Depth

[Viper 3,132]

5 minutes ago, Viper said:

[Viper 3,132]

YES M'MAN ZEP!!!

Edited March 3, 2022 by Viper

[cole256 17,050]

4 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Yep. We’ve known that for years. Our pgs have to get better shots. Make better decisions. 
I heard on major sports review of dark horse in ncaas that it’s guard play that gets u to the FF and finals. And this one analyzer thought Auburn was falling down on odds just bc guards are playing so poorly. 

Yes, it's the reason I've been harping on it so much, I don't really care about regular season. But when the tourney starts the guards decision making and what many people don't talk about and what some don't understand is how if you run into a very good guard that knows how and commands the tempo of the game.......it can railroad you.

 

What makes LeBron James so great.......well he does everything great but what made him so dominant during his career more than ANYTHING was his ability to dictate and control tempo. Now of course we d want run into anybody with his talent level but when a guy knows how to do that they can essentially take away an opponents strengths and put them in positions that they aren't prepared for and haven't seen before. 

Biggest thing I'm afraid of is a guard 6'4" and up that has a strong handle and knows this. 

[Rednilla 5,390]

12 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Yep. We’ve known that for years. Our pgs have to get better shots. Make better decisions. 
I heard on major sports review of dark horse in ncaas that it’s guard play that gets u to the FF and finals. And this one analyzer thought Auburn was falling down on odds just bc guards are playing so poorly. 

If Zep and Wendell shoot the ball like they did early last night, and if KD can have more stretches like he did late last night, our guard play won't be so suspect and we'll have a legitimate shot at this thing.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

CBP has introduced some new things to help the guards out. The dribble weave we saw early in the MSU game, great way to take pressure off a single guard and spread the ball handling around. Creates movement and lanes for a cutters and slashers to get involved more. I expect to see more of that going forward. 

These guys need that kind of artificial stimulus to speed up the pace on offense. We get stagnant when we play too slow. KD is best in chaos, organized chaos, but frantic breakdown situations. We don't need to fight it, we need to embrace it. Green is best as a counter puncher to whatever is transpiring, not off of pure iso situations. Mixing in sets for Jabari to get dedicated touches when the game isn't flowing our way is where Green has to suck it up and do better. 

Since this thread is on Depth let me tie back into that for a bit. Since Lior went out, we have gone from a 10 man rotation to a 9 man rotation. Lost most in his departure is his 10 mins a game that the other team had to respect his shot, helping floor spacing for our bigs. Something has to be done to address that. I don't know if Cook has the physicality to play the 3, but of all our options on the bench, I think it would be interesting to experiment with him in that role for 5-7 minutes vs SC and see if we can find something there. Looking at losing Lior's three points a game may not seem like much, but 3 points would have been the difference in multiple games we've lost this season. 

[autan 737]

I like your 3rd paragraph. I've been thinking about Berman. I wish he could play 5 minutes or so tomorrow., but I know you have to get seniors in the game. Berman is one who could spell our guards in tournament so they could be a little more rested for our new 3 guard lineup, should it be needed at the end of a tight game. I don't trust DC or AF at the 2 right now. Too many turnovers. But LB is out of the flow now and same for CM so I don't know.  I think back at our losses. That 3 guard lineup could have made a difference.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

On 3/2/2022 at 11:53 PM, cole256 said:

Yes, it's the reason I've been harping on it so much, I don't really care about regular season. But when the tourney starts the guards decision making and what many people don't talk about and what some don't understand is how if you run into a very good guard that knows how and commands the tempo of the game.......it can railroad you.

 

What makes LeBron James so great.......well he does everything great but what made him so dominant during his career more than ANYTHING was his ability to dictate and control tempo. Now of course we d want run into anybody with his talent level but when a guy knows how to do that they can essentially take away an opponents strengths and put them in positions that they aren't prepared for and haven't seen before. 

Biggest thing I'm afraid of is a guard 6'4" and up that has a strong handle and knows this. 

Makes me think of Louisville 2012 -2013 team that won it all as one of many examples. Siva was a stud that started playing better as tourney started and progressed.

[cole256 17,050]

2 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

Makes me think of Louisville 2012 -2013 team that won it all as one of many examples. Siva was a stud that started playing better as tourney started and progressed.

Yep. Villanova teams as well. When your guards hit that zone it's tough. Even teams with just one guard extremely hot is very very dangerous

[cole256 17,050]

So like I said......now does anybody want to discuss what we need from our guards to be a real contender? 

I really know what I'm talking about, I promise. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

When Pearl says something like... Yeah, it's hard to find guys who give 100 % on D, so if they do I let them shoot their shot..... if that's his mentality, AU won't get past 1st wkend of tourney. I believe it cause, I've yet to see him get on someone for taking a bad shot

Edited March 12, 2022 by NWALA Tiger

[tgrogan21 6,198]

Um has anyone else heard this? I highly doubt Jabari will come back but if Kessler does that would be insane. 

[1auburn1 1,110]

26 minutes ago, tgrogan21 said:

Um has anyone else heard this? I highly doubt Jabari will come back but if Kessler does that would be insane. 

Kessler’s body isn’t NBA-ready.   Lower level pro ready, yes, but not NBA.  Line up some NIL money…he would be the perfect candidate.    Oh, and lock him in the weight room for 6 months.    I could see this as a 50/50 possibility for him.   Jabari -> NBA

[tgrogan21 6,198]

2 hours ago, 1auburn1 said:

Kessler’s body isn’t NBA-ready.   Lower level pro ready, yes, but not NBA.  Line up some NIL money…he would be the perfect candidate.    Oh, and lock him in the weight room for 6 months.    I could see this as a 50/50 possibility for him.   Jabari -> NBA

Kessler is already close to a lottery pick. Could he use some more size? Yes! But it's not like he's Chet Holmgren out there. lol

[autan 737]

If he comes back he could improve his offensive game (sky hook, shooting 3's and free throws) more at Auburn than sitting on a pro team bench.

[cole256 17,050]

Well this team did better than I thought they would originally. SEC looks pretty bad as a whole though. Good job guys.

[tigeraddikt 1,602]

On 3/12/2022 at 7:18 AM, NWALA Tiger said:

When Pearl says something like... Yeah, it's hard to find guys who give 100 % on D, so if they do I let them shoot their shot..... if that's his mentality, AU won't get past 1st wkend of tourney. I believe it cause, I've yet to see him get on someone for taking a bad shot

You’re smart. I like you.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

1 minute ago, tigeraddikt said:

You’re smart. I like you.

Forgot I posted that. Kinda easy to make that prediction when u watch us play

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,296]

Go get some freaking shooters. My goodness. The rest of the pieces are there, even when Jabari goes pro. Just get 1-2 guys who will make you pay from deep and we're there

[au302 2,669]

The reality is that the 2019/2020 core of Flan/Cambridge/Stretch/JWill/CMo/Cardwell is WAY worse than the 2015/2016 core of Bryce/Horace/Danjel/Jared/Wiley/Mclemore.

Jabari and Walker coming in disguised it and Sharife/Thor to a lesser extent last year. Time to move on from most of those guys and reconstruct through the '21/22 classes and the portal 

[AUlurker 178]

1 hour ago, au302 said:

The reality is that the 2019/2020 core of Flan/Cambridge/Stretch/JWill/CMo/Cardwell is WAY worse than the 2015/2016 core of Bryce/Horace/Danjel/Jared/Wiley/Mclemore.

Jabari and Walker coming in disguised it and Sharife/Thor to a lesser extent last year. Time to move on from most of those guys and reconstruct through the '21/22 classes and the portal 

From an offensive standpoint I agree with you. A lot of those guys on our current roster are limited and not elite one-trick ponies. Cardwell needs an offensive game. Flan needs a full healthy offseason. Jaylin needs more minutes at the 4. Cambidge needs to find his shot. CMo needs guard skills. 

[au302 2,669]

13 minutes ago, AUlurker said:

From an offensive standpoint I agree with you. A lot of those guys on our current roster are limited and not elite one-trick ponies. Cardwell needs an offensive game. Flan needs a full healthy offseason. Jaylin needs more minutes at the 4. Cambidge needs to find his shot. CMo needs guard skills. 

Yep. I'm afraid many of them are what they are. We don't need them to be starters, just quality backups. Outside of Jaylin and Cardwell, it's not the case. Flan could regain form but is Bruce willing to risk that when he'll have quality transfers knocking at the door? Will be interesting 

[CameronCrazy 1,059]

Walker Kessler needs to come back . He was great when he was clearly the tallest dude on the court. But he struggled against other bigs and dudes that really challenged him down low. He has to get more dominant and more aggressive. That lazy mess last night will not cut it in the NBA. 

He also needs to develop his shot and more of an offensive game other than dunks and put backs. The key question is will he be developed more at Auburn or in his first year in the league. 

[Beaker 2,457]

On 3/12/2022 at 7:18 AM, NWALA Tiger said:

When Pearl says something like... Yeah, it's hard to find guys who give 100 % on D, so if they do I let them shoot their shot..... if that's his mentality, AU won't get past 1st wkend of tourney. I believe it cause, I've yet to see him get on someone for taking a bad shot

This is my only knock on Bruce - wasted possessions.   They are wasted energy with no results.  Basically every low percentage shot is a turn over for Auburn. 

 

One podcast said Cambridge or Flanigan (both?) were averaging about 20% from three.   If that is the deal,  put some structure in place for them NOT to shoot the three.  Or at least on the road, where the % typically drops.  

 

Also - how does a team take away our inside game and double up Jabari?  I don't know basketball, but this makes no sense to me.   Surely Pearl's staff can figure out how that happened time and again in Feb.  Well, I guess they couldn't.  I am just butt-hurt still.  

 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

1 minute ago, Beaker said:

This is my only knock on Bruce - wasted possessions.   They are wasted energy with no results.  Basically every low percentage shot is a turn over for Auburn. 

 

One podcast said Cambridge or Flanigan (both?) were averaging about 20% from three.   If that is the deal,  put some structure in place for them NOT to shoot the three.  Or at least on the road, where the % typically drops.  

 

Also - how does a team take away our inside game and double up Jabari?  I don't know basketball, but this makes no sense to me.   Surely Pearl's staff can figure out how that happened time and again in Feb.  Well, I guess they couldn't.  I am just butt-hurt still.  

 

We don't have an inside game to take away. Kessler has no low post moves. Cardwell has less than zero low post moves. Jabari is a jump shooter. 

[Beaker 2,457]

2 hours ago, NWALA Tiger said:

We don't have an inside game to take away. Kessler has no low post moves. Cardwell has less than zero low post moves. Jabari is a jump shooter. 

Well I was thinking about how we used to lob the ball to Kessler or  similar type point generation plays....but I get what you're saying.   I believe those plays helped bring players in tighter so we could get better looks from 3 or long jump shots.