I didn't think it was any one thing that did us in today. I think the primary thing was that Xavier played extremely well. And let's face it, they made some tough shots, especially earlier in the game.
One thing that does concern me lately though is Sanogo's defensive play. He has not been that force that he once was on D. I thought having an effective backup like Clingan would have allowed him to play more aggressively on D. I also think that Clingan should have played a little more today. Give Adama some more rest periods to he if that helps him on D.
Nobody from the bench was able to come in today and give us any big spark. This was one of those rare games that nobody really got it going to push us. That will be rare.
Live by the 3, die by the 3. I don't really have that much of a problem with the number of threes taken. When you don't have those playmaking guards, and you have so many good shooters, shooting a lot of 3s is a good strategy. We shot 36.7%, that's not bad, we just missed crucial ones down the stretch. 12 three attempts by AJ is just way too much in my opinion. We have 5 other guys making a higher percentage from 3. There's no reason a guy that is shooting 30% from 3 should be taking 12 in a game. It's math. It's Points per shot attempt. AJ does too many other things well to have him doing that. He's too valuable of a rebounder.
The tech by Hurley was terrible. I hate is referee antics. I also thought he should have subbed for a few guys some more today. He has been great with his subbing patterns all year though, so I'm not going to kill him for one game.
It was decent to get through the last two games with only one loss. This loss should motivate the team and focus them to work hard and pay attention to details and grow.
One thing that does concern me lately though is Sanogo's defensive play. He has not been that force that he once was on D. I thought having an effective backup like Clingan would have allowed him to play more aggressively on D. I also think that Clingan should have played a little more today. Give Adama some more rest periods to he if that helps him on D.
Nobody from the bench was able to come in today and give us any big spark. This was one of those rare games that nobody really got it going to push us. That will be rare.
Live by the 3, die by the 3. I don't really have that much of a problem with the number of threes taken. When you don't have those playmaking guards, and you have so many good shooters, shooting a lot of 3s is a good strategy. We shot 36.7%, that's not bad, we just missed crucial ones down the stretch. 12 three attempts by AJ is just way too much in my opinion. We have 5 other guys making a higher percentage from 3. There's no reason a guy that is shooting 30% from 3 should be taking 12 in a game. It's math. It's Points per shot attempt. AJ does too many other things well to have him doing that. He's too valuable of a rebounder.
The tech by Hurley was terrible. I hate is referee antics. I also thought he should have subbed for a few guys some more today. He has been great with his subbing patterns all year though, so I'm not going to kill him for one game.
It was decent to get through the last two games with only one loss. This loss should motivate the team and focus them to work hard and pay attention to details and grow.
