Mal to play the 3 this year

[two3zone]

Assuming KJ's ready (meaning that G's playing mostly SF and not taking major minutes at PG), my guess is:

PG - KJ 22/Howard 8/G - 10
SG - TC 33/MR 7
SF - G 30/TL or MR 10 depending on "situations"
PF - TR 30/TL 10
C - DC2 25-27/CO 13-15

I doubt Howard even plays 15 games this year. No way he averages 8 minutes a game.

 

[reedny]

I doubt Howard even plays 15 games this year. No way he averages 8 minutes a game.

You might be right. I bumped up his minutes because:

1. RF reported that he came on this summer;
2. KJ needs a break now and then and 32 minutes is a 5 minute increase in his minutes;
3. We're best off with G playing his natural position (3); and
4. 8 minutes is not that much (it may be less deeper into conference play).

 

[orangefan13]

Malachi strikes me as the kind of guy who would be better to have in for 8-12 minutes in one half rather then 4-5 each half. Hes a shooter and his strength as a fresh will be shooting himself into games for moderately long stretches.

Our subbing pattern will be strange with Kaleb Cooney and Gbinije I think they will be our three leading scorers. This means if Kaleb starts Gbinije will slide to point at the 16 minute mark then Kaleb will slide back into point at the 12-10 minute mark. Then do we play Kaleb to the end of the half or give Gbinije the point back? I think a good way to fix this could be to just run both uptop and push Cooney to the corner on the offensive end. The same reason Malachi is being pushed as a 3 maybe.

 

[cuseincincy]

Some of you guys amaze me. Especially since I know many of you have been Cuse fans as long or longer than me and should have a better memory. I'm not going to pretend that Malachi will be a great rebounder at the 3...but we should not be afraid of playing a 6'6" 195 lb guy at SF. Dale Shackelford, Erich Santifer, Tony Bruin, Ron Payton, Howard Triche, Stevie Thompson, Dave Johnson, Lawrence Moten, Luke Jackson, Scott McCorkle, Preston Shumpert, Kueth Duany, Josh Pace, Paul Harris, Andy Rautins and Donovan McNabb...all played substantial minutes at the 3 and none were taller and few heavier. And the team survived and many years prospered. The G/F position is notorious at SU and we have no further to look than Gbinije who for some reason many think is better suited to the 3 defensively. Do we really know if G is a better rebounder than Mal? We'll be fine. Personally I think Mal and Lydon both get 20 min/g this year. And how many of you will freak out if we go Nova at some point with a TRob, Mal, G, KJo, Trevor lineup? Not saying they could do it much in ACC play but it will happen imo. All it will really take is some foul trouble by DC and we're at a 6 man lineup with Lydon rotating in. Oops...I just named my 7 man rotation!

 

[senorpalmer]

I like it a lot and I had hoped that coming into this season we would see a lineup that would include Gbinije, Cooney and Richardson together, and it sounds like that will happen. IMO people shouldn't think of this as Richardson becoming a typical frontcourt player, it is Gbinije's versatility that will allow them all to co-exist. I'd be surprised if Gbinije wasn't playing in the back of the zone when these two are also on the floor, where he won't be overmatched physically, and would still result in great length at the top of the zone between Mal and Cooney. Offensively it gives the team a 3 guard look without being a small lineup, and provides an abundance of shooters. Cooney seems to be more effective when he's not the lone shooting threat on the floor and can't be focused on too heavily by opposing defenses. Gbinije's versatility will allow him to handle PG duties, and he'll be flanked by two other guards to provide support with ball-handling in general.

This team will need one or two of the freshmen to make an impact this year or else it will be in big trouble, and there is certainly talent in the freshman class. Glad to see Boeheim looking for ways to get them on the floor.

 

[orangefan13]

I haven't been so excited for a team since 11-12. So much offensive firepower and consistancy. Our centers just need to pick it up on D.

Putting Gbinije on the better pullup shooter makes sense to me, and the top of the three point line is the best place for that. But contesting shots can take him out of the play for the rebound. Gbinije is by far our best guard rebounder by light years, and we have Roberson and Lydon at forward.

There is a chance, we see Gbinije play nearly 20 at guard and 15 at forward.

 

[reedny]

Some of you guys amaze me. Especially since I know many of you have been Cuse fans as long or longer than me and should have a better memory. I'm not going to pretend that Malachi will be a great rebounder at the 3...but we should not be afraid of playing a 6'6" 195 lb guy at SF. Dale Shackelford, Erich Santifer, Tony Bruin, Ron Payton, Howard Triche, Stevie Thompson, Dave Johnson, Lawrence Moten, Luke Jackson, Scott McCorkle, Preston Shumpert, Kueth Duany, Josh Pace, Paul Harris, Andy Rautins and Donovan McNabb...all played substantial minutes at the 3 and none were taller and few heavier. And the team survived and many years prospered. The G/F position is notorious at SU and we have no further to look than Gbinije who for some reason many think is better suited to the 3 defensively. Do we really know if G is a better rebounder than Mal? We'll be fine. Personally I think Mal and Lydon both get 20 min/g this year. And how many of you will freak out if we go Nova at some point with a TRob, Mal, G, KJo, Trevor lineup? Not saying they could do it much in ACC play but it will happen imo. All it will really take is some foul trouble by DC and we're at a 6 man lineup with Lydon rotating in. Oops...I just named my 7 man rotation!

We've been over this ground before, so this POV seems like groundhog day. As I said last time, yes we've had some undersized 3's .. but that doesn't mean that you can get away with a 6/7 PF in today's game (unless he's a beast and you have a skyscraper for a 5). Like last time, the players you mentioned were either 2's (Rauntins and Duanny), or they were exceptional offensive contributors -- scoring machines (Shumpert) or pogo-sticks (Bruin, Thompson and Johns0n). Some had obvious struggles at the position (Paul Harris). Since you have such a good memory, I'm sure you recall that Kueth Duany was a SG, and played on a team with a 7 foot center and 2 other NBA front line players. The year we won the NC our SF was a 6'8" kid named named Carmelo (Forth was the 5 and Hack was the 4). Andy Rautins was also a 2, who played SF sparingly ... an option we had because we had guys like Arinze and Ricky (BE DPOY) on the floor.

So the history you cite won't help us this year. We're as thin as parchment inside. Our center is coming off major knee surgery and hasn't played for significant stretches in 2 years. His backup is physically capable but raw and undersized (6-8+?). Our "PF" is 6-7, 205 (he might be a little stronger after a summer of weights, but still). Even with Rak in the middle last year (we don't have anyone nearly as capable for 2015-16), we were 125th in the nation in RB margin. I don't expect that to change much this season. DC2 (if healthy) can hold his own on the glass, but we have no shot-blocker on or off-ball. Playing zone does depress our D-RB numbers, but going 6-9, 6-7/8, 6-6 on the front line, with 2 of those guys averaging 200 pounds, isn't going to be pretty. I'm not preaching pessimism, just explaining why many of us are exercising the kind of caution that comes from lots of experience watching this team.

 

[cuseguy]

One thing we're overlooking: Malachi's defense and rebounding. Neither one is a strength. He'll get spot minutes at the 2 and 3 unless there's a big improvement in those areas.

 

[orangefan13]

Man I love this time of year this thread is to fun.

 

[orangefan13]

What about mcw at guard? 5.0 rebounds per game. 3rd on the team. Fair had 6.9 and Southerland 5.0 And Gbinije is taller and stronger.

Gbinije at Guard would grab some nice rebounds to spell malachi's side, and would make a awesome trap on Roberson's. On the other hand the centers could really really use help in the backline. It could end up lukewarm defensive guards uptop without G vs. our centers requiring extra help defensively more then usual under the basket.

We could go Lydon backline more while Gbinije is defensive guard and Malachi more while Gbinije is defensive sf.

We have Muscles in the paint. Dajuan, Obokoh, Roberson (has put a alot of muscle on) and G is no slouch for a sf.

There is so many possibilities. This team has potential to put a killer instinct on, and hit 3 threes in three possessions that puts them up 15 or right back in the game.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

One thing we're overlooking: Malachi's defense and rebounding. Neither one is a strength. He'll get spot minutes at the 2 and 3 unless there's a big improvement in those areas.

He starts at the 3. Not sure about "spot minutes."
DC/TR/MR front court
MG/TC back court

 

[We Are Syracuse]

If this lineup happens, Malachi will be at the top of the zone and Silent G will play in the back. Silent G played in the back all of last year so I don't understand why they would switch him. He did pretty good on the back line.

 

[SUOrangeSU]

When Mal plays the 3, G will be down low and Mal will be up top in the zone

I think the most realistic lineup we're going to see a lot is

pg - G
SG- Cooney
SF - Mal
PF - T Rob
C- Coleman

 

[cuseinseattle]

Just a reminder, that we dealt with Rautins, Pace, Harris at the three on defense, so Mali should be just fine. Who says he plays defense on the bottom? G might slide down like last year.

If bringing up Harris at the 3 was your way of making me feel good about Mali you failed.

 

[cuseinseattle]

The shorter shot clock should mitigate SU's disadvantages a bit here.

I'm wondering how much room Hopkins will have to veer from Boeheim's intentions during the suspension. maybe not much.

I don't think Hopkins intentions are any different than Boeheim. People keep wondering about this. Has Hop done an interview where he has talked about running a different offense. I think Hop runs 100% zone when he takes over.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

If this lineup happens, Malachi will be at the top of the zone and Silent G will play in the back. Silent G played in the back all of last year so I don't understand why they would switch him. He did pretty good on the back line.

Nope. Need our primary ball handler at the top of the zone for fast breaks. Plus penetration from the top hurts the zone more than from the side, so the better defender goes up top.

 

[Dave85]

OrangeXtreme has posted this in the 'Daily Articles' thread, but I think it is worthy of it's own thread.

Per JB, Malichi will be playing small forward

Thoughts?

My theory is the way they are going to win is for every point they give up on defense they are going to have to make more points on offense.

 

[realorange]

My theory is the way they are going to win is for every point they give up on defense they are going to have to make more points on offense.

Mmmm, that's the way it usually works if you want to win.

 

[cuseguy]

He starts at the 3. Not sure about "spot minutes." DC/TR/MR front court MG/TC back court

Not what I've heard.

 

[Dave85]

Mmmm, that's the way it usually works if you want to win.

It's a special gift I have of stating the obvious in a very not so profound way.

 

[tbonezone]

malachi seems to me a natural 2 guard. and probably better than cooney there by christmas if given the minutes to learn.

 

[reedny]

When Mal plays the 3, G will be down low and Mal will be up top in the zone

I think the most realistic lineup we're going to see a lot is

pg - G
SG- Cooney
SF - Mal
PF - T Rob
C- Coleman

This is one of the flexible lineups I think we'll see depending on matchups. Against UNC or Virginia, I doubt it unless everyone but the ball boy has fouled out. Against smaller/faster teams, however, this rotation might work. But MR certainly isn't a classic 3. He's a hybrid 2/3. He's a 2 on D and kind of a G/F on offense. I have no problem with that .. but even with G as one of the forwards we're going to get worked on the glass against decent teams.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

Nope. Need our primary ball handler at the top of the zone for fast breaks. Plus penetration from the top hurts the zone more than from the side, so the better defender goes up top.

debatable... I would rather have a more competent rebounder on the backline than a primary ball handler up top. Cuse needs to be able to finish possessions defensively and Gbinije did a real solid job rebounding back there. Of course I have no idea how well Malachi rebounds so I cant honestly say.

 

[tee1222]

that's impossible - many "experts" on this board said that Malachi was only a 2 - maybe JB hasn't been told yet..

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...ges_first_official_practice.html#incart_river
Looks like they finally told JB. Either that, or PS. I think it's still TBD.
"While Gbinije played two positions, so did freshman Malachi Richardson. Boeheim had said that the 6-7 Richardson would play small forward this year, but on Friday, Richardson did work out with the guards in drills and also got time at guard in other exercises."

 

[SUfanNC]

Just a reminder, that we dealt with Rautins, Pace, Harris at the three on defense, so Mali should be just fine. Who says he plays defense on the bottom? G might slide down like last year.

This is my thoughts. Call it what you want on D but he plays the 3 on O. Hopefully he can hit some shots and pump fake to spread floor and draw fouls from guys eager to get the block