Solid effort/Easy analysis

[SoBeCuse]

Our guys played hard but the FT woes and being slaughtered again on the boards cost us. Their 2nd chance points were big. I thought we played pretty well in an atmosphere I didn't think would be like normal PITT juiced up standards. Hop should've called a timeout but I liked his substitutions in general.

 

[tptcuse]

Our guys played hard but the FT woes and being slaughtered again on the boards cost us. Their 2nd chance points were big. I thought we played pretty well in an atmosphere I didn't think would be like normal PITT juiced up standards. Hop should've called a timeout but I liked his substitutions in general.

Good simple analysis. I agree and would add that Lydon needs to shoot the three. He should be looking to shoot with almost every possession. He was open quite a bit.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

Good simple analysis. I agree and would add that Lydon needs to shoot the three. He should be looking to shoot with almost every possession. He was open quite a bit.

Yes, he was, especially down the stretch but looked to be deferring to MG. I think we went away from Richardson too, and that cost us. He was getting to the rim and making his shots.

 

[DonLightfoot]

Our guys played hard but the FT woes and being slaughtered again on the boards cost us. Their 2nd chance points were big. I thought we played pretty well in an atmosphere be like normal PITT juiced up standards. Hop should've called a timeout but I liked his substitutions in general.

I also agree with most of this analysis and the fact Lydon is timid right now. Unfortunately I can't expect us to win consistently in this league by essentially using six players. I think in the last eight minutes of the game we were "whooped". Howard - 5 minutes, Obokoh - 1, Joseph - 0. Of course, this has been a "stuck record" on here for a couple of years now. Our effort was good and the zone was also good. However, it is frustrating to play good defense for 28 seconds and then give up a rebound.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Layups are important too. We miss way too many. Everyone on the team.

 

[dan7800]

Can't rebound and can't hit FTs. A broken record which will be repeated many times this year.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I also agree with most of this analysis and the fact Lydon is timid right now. Unfortunately I can't expect us to win consistently in this league by essentially using six players. I think in the last eight minutes of the game we were "whooped". Howard - 5 minutes, Obokoh - 1, Joseph - 0. Of course, this has been a "stuck record" on here for a couple of years now. Our effort was good and the zone was also good. However, it is frustrating to play good defense for 28 seconds and then give up a rebound.

Agreed. I only think Lydon passed up one or two shots though (1 three, 1 mid-range?). They were playing him for the shot and he didn't have that much daylight to get a shot off, imo. The playing six guys and rebounding is going to kill this team. We're looking at some historic rebounding woes. It's embarrassing. I hope it gets better but this team is what it is.

Others have expressed this (Francis in podcasts as well) but I am concerned about G and PG recruiting moving forward. We don't know how Battle will translate to PG. I am optimistic about Howard but he's raw. Joseph is a fail. Maybe Battle will play more off the ball which might be more practical. Banking on these combos or tall guards to be converted to PGs is risky strategy, imo. More often than not they can't shoot. Rebounding should be much better next season but nothing is for certain.

 

[hoopsupstate]

In Atlantis, Lyndon was wide open and he didn't hesitate to shoot. He's not getting as much space and is relunctant to shoot the ball. I thought the team played hard, but the last couple of minutes they seemed mentally gassed and were very undisciplined. Hop has to learn to use timeouts just before tv timeouts to give his players exrra rest. Physically, these guys can probably play a lot of minutes, but mentally it's hard too keep focused. They were very unfocused and got away from what was working late in the game. When your on the road, Hop has to use his timeouts to stop runs. You can't let a team have a 10-0 run and not call a timeout. Tough road loss that could have been a great road win. For us to win in the ACC, G has to play a lot more efficiently than he did last night. He missed layups, foul shots, and was out of control at times. We have zero room for error. Everyone on this team has to be on the same page to win in this league. If not, we're looking at 5-6 league wins.