Melo's value is being underestimated

[BlueCurtain]

JB's zone requires a physical shotblocker who allows the guards to be aggressive and take chances. If the guards do allow penetration, or the ball gets into the low post, a shotblocker is able to erase those mistakes or make the opponent think too much about the shot. In the end, it looks like a great defensive play. We've seen this happen time and again this year, with Pittsburgh the most recent example of the zone being carved up but generally bailed out. Without Melo, our guards have more pressure to keep the ball in front of them, and the opponent has plenty of confidence to attack the interior. It's a double whammy.

Slightly off topic, but Mike Brey was the first coach this year that really exploited overloading a zone - something that only Pitino really understood in the past. It's quite simple - on a ball reversal this forces our wing to try to defend 2 spaces. No matter how much JB yells at his players under these circumstances, it's physically impossible to address. It's simply a flaw in the zone concept that unfortunately can be exploited by players who are less athletic and less talented but well coached in floor spacing and ball movement.

But bottom line - w/o Melo this defensive approach will need to adapt to shore up a glaring deficiency.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

With Fab Melo we wouldn't have won ten f@cking games this year, not ten! These other guys just weren't ready, they needed him. I got people coming to me saying Fab Melo is overrated, that's the most bullsh@t think I've seen in 30 years!

 

[BlueCurtain]

Even if Melo is back by some struck of luck, this zone overloading is not something Melo can fix.

 

[timkay99]

Even if Melo is back by some struck of luck, this zone overloading is not something Melo can fix.

You do realize they ran the overload multiple times? It didn't work everytime as you lead people to believe.

The way to beat it is to have the guard be able to cover the guy on the wing (if you noticed, C.J. would very quickly flash then fall back down and the guard would assume responsibility). There were multiple times in that game where they had run the overload and Atkins didn't pass it over to Martin for a very simple reason. The next pass that would have been made (the one to the player supposedly left open in the corner) would have resulted in a double team in the short corner (with Keita and the F).

It is like everything else. You can overload and have it work some times against the zone. You can back-screen against man and have it work sometimes.

Nothing works every time and to say something is a flaw in the scheme is like saying back-screening is a flaw against man. It isn't a flaw, it is an answer to the defense to try and get buckets.

 

[orangefan13]

Melo moves Rak to the four. If Rak developes some at the four with Melo at the five we can be that much better on both ends.

 

[Rossco123]

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You do realize they ran the overload multiple times? It didn't work everytime as you lead people to believe.

The way to beat it is to have the guard be able to cover the guy on the wing (if you noticed, C.J. would very quickly flash then fall back down and the guard would assume responsibility). There were multiple times in that game where they had run the overload and Atkins didn't pass it over to Martin for a very simple reason. The next pass that would have been made (the one to the player supposedly left open in the corner) would have resulted in a double team in the short corner (with Keita and the F).

It is like everything else. You can overload and have it work some times against the zone. You can back-screen against man and have it work sometimes.

Nothing works every time and to say something is a flaw in the scheme is like saying back-screening is a flaw against man. It isn't a flaw, it is an answer to the defense to try and get buckets.

Exactly right. You try to discourage attacking a weakness on D with traps and shooting the gaps early in a half.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

All I can say, Blue Curtain is, ‘Thank Blue Curtain, you are back!!!”.

In the face of the unyielding media onslaught regarding he-who-must-not-be-named’s relentless march up the all-time wins list, compounded by the 20 game win streak, my faith in the “Boeheim as bastion of mediocrity” (signal three thirty-second timeouts while listening to Raftery’s “And ... goes…MAN-TO-MAN” to ward off temptation to deploy zone in pick-up basketball games), as elucidated in each and everyone of Your 186 posts, was being shaken to its core.

My soul was troubled by the fact that Your sole post in the new decade was to highlight the lack of intensity at He-who-must-not-be-named practices and I was wondering if Your absence during the win streak was the result of Your revising Your stance that he-who-must-not-be-named cannot coach and that the 2-3 zone is root of all evil.

Fortunately for me, the 20 game win streak is over, Boeheim (signal three thirty-second timeouts while listening to Raftery’s “And ... goes…MAN-TO-MAN”) has not yet ascended to sole possession of #4 on the all-time wins list and You have reappeared to remind us why a coach with 876 wins is really no better than Rich Kotite.

I am comforted by your steadfast devotion to Your message even in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary. You are truly a remarkable Poster.

Slightly off-topic, I would like to help otherSyracusefans who, unlike myself who has seen the light through Your posts, continue to live under the cover of darkness in the misguided belief that he-who-must-not-be-named is a great basketball coach.

I need someone for these fans to turn to in their hour of need as they awake to the realization that the 876 wins are a mirage; that the Orange have only averaged 7 wins a season over the last 35 years and that we have only beaten the great hoops power from Piscataway once over that Span.

Can you be that Man?

 

[reedny]

Melo moves Rak to the four. If Rak developes some at the four with Melo at the five we can be that much better on both ends.

I actually like some things I've seen recently from Rak on defense. He's very quick on his feet for a guy his height and he CAN move out to guard the wing (as a 4). The unfortunate converse of that quickness is that, at either inside position, he's not heavy or strong enough yet to hold his ground for rebounds -- that will come.

Right now -- with the team forced to go with a smaller lineup with Rak/Keita in the middle -- is a great time form them to learn under fire. Even if we loose 1-2 more games with Fab out, the ratings will forgive us (as long as he comes back) and those two will get better.

If Fab stays out indefinately, this is a top 15 doughnut team. Without a post anchor, on defense our guards won't be able to take as many risks -- we will allow more points and our opportunities for runouts will drop off. If Keita picks up fouls, the answer is a freshman who's not yet up to big east toughness standards. Not a pretty picture, as we saw the other night.