Team not gelling as expected

[Beaker 2,457]

I am not a BB expert but - 

1.  Shouldn't Green sit the last 4 minutes and let Zep play?   Green is lost when pressured (Ark, UF and one other game I don't recall) and Zep is pretty solid with ball control.  Also Green doesn't drive hardly at all. 

2.  Will the lob pass come back?   I missed most of last night's game, but that seems to have dwindled into oblivion. 

3.  I loved how Bruce used a TO last night to solidify the lead and make sure everyone was on the same page to prevent an MSU comeback in OT.

4.  Berman - shouldn't he be getting Flanigan's minutes?   He generates some O, and will stretch opponent's D when he is outside the 3 pt line.   No?  He hasn't looked lost on D...maybe I am wrong.

 

I will hang up and listen...

 

[GreenTiger 1,007]

4 hours ago, Beaker said:

4.  Berman - shouldn't he be getting Flanigan's minutes?   He generates some O, and will stretch opponent's D when he is outside the 3 pt line.   No?  He hasn't looked lost on D...maybe I am wrong

I’ve wondered the same thing. Especially when there is a 19 point lead. Why not play him? 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,816]

5 hours ago, Beaker said:

Berman - shouldn't he be getting Flanigan's minutes?   He generates some O, and will stretch opponent's D when he is outside the 3 pt line.   No?  He hasn't looked lost on D...maybe I am wrong.

Berman would be a sieve on defense against this caliber of guards, plus he’s missed an extended stretch where Pearl has figured out his playoffs rotation. Usually by this point a coach has his ideal rotation set, in the absence of an injury

A lot of people are remembering the Berman that played against the same caliber of teams that also had us looking insane. I think if you have your best 4 guys defensively and have Berman out there, maybe you can make it work. But that leaves you with Zep-KD-Berman-Jabari-Kessler. So you got a 6’4, 215 pound guy that isn’t laterally gifted to say the least defending small forwards who’ll be possibly bigger and quicker (we’re thinking SEC caliber guys here)
 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Dual-Threat Rigby

[Beaker 2,457]

12 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Berman would be a sieve on defense against this caliber of guards, plus he’s missed an extended stretch where Pearl has figured out his playoffs rotation. Usually by this point a coach has his ideal rotation set, in the absence of an injury

A lot of people are remembering the Berman that played against the same caliber of teams that also had us looking insane. I think if you have your best 4 guys defensively and have Berman out there, maybe you can make it work. But that leaves you with Zep-KD-Berman-Jabari-Kessler. So you got a 6’4, 215 pound guy that isn’t laterally gifted to say the least defending small forwards who’ll be possibly bigger and quicker (we’re thinking SEC caliber guys here)
 

yeah, ok you are making a lot of sense, but unfortunately, I would say we don't really have our ideal rotation set to close out games.  

What are you thoughts on Green sitting the last 3-5 minutes?   I believe he is just a wildcard or a box of chocolates - you don't know what you will get in crunch time.

 

Thanks - 

[steeleagle 2,945]

1 hour ago, Beaker said:

yeah, ok you are making a lot of sense, but unfortunately, I would say we don't really have our ideal rotation set to close out games.  

What are you thoughts on Green sitting the last 3-5 minutes?   I believe he is just a wildcard or a box of chocolates - you don't know what you will get in crunch time.

 

Thanks - 

We did have an ideal rotation for end of games, and for the first 12 SEC games it was working, but teams, especially the better teams, changed how to defend our guards, especially point guard, and the high screen, pick and roll, etc. and so Pearl is trying to adjust and see how others things could work. 

Also, our 3 pos, especially w/ Flan has been a disaster late in the games, so at times Pearl has put Devan in there bc he at least doesn't turn the ball over, and adds some with his offensive rebounding, and some blocking ability. Flan simply is feeling more and more pressure as he is not coming out of his shooting and TO funk.

Sitting Green is a terrible idea at the end of games. He is our quickest guard, and penetrate and get fouls when he drives to the basket, and has a better assist record. All that is better than Zep, who diesnt have that burst to get by the guard defending him, and tends not to drive as well to the basket and adjust his shot, like Greene does.

Greene just needs to slow down his thinking and make better decisions(like trying to get through traffic). 

Zep and Greene would be great at the end of games, but you have to not burn them out, as there is no one to replace them unless KD  plays the 2. 

[TeamZero77 1,786]

I've got a question for the members here who really know basketball X's and O's. After our recent loss at Arkansas, Eric Musselman said that the way to slow Auburn down is to make them run their halfcourt offense. He said that Auburn is so deadly when they're in transition and when they can run and gun on offense. He said that putting them in a halfcourt offense slows their game down and really puts it in the point guards hands to run a set offense. He said that Auburn can still beat anybody playing this slower style but they just aren't as deadly like when they run and gun. It seems like Tom Crean at Georgia was the first coach to play us this way and we beat them by 2 points, even though we struggled mightily. I guess Musselman watched that game film and decided to defend us the same way as Georgia and it worked. My question to you basketball guys is what exactly can we do to fix this and do y'all think Bruce and our guys can get it fixed in time for the NCAA Tourney? 

P.S. I know our rebounding is a big liability right now as well as poor shot selection at critical moments. I guess I'm just wondering if it's something our point guard's can fix since they run the offense or is it alot bigger than just them? Thanks WDE

[icanthearyou 4,464]

My concern is rebounding in the half-court game.  IMHO our strength lies in the combination of skill and athleticism.  If you cannot clear rebounds on the defensive end, you never get to use the athleticism.  You become equal to lesser teams.

[icanthearyou 4,464]

5 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

I've got a question for the members here who really know basketball X's and O's. After our recent loss at Arkansas, Eric Musselman said that the way to slow Auburn down is to make them run their halfcourt offense. He said that Auburn is so deadly when they're in transition and when they can run and gun on offense. He said that putting them in a halfcourt offense slows their game down and really puts it in the point guards hands to run a set offense. He said that Auburn can still beat anybody playing this slower style but they just aren't as deadly like when they run and gun. It seems like Tom Crean at Georgia was the first coach to play us this way and we beat them by 2 points, even though we struggled mightily. I guess Musselman watched that game film and decided to defend us the same way as Georgia and it worked. My question to you basketball guys is what exactly can we do to fix this and do y'all think Bruce and our guys can get it fixed in time for the NCAA Tourney? 

P.S. I know our rebounding is a big liability right now as well as poor shot selection at critical moments. I guess I'm just wondering if it's something our point guard's can fix since they run the offense or is it alot bigger than just them? Thanks WDE

Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your theme.  We were typing at the same time.

[TeamZero77 1,786]

3 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your theme.  We were typing at the same time.

No problem at all. 

[TeamZero77 1,786]

7 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

My concern is rebounding in the half-court game.  IMHO our strength lies in the combination of skill and athleticism.  If you cannot clear rebounds on the defensive end, you never get to use the athleticism.  You become equal to lesser teams.

That totally makes sense. When we were getting defensive rebounds, we kick it out to our PG and we are in transition. That goes right along with what Musselman was saying because we are deadly when we are in transition and also when we can run and gun and play loose. (I always think of those old UNLV teams or the Fab 5 at Michigan as run and gun teams). 

So I wonder if our defensive rebounding improved to where it was the first half of the season and we could score in transition quiet regularly, would that fix our problems enough to go deep in the tourney? The opposing team would still be able to make us run our halfcourt offense though and that's been a big problem. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

On 3/3/2022 at 12:04 PM, lost said:

I am not the most knowledgeable, neither am I a novice. There are a few things troubling 

1. Why are Berman, Moore, and Akingbola not getting any playing time( especially with us getting dominated on the boards  and needing a consistent outside shooter )

2 .  Why all of a sudden has this become the Jabari Smith show?  It is not him blossoming out. It is the load falling on him and the offense running through him. 
 

3. Why does Zep Jasper drive and shoot the ball and since when was Green inept in driving himself.  Who told him to back up and throw up a 30-40’ prayer?  That ain’t a shot. 
 

4. I will say as O P

What happened to the 11 man will beat your    Men approach.  All of a sudden the question is What bench?

With greatness comes responsibility.  This team has not been giving the effort it did earlier in the year. I know fatigue is part, but Bruce has kept legs as fresh as he could for most of the year

it is just the last 10 or so games when the load has fallen on 5-6 guys

1. Moore and Stretch offer nothing at all in terms of shooting the ball. I've seen nothing to suggest those three are heads and shoulders above those in front of them in terms of rebounding either. 

2. Because he's the best player on the floor and should get more touches. It is a challenge to keep offensive flow, and the rest of the team needs to move better without the ball instead of just stand and watch. 

3. Zep has been very effective when he shoots, I would say he should shoot more often, Teams have started icing green on drives to prevent him from making certain kick outs and we have to adjust our floor spacing to accommodate this. 

4. Berman got hurt and it is normal to shrink your bench as crunch time arrives, the bench has struggled no doubt. 

*THE EFFORT IS NOT A PROBLEM NOR HAS IT EVER BEEN WITH THIS GROUP. They play their guts out and defend hard the whole game, no effort issues. 

20 hours ago, Beaker said:

I am not a BB expert but - 

1.  Shouldn't Green sit the last 4 minutes and let Zep play?   Green is lost when pressured (Ark, UF and one other game I don't recall) and Zep is pretty solid with ball control.  Also Green doesn't drive hardly at all. 

2.  Will the lob pass come back?   I missed most of last night's game, but that seems to have dwindled into oblivion. 

3.  I loved how Bruce used a TO last night to solidify the lead and make sure everyone was on the same page to prevent an MSU comeback in OT.

4.  Berman - shouldn't he be getting Flanigan's minutes?   He generates some O, and will stretch opponent's D when he is outside the 3 pt line.   No?  He hasn't looked lost on D...maybe I am wrong.

 

I will hang up and listen...

 

1. No, Green doesn't need to sit the last 4 minutes as a general rule at this point. CBP trusts him and that should mean a lot. Has he been his best late in games recently, No. However, I don't think it is time to abandon it. Maybe we do use the 3 guard lineup in the last few minutes to get more ball handling and best shooting on the floor as an adjustment though. 

2. Yes I expect to see the lob come back. I expect to see Cambridge and Flan start diving to the goal when Jabari posts up on the extended elbow more often. 

3. Sometimes TO's help and sometimes you go with the flow to prevent teams from setting up their Defense. 

4. Depends on if he's 100%, if so I would like to see him get 5 mins a game to keep the floor spread, if he isn't 100% then no. 

15 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Berman would be a sieve on defense against this caliber of guards, plus he’s missed an extended stretch where Pearl has figured out his playoffs rotation. Usually by this point a coach has his ideal rotation set, in the absence of an injury

A lot of people are remembering the Berman that played against the same caliber of teams that also had us looking insane. I think if you have your best 4 guys defensively and have Berman out there, maybe you can make it work. But that leaves you with Zep-KD-Berman-Jabari-Kessler. So you got a 6’4, 215 pound guy that isn’t laterally gifted to say the least defending small forwards who’ll be possibly bigger and quicker (we’re thinking SEC caliber guys here)
 

I don't think Berman would be a complete disaster on defense if he's healthy. Its a trade off for sure though, offense for defense. With a healthy Kessler protecting the goal, and if Berman is healthy, I'd like to see what more minutes for him would look like. 

9 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

I've got a question for the members here who really know basketball X's and O's. After our recent loss at Arkansas, Eric Musselman said that the way to slow Auburn down is to make them run their halfcourt offense. He said that Auburn is so deadly when they're in transition and when they can run and gun on offense. He said that putting them in a halfcourt offense slows their game down and really puts it in the point guards hands to run a set offense. He said that Auburn can still beat anybody playing this slower style but they just aren't as deadly like when they run and gun. It seems like Tom Crean at Georgia was the first coach to play us this way and we beat them by 2 points, even though we struggled mightily. I guess Musselman watched that game film and decided to defend us the same way as Georgia and it worked. My question to you basketball guys is what exactly can we do to fix this and do y'all think Bruce and our guys can get it fixed in time for the NCAA Tourney? 

P.S. I know our rebounding is a big liability right now as well as poor shot selection at critical moments. I guess I'm just wondering if it's something our point guard's can fix since they run the offense or is it alot bigger than just them? Thanks WDE

Every team is better at shooting fast break layups than half court sets, so sure that part is true. What can we do to fix it is create movement and speed up the defense. We have to find ways to spread the defense out. Normally, we would do it by making outside shots and forcing teams to pick us up higher, creating more space. When shots aren't falling we have to manufacture space with our player/ball movement. You saw CBP introduce the ball weave out top this past game to help this very thing, but one of the most basic things that can be done is more ball reversals. As the defense is shifting towards the ball, reversing it to the opposite side of the floor creates gaps and lanes in the defense as it reacts that can be attacked with dribble drive or passing. I would look for more of that as well, as our flex set is a good set to use to reverse the ball and get a post up  or lob off of the reversal. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,816]

8 hours ago, Beaker said:

yeah, ok you are making a lot of sense, but unfortunately, I would say we don't really have our ideal rotation set to close out games.  

What are you thoughts on Green sitting the last 3-5 minutes?   I believe he is just a wildcard or a box of chocolates - you don't know what you will get in crunch time.

 

Thanks - 

I just don’t think you have enough passers to validate not having Wendell. I might’ve ran that look just to see how it looks by now, but as far as actually desiring it? Not really honestly 

Wendell has had a really hard time dribbling to create good looks for both him or a pass (it’s been either or, and moreso the former as of late), but that’s a skill that he had showed. We haven’t seen that out of Zep very often and you might get that 3% out of the time out of KD. You want a guy who can do both, and if you don’t, the drive and kick is useless 

Not devaluing Zep either, he can be more of a scoring threat if he decides to be. But he hasn’t showed great ability to create drives with his dribble, he’s more of a dribbler to create space for shots, which doesnt amplify Kessler under the rim or any of the shooter(s) we got.

NOW…I think this team needs something other than the drive and kick game opening things. It’s been how we’ve played for years in the half court, so probably unrealistic, but it’s clear Wen has been experiencing tribulations since that’s been the case. Can Pearl mock up an offense that works better for Zep? If that’s the case, let’s see more of him as the ball handler 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,816]

6 hours ago, JwgreDeux said:

I don't think Berman would be a complete disaster on defense if he's healthy. Its a trade off for sure though, offense for defense. With a healthy Kessler protecting the goal, and if Berman is healthy, I'd like to see what more minutes for him would look like. 

Agree to disagree, but it’s fine to feel that way. No one really knows how the guy looks like in extended minutes against a Quinerly or Iverson Molinar. I’d contend that Kessler protecting the goal hasn’t mattered a ton during our guards’ defensive lapses as of late, guys have got it however they wanted it 

Other than his lateral movement, another thing I noted about Berman during the OOC when I was still able to attend games is that he makes up for the movement by doing a lot of bodying players. He’s a smart guy and can hide it most of the time, but those were again…not again the greatest guards. All of that being said, I would’ve been fine seeing him in our burner home games, just to give a look. 
the bad thing about CBB is that most coaches get set by like late January, and experimenting goes out the window. Auburn, maybe unfortunately, looked so good by January that CBP might’ve just thought they’d self-correct. So experimentation went out the window. No Moore minutes in real game time, no Berman, no Jabari at the 3. Those are all things I would’ve at least liked to see in those meaningless second halves we tend to play at home. Just get some data  

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,816]

Jaylin is a very mobile very switchy guy. Fouls that you can live with if he does. If I’m gonna run Jabari at the 3 and/or run Berman, I like the idea of running those with Jaylin in the lineup. 3-4 plus defenders, 3-4 guys you have to account for around the rim, and 3 guys that can create for self. You don’t have to ask anything of Berman other than shoot. Zep instead of KD might be more ideal for not getting the ball stuck but KD does put more pressure on the rim 

[MaxCohen216 514]

On 3/2/2022 at 11:12 PM, AUlurker said:

Teams have us scouted at this point. It is up to the coaches and players to counter it to have success.

So true.  Opposing coaches know Flan is struggling and that Wendell is turnover-prone.  The 3-guard attack lets Zep handle the ball and play lock-down defense, while allowing Wendell and KD to be on the floor for scoring options.

[wareagle7298 126]

I vote we just forfeit the first 5 minutes of each second half, and give the other team 15 points. It will just be easier on all of us.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,816]

On 3/3/2022 at 8:15 AM, creed said:

Concerning Flan, I know his offense is lacking but that dude can move. He is so much faster than the rest of the players (guards) IMO in getting to the ball on defense because he can move through (instead of around) screens. He will be needed against teams with big guards and he can cover small forwards too. Hopefully, Pearl can find a few mid range catch and shoot plays for him to execute.

And that’s why there’s no realm where Auburn can move past him. There’s no one on the roster that can defend his position like him. Cambridge has been fine, and is a good help defender, but he just doesn’t have the defensive intellect or talent of AF. Not a knock against Cam, who’s a fantastic backup option. His rebounding and knack for contesting shots provide its unique defensive value 

it’s a shame you can’t run the two of them together with their exemplary offensive ability holding them back. 2019 Dev and 2020 AF together would be a PROBLEM