Pitt Postgame Thoughts

[tee1222]

I think their minutes need to be staggered.

Would love to find combos where one of Bell/Taylor is productive with one of Copeland/Benny.

Sorry but I say no to staggering. Just my opinion. Start these four guys who are winning the games and see if the other guys can be a spark off the bench. We are always battling uphill. Let's start rolling from the tip.

 

[Cuse99&01]

The legend of Quadir grows game by game. I pray he is still with us into his upperclassmen years.

22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 86% FTs

And as a bonus he hit a 3

 

[Scott11]

Huge win!
-Benny was excellent. 15 and 7 is what we all were hoping for before the season from him. He finally rebounded and maybe the effort from him on the boards will become consistent. We can hope.
-Quadir was excellent. A couple of loose turnovers but we don’t win without him.
-Brown as usual played his arse off. Could have done without the three but his defense was superb.
-don’t want JJ’s effort to be lost in this one. That three-pointer was huge and he took care of the ball and had some big shots going to the basket.
-Judah may have had his worst game of the season. Most of that was on the defensive end when he kept making poor gambles which led to two on ones in the half court and easy baskets for Pitt. Once again, he left himself no room for error foul wise by committing stupid fouls 40 feet away from the goal. His three was a huge part of our comeback.
-our team defense was excellent for the most part. We would not have won that game last year by sitting back in the zone. I love the energy that this team is showing.
-Red may have made a couple of mistakes late, most notably not setting up inbound plays with a timeout and inexplicably putting in Cuffe in instead of Taylor. Also thought he went with Bell for too long. But other than that he coached a great game and was smart enough to ride the hot hands late. Most importantly, I just feel like there is a different vibe with this team. They are playing hard all the time and seem to be playing well together.
-so good to see us play well against a quality opponent and come out with a deserved win against a team I hate who has had our number. The last minute was unnecessarily stressful but who cares. Let’s enjoy this one. Happy new year to you guys.

 

[CardiacCuse]

100%. Given the roster and dynamic I have no problem starting those 2 and seeing if they want to have a game. If not, release the dogs.

mcleod, bell and taylor were the only player with negative plus minus this game...unsurprisingly

i feel like we are always waitin for the subs when the game starts

cant really afford that vs the better teams, imo

 

[tptcuse]

Sorry but I say no to staggering. Just my opinion. Start these four guys who are winning the games and see if the other guys can be a spark off the bench. We are always battling uphill. Let's start rolling from the tip.

We started okay today. It was the end of the first half that was a problem.

 

[MSOrange]

I didn’t say we couldn’t bench them. But somewhere down the line we will need their shooting or at least the threat of shooting. The fact they appear to do nothing else well is concerning, Taylor at least rebounded early in the season. He’s in a bad funk right now

Agree. I hesitate to change the startling lineup because I'm afraid you might lose Bell and Taylor and I don't want our rotation to shorten that much and there's still a chance they might hit some threes if nothing else.

 

[upperdeck]

copeland had a bunch or nice plays. several that were not good but turned out well, then a few late that almost became costly.. But the energy he brings in off the bench is a big deal.

if he starts you have no place to turn to to get any energy off the bench..

 

[sugrad68]

The lineup that put in the minutes in the 2nd half was solid other than 3-point shooting ability, although Starling made a huge 3 when it was needed. At halftime I suggested that Taylor's time as a starter might be in jeopardy and caught quite a bit of flak. I still believe that. Copeland was not only great offensively but shut down a much bigger Hinson on defense. And Williams came to life. But we need a consistent 3-point shooter. Hard to win with 3-17 3-point shooting. BTW, how does ND beat UVA by 22?

 

[CardiacCuse]

need to also use the dribble to beat the press

were stictly passing to beat it

that long cross court pass by cuffe was a no-no

 

[tee1222]

well this game cost me $40 to buy an OTA antenna.
But glad I did.

I have one and it sucks trying to get CW. Missed out most of the fun today but glad they won!

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I didn’t say we couldn’t bench them. But somewhere down the line we will need their shooting or at least the threat of shooting. The fact they appear to do nothing else well is concerning, Taylor at least rebounded early in the season. He’s in a bad funk right now

They have somewhat opposite problems.

Taylor can't get shots. Some of it's self inflicted. But now that we're in the ACC, he's just not going to get looks. Things big down when the ball hits his hands.

Bell can get shots but is streaky and his game isn't well rounded. Big liability on the boards. Actually defends alright and contests at the rim somewhat but isn't a ballhawk like Copeland.

There's a different world where Benny doesn't get in trouble early in the year and Bell and Taylor aren't both starting at the beginning of the season.

That universe probably has a Syracuse team that's a little ahead of our current squad.

 

[FasterCuse]

Best game of Red's tenure so far. Some great adjustments at the half to turn things around.

 

[tee1222]

We started okay today. It was the end of the first half that was a problem.

True but not always. Feels like we're down 10 early and often. Not today but other days.

 

[JDubbin]

It’s been a long while since Syracuse has played teams like Pitt that it didn’t feel like we were out matched athletically & physically… it didn’t feel like that at all today! Loved the battles for loose balls, ratcheting up the intensity, steals, fast breaks, overall athleticism & seeing the Dome looking a little more full for the TV cameras.

Quadir has that dawg in him - I know he’s reckless & makes mistakes… but he’s tough, exciting, gets rebounds, gets physical, makes plays & starting to look better with the J.
Maliq too, he played so well today, his pick & roll hedge on defensive is a sight to behold, he can full switch too without problem. Offensively he does exactly what he needs to.

Great win!

P.S. That Benny Williams back down, post dunk is what I’ve wanted to see from him for two years! Dunk on some dudes! He also caught & finished the alley-oops… it’s simple, but we need that from him

 

[Eric15]

At one point in the first half Pitt was out rebounding us 16 to 7. The game finished with rebounding tied at 39. I’m glad we figured out how to be tough.

Edit: it now says we outrebounded Pitt 40-39.

 

[skeeter223]

Benny really needed that game. Very impressed

 

[tbonezone]

we were just a little over midway in the first half and i looked up and saw 9 players with plus 4 minutes.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Sorry but I say no to staggering. Just my opinion. Start these four guys who are winning the games and see if the other guys can be a spark off the bench. We are always battling uphill. Let's start rolling from the tip.

We don't necessarily need to change the starting lineup to stagger their minutes.

 

[jordville]

Excellent win. The Bench Mobb (of Q, Benny, & Maliq) was impressive today. We really needed it.. especially with an off day for Mintz. Those 3 plus Judah and JJ to close out the final 10 minutes or so was key too.

 

[jdubs30]

Re: the starters.

It doesn’t really matter who starts the game. We know at least 9 guys will get minutes. We know McLeod, Taylor and Bell need minutes. Our depth enables Red to keep up the intensity throughout the whole game.

You don’t have to start your best 5, but you should finish with them

 

[Scotch]

Im getting worried about Bell and Taylor. Is it simply if they don’t make shots, they can’t play?

The thing with Taylor is that he’s not bad at anything but not great at anything. I’m just not sure he’s ever going to be a difference maker in big boy games.

 

[MikeSU02]

Had to miss the second half, what happened?!?!

 

[skeeter223]

Huge win!
-Benny was excellent. 15 and 7 is what we all were hoping for before the season from him. He finally rebounded and maybe the effort from him on the boards will become consistent. We can hope.
-Quadir was excellent. A couple of loose turnovers but we don’t win without him.
-Brown as usual played his arse off. Could have done without the three but his defense was superb.
-don’t want JJ’s effort to be lost in this one. That three-pointer was huge and he took care of the ball and had some big shots going to the basket.
-Judah may have had his worst game of the season. Most of that was on the defensive end when he kept making poor gambles which led to two on ones in the half court and easy baskets for Pitt. Once again, he left himself no room for error foul wise by committing stupid fouls 40 feet away from the goal. His three was a huge part of our comeback.
-our team defense was excellent for the most part. We would not have won that game last year by sitting back in the zone. I love the energy that this team is showing.
-Red may have made a couple of mistakes late, most notably not setting up inbound plays with a timeout and inexplicably putting in Cuffe in instead of Taylor. Also thought he went with Bell for too long. But other than that he coached a great game and was smart enough to ride the hot hands late. Most importantly, I just feel like there is a different vibe with this team. They are playing hard all the time and seem to be playing well together.
-so good to see us play well against a quality opponent and come out with a deserved win against a team I hate who has had our number. The last minute was unnecessarily stressful but who cares. Let’s enjoy this one. Happy new year to you guys.

Good summary. And it looked like they were having a lot of fun, too.

 

[tptcuse]

Huge win!
-Benny was excellent. 15 and 7 is what we all were hoping for before the season from him. He finally rebounded and maybe the effort from him on the boards will become consistent. We can hope.
-Quadir was excellent. A couple of loose turnovers but we don’t win without him.
-Brown as usual played his arse off. Could have done without the three but his defense was superb.
-don’t want JJ’s effort to be lost in this one. That three-pointer was huge and he took care of the ball and had some big shots going to the basket.
-Judah may have had his worst game of the season. Most of that was on the defensive end when he kept making poor gambles which led to two on ones in the half court and easy baskets for Pitt. Once again, he left himself no room for error foul wise by committing stupid fouls 40 feet away from the goal. His three was a huge part of our comeback.
-our team defense was excellent for the most part. We would not have won that game last year by sitting back in the zone. I love the energy that this team is showing.
-Red may have made a couple of mistakes late, most notably not setting up inbound plays with a timeout and inexplicably putting in Cuffe in instead of Taylor. Also thought he went with Bell for too long. But other than that he coached a great game and was smart enough to ride the hot hands late. Most importantly, I just feel like there is a different vibe with this team. They are playing hard all the time and seem to be playing well together.
-so good to see us play well against a quality opponent and come out with a deserved win against a team I hate who has had our number. The last minute was unnecessarily stressful but who cares. Let’s enjoy this one. Happy new year to you guys.

Great post, as usual.

 

[Cuse99&01]

They have somewhat opposite problems.

Taylor can't get shots. Some of it's self inflicted. But now that we're in the ACC, he's just not going to get looks. Things big down when the ball hits his hands.

Bell can get shots but is streaky and his game isn't well rounded. Big liability on the boards. Actually defends alright and contests at the rim somewhat but isn't a ballhawk like Copeland.

There's a different world where Benny doesn't get in trouble early in the year and Bell and Taylor aren't both starting at the beginning of the season.

That universe probably has a Syracuse team that's a little ahead of our current squad.

Bell being able to get shots is an understatement. The problem is he often only looks to shoot it. He shot it 5 times the first 6 times he touched it today.