Great assist distribution today

[nycfan]

It was the first game all season that we had 5 different guys with 3 or more assists:

Richardson 5
Gbinije 4
Howard 3
Cooney 3
Roberson 3

Gotta love the unselfish team play -- Howard seemed to set the tone early, and then was really impressed with Malachi's passing in the 2nd half (loved the "no-look" cross-court pass to Lydon for the 3).

 

[jdubs30]

Our ball movement has been really impressive during this streak. It leads to a ton of open looks too.

 

[rrlbees]

It was the first game all season that we had 5 different guys with 3 or more assists: Richardson 5 Gbinije 4 Howard 3 Cooney 3 Roberson 3 Gotta love the unselfish team play -- Howard seemed to set the tone early, and then was really impressed with Malachi's passing in the 2nd half (loved the "no-look" cross-court pass to Lydon for the 3).

Mali is an underrated passer.

 

[Jake]

This is one of the best passing teams we've ever had. Too bad it's not one of the best catching teams...that's why the assist numbers are only so-so.

 

[JeremyCuse]

This is one of the best passing teams we've ever had. Too bad it's not one of the best catching teams...that's why the assist numbers are only so-so.

DC's hands are reaching the Keita level at this point.

 

[pfister1]

DC's hands are reaching the Keita level at this point.

It looked like DCII was playing with a greased watermelon today. I'm not sure there was a pass or rebound that he handled cleanly.

 

[Forloveoforange]

Maybe his hands were too dry from the cold. He did handle one rebound cleanly.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Not sure why Howard got zero second half minutes given how much better the offense seems to flow with him in the game. If he ever finds a jump shot... Look out.

 

[RF2044]

It was the first game all season that we had 5 different guys with 3 or more assists:

Richardson 5
Gbinije 4
Howard 3
Cooney 3
Roberson 3

Gotta love the unselfish team play -- Howard seemed to set the tone early, and then was really impressed with Malachi's passing in the 2nd half (loved the "no-look" cross-court pass to Lydon for the 3).

VERY impressive. When you have guys like Cooney / Richardson finding guys off the bounce, our offense is fun to watch.

BTW, Mali had a phenomenal bounch pass assist to Lydon for a dunk off of a penetrating drive. What a pass.

 

[br801]

Not sure why Howard got zero second half minutes given how much better the offense seems to flow with him in the game. If he ever finds a jump shot... Look out.

Because it was a close game at the half and well into the second half, and JB stayed with the group that finally opened up the lead to the end. Coleman never returned either after coming out a few minutes into the second half.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Not sure why Howard got zero second half minutes given how much better the offense seems to flow with him in the game. If he ever finds a jump shot... Look out.

I suspect he might have gotten some run had we not started to pull away around the 10 minute mark. Not sure how much better he has to play in the 1st half to see PT in the 2nd half, though. Yes he has some defensive lapses but so do the other guards - when the zone breaks down it's not usually because a player decides to take a possession off.

 

[br801]

I suspect he might have gotten some run had we not started to pull away around the 10 minute mark. Not sure how much better he has to play in the 1st half to see PT in the 2nd half, though. Yes he has some defensive lapses but so do the other guards - when the zone breaks down it's not usually because a player decides to take a possession off.

Really? In a game they had to win against an inferior opponent, you believe JB would have played Howard over his fifth year seniors in the second half if it had remained close? Hell, he wasn't going to risk putting him in that game after they had broken it open. Surely you've been watching this team long enough to know JB rides the guys he trusts when the game is on the line in the second half, and Howard is yet to gain that trust.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Mali is an underrated passer.

Fine, just keep giving him reasons to go pro.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Fine, just keep giving him reasons to go pro.

He, Roberson, Coleman and Lydon will all likely go through the new evaluation process.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Not sure why Howard got zero second half minutes given how much better the offense seems to flow with him in the game. If he ever finds a jump shot... Look out.

It was that floater he took.
He took a good 3, JB left him in. He took that floater, he was out.

 

[General20]

Mali is an underrated passer.

I was going to say the same thing. People worry about who our point guard will be next year, but I think Mali will be initiating most of the offense simply because he is a threat to shoot, drive, pass, and there are going to be very few guards who can handle him.

 

[OrangeDW]

Mali is an underrated passer.

This was his 2nd straight game with 5 assists, I believe. Very impressive.

Early in the year I thought he'd just be a shooter this year...then I became impressed with his ability to drive and score. Now he's making plays for others too. Keeps getting better.

 

[RF2044]

This was his 2nd straight game with 5 assists, I believe. Very impressive.

Early in the year I thought he'd just be a shooter this year...then I became impressed with his ability to drive and score. Now he's making plays for others too. Keeps getting better.

Agreed--very well rounded offensive game [which includes seeing the floor and making plays for others]. Love this kid's game.

 

[OrangeDW]

I was going to say the same thing. People worry about who our point guard will be next year, but I think Mali will be initiating most of the offense simply because he is a threat to shoot, drive, pass, and there are going to be very few guards who can handle him.

Howard is a pure PG, and will be a very good one, IMO.

And yeah, I agree that Malachi will be the go to guy and will both score and make plays for others. I was BEGGING for Gbinije to split the hedge that BC kept doing against our high pick and roll(with the lumbering Clifford leaving all kinds of space to do so), but he kept dribbling wide and going around it and nothing happened. Finally about midway through the second half, Malachi split it and we got a layup off of it.

 

[Fly Rodder]

It was that floater he took.
He took a good 3, JB left him in. He took that floater, he was out.

Like before his feet hit the ground.

 

[OrangeDW]

It was that floater he took.
He took a good 3, JB left him in. He took that floater, he was out.

Agreed that was the reason, but I just don't agree with benching him over a bad shot when he had played well overall. Take him out at that time...fine. He'd already had a solid run of minutes. But take him out for good? C'mon.

Cooney's "up and under" shot was terrible(and he consistently tries it with little success) and his heavily contested mid range 2 coming off a curl early in the shot clock is always a very tough shot. Malachi took a tough, heavily contested pullup 2 going to his left early in the shot clock in the 2nd half. Those are all equally as low percentage shots as Howard's floater was IMO.

Howard played well overall, and sparked our offense as he frequently has lately. He should be a regular part of the rotation in each half IMO.

 

[Fly Rodder]

The difference being that Cooney has a greenlight to shoot from anywhere. I'm not 100% certain, but if Cooney took a 65 footer with 28 seconds on the shot clock and missed, he wouldn't get pulled. Howard doesn't have that greenlight and, I'm 99% certain, he has a redlight to shoot that floater. The second he takes that shot he's not paying attention to the instructions that JAB has given him and he's out of the game. It's definitely a teaching moment more than anything else.

 

[RF2044]

The difference being that Cooney has a greenlight to shoot from anywhere. I'm not 100% certain, but if Cooney took a 65 footer with 28 seconds on the shot clock and missed, he wouldn't get pulled. Howard doesn't have that greenlight and, I'm 99% certain, he has a redlight to shoot that floater. The second he takes that shot he's not paying attention to the instructions that JAB has given him and he's out of the game. It's definitely a teaching moment more than anything else.

Boeheim used to do the same thing Paul Harris's freshman year, when Harris began to jack of threes. At some point, every time he took a three, Boeheim pulled him, and would "coach" him on the bench not to do it anymore. Next game, Harris would do the same thing--same result. Until it finally sunk in that he didn't have the green light to shoot threes; I think it took about 80% of the season for that to sink in for Harris.

People can disagree with JB giving him the hook, but if it is something that Howard is being coached not to do, and he still does it, then pulling the player is an appropriate coaching tactic for the reason Fly Rodder specifies above. And for the record, I'm not comparing Howard to Harris--by all accounts, Howard is exponentially more coachable.

 

[OttoMets]

I was going to say the same thing. People worry about who our point guard will be next year, but I think Mali will be initiating most of the offense simply because he is a threat to shoot, drive, pass, and there are going to be very few guards who can handle him.

Eh, people said (legitimately, in my opinion) the same thing about Gbinije this year.

I think Richardson's got better instincts and vision than he does, but a lot of people are overrating the value of a true point guard. Richardson's going to be fantastic for us next year, but lack of a point guard is likely to be our greatest weakness.

 

[MSOrange]

Boeheim used to do the same thing Paul Harris's freshman year, when Harris began to jack of threes. At some point, every time he took a three, Boeheim pulled him, and would "coach" him on the bench not to do it anymore. Next game, Harris would do the same thing--same result. Until it finally sunk in that he didn't have the green light to shoot threes; I think it took about 80% of the season for that to sink in for Harris.

People can disagree with JB giving him the hook, but if it is something that Howard is being coached not to do, and he still does it, then pulling the player is an appropriate coaching tactic for the reason Fly Rodder specifies above. And for the record, I'm not comparing Howard to Harris--by all accounts, Howard is exponentially more coachable.

Nice comparison to Harris. I wonder if Hop misses seeing Niagara Falls so often?