe-in for the "pick your poison" label that is the starting point for this thread. But they didn't and they're not. Instead, they tend to resemble the alternative: a team that is too dependent upon one or two great players. In a conference in which the teams ahead of, or tied with, the Bruins in this year's final standings have found success (in my view) by creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, UCLA seems to have gone in the opposite direction.

 

[CMC'72]

That said, I don't see any way MSU is competitive with UConn without strong games from the two stars.

 

[Psyjaxx]

WISE???
Poison hemlock is very similar, with minor differences in the roots and leaves. The root and the liquid it contains is deadly toxic (the rest of the plant is not as poisonous, but will still make you sick), with similar symptoms to those of water hemlock, but death in this case comes because respiratiry paralysis stops the victim from being able to breathe.
"Water hemlock, of which there are five subspecies is deadly within hours if ingested. Symptoms are seizures, rapid heart rate, frothing at the mouth, and respiratory distress. Death comes via a final, horribly long seizure. Poison hemlock is very similar, with minor differences in the roots and leaves. The root and the liquid it contains is deadly toxic (the rest of the plant is not as poisonous, but will still make you sick), with similar symptoms to those of water hemlock, but death in this case comes because respiratory paralysis stops the victim from being able to breathe."

WISE - refers to Socrates, that great Greek philospher of antiquity, who took hemlock (rather than face execution, potentially). WISE is a humorous juxtaposition to the taking of hemlock. Sometimes it's easy to miss the forest for the trees.

 

[SVCBeercats]

WISE - refers to Socrates, that great Greek philospher of antiquity, who took hemlock (rather than face execution, potentially). WISE is a humorous juxtaposition to the taking of hemlock. Sometimes it's easy to miss the forest for the trees.

You are in politics as a "Spin Meister." Correct?! Of course!