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St. John's has a great shot blocker named Obekpa who played most of the game but did not start. Before he got in the game Syracuse was able to score down low with great effectiveness. This forced St. John's to put Obekpa in the game (and keep him in) as well as pack their zone in and force Syracuse to beat them from the outside. At this point Boeheim put Southerland in for Grant and Syracuse changed to a more perimeter oriented style of offense, and burned them that way. In other words, no matter what St. John's did they were going to get burned.
I think this was Syracuse's best game of the season for three reasons.
First, they won the game with their offense much more so than with their defense (and it might be the first time all year you can say that). They hit shots, and that always makes you look better, but it was the offensive execution as a whole that made the difference and not just the fact that their shots fell. What stood out the most to me was how well Syracuse moved the ball. They seemed to know exactly how they wanted to attack St. John's zone which was unexpected, because quite frankly Syracuse has looked lost against zone's this season. The ball movement was crisp and purposeful and it resulted in open shots. I would have been happy with their offensive performance even if fewer shots dropped.
Second, but related to the first, is that I think Carter-Williams played the best game of his career. Southerland made a big difference here. He allows Syracuse to space the court in a way that allows Carter-Williams to operate with peak efficiency, but its more than that. Southerland and and Carter-Williams play well off each other. In football every great QB has a favorite wide receiver they go to when things are tough, a security blanket if you will. Montana had Rice, Brady has Welker, and Carter-William's security blanket is Southerland. When things are tough, Southerland can set a pick or come off one, get open (this is key), make a great target, and provide Syracuse with a good offensive possession. Having this prevents Carter-Williams from forcing things that are not there.
While having Southerland made a difference for Carter-Williams, it isn't the whole story. A big part of Carter-Williams good play was the fact that he was hitting shots. That really does make all the difference for him. When the D has to respect him as a scoring threat it opens up a lot for him as a creator. But even that isn't the whole story. Carter-Williams got Syracuse into a good offensive possession 90% of the time. He was fantastic in this regard, and Syracuse needs him to be fantastic. Even better, he was fantastic against a zone which is he has always struggled against (I'm not sure he's even been adequate against a zone yet this year).
Third, Syracuse's half court offense was efficient. I think this was the first game all year that Syracuse played at a championship caliber. Up until this game, Syracuse's record was largely the product of solid D and a weak schedule. If we are being completely honest with ourselves we have to say that Syracuse hasn't played very good basketball up to this point. But there is good news, this team is ALL about the up side. In this year where there really are no great teams, somebody is going to get hot in March and win it all no matter how great (or not so great) they were all year long. Lets take a look at what needs to happen for that team to be Syracuse.
First, we needed Southerland back, which we got, and at just the right time. Syracuse has a relatively easy 4 game stretch of St.John's, UConn, Seton Hall, and Providence where Southerland can be reincorporated and Syracuse can pull themselves together for a tough late season run (that will include Georgetown twice, Louisville, and Marquette). Ideally, Syracuse will be hitting their stride right when they are going to need to play their best basketball.
Second, Carter-Williams, needs to make the leap into a star basketball player. We are not going to be a good team unless he is good, and we are not going to be a great team unless he is great. Here's the good news. He is so talented, that there is a 100% chance of this happening. The bad news is, it might not necessarily be this year. But Carter-Williams looked very good in this game, and there have been some signs that he's starting to "get it." Unless his body wears down (which is a legit concern) I expect him to be playing at his best come March. If Syracuse wants to be cutting down the nets, we as fans have to hope that is best falls somewhere in the great category and doesn't top out in the good category. To me, Carter-Williams is going to determine how the rest of our season plays out more than any other factor.
Third, Christmas needs to be a force offensively and defensively. Against St. John's Christmas's numbers were not good. But I thought his play was. His lack of minutes were due mostly to the fact that Keita was also having a good game, and two phantom fouls which got him in foul trouble. Early on I thought Chrsitmas was aggressive and a force St. John's really needed to game plan against. This follows up Christmas playing the best game of his career against Notre Dame. I will be especially looking forward to seeing how he plays against UConn (who is woefully weak inside). I'm hoping for something big, and I expect good things going down the stretch.
For some odd reason a bunch of people (maybe 4, it seemed like a lot) talked to me yesterday about Grant playing center. I dont like it. Championship teams dont have skinny 6'8 freshmen centers who have no experience playing center (even in high school). If Syracuse is going to cut down the nets, a big part of that is going to be due to Christmas being a beast inside. I hope Boeheim sticks with Christmas come hell or high water, because he is the only big with the talent to get us where we need to go.
Just a few random thoughts about this game. Fair was hitting threes, mid-range jumpers, scoring down low, and driving to the basket and scoring. There is just no way to stop him right now. While some of his lefty floaters are reminiscent of Josh Pace, I think those comparisons need to stop. Fair is looking more like a poor man's Carmelo Anthony, than Josh Pace. He might be the best player in the Big East.
This game was a great example of what Southerland does for Syracuse. For lack of a better term, he is another bullet in their gun. When St. John's cut the lead to five, Southerland hit a couple really big 3's to seal the deal. As well as Grant has played, he is not someone we are going to force the ball to when things get tough. In the NCAA tournament Syracuse is going to play four or five good team who will all make runs and force Syracuse to respond. Southerland shooting from deep is one response it has now that it might not have had. If Syracuse wants to win six games in March/April they are going to need that shooting, to go along with the great things Triche and Fair are already doing. Add in contributions from Carter-Williams and Christmas and they might at least have the potential to answer every challenge.
St. John's is a pretty decent team. They are young and threw up a lot of bad shots (especially early) but if everybody sticks around (Sampson staying in college might be a long shot) I think they win a weak Big East conference next year.
I think this was Syracuse's best game of the season for three reasons.
First, they won the game with their offense much more so than with their defense (and it might be the first time all year you can say that). They hit shots, and that always makes you look better, but it was the offensive execution as a whole that made the difference and not just the fact that their shots fell. What stood out the most to me was how well Syracuse moved the ball. They seemed to know exactly how they wanted to attack St. John's zone which was unexpected, because quite frankly Syracuse has looked lost against zone's this season. The ball movement was crisp and purposeful and it resulted in open shots. I would have been happy with their offensive performance even if fewer shots dropped.
Second, but related to the first, is that I think Carter-Williams played the best game of his career. Southerland made a big difference here. He allows Syracuse to space the court in a way that allows Carter-Williams to operate with peak efficiency, but its more than that. Southerland and and Carter-Williams play well off each other. In football every great QB has a favorite wide receiver they go to when things are tough, a security blanket if you will. Montana had Rice, Brady has Welker, and Carter-William's security blanket is Southerland. When things are tough, Southerland can set a pick or come off one, get open (this is key), make a great target, and provide Syracuse with a good offensive possession. Having this prevents Carter-Williams from forcing things that are not there.
While having Southerland made a difference for Carter-Williams, it isn't the whole story. A big part of Carter-Williams good play was the fact that he was hitting shots. That really does make all the difference for him. When the D has to respect him as a scoring threat it opens up a lot for him as a creator. But even that isn't the whole story. Carter-Williams got Syracuse into a good offensive possession 90% of the time. He was fantastic in this regard, and Syracuse needs him to be fantastic. Even better, he was fantastic against a zone which is he has always struggled against (I'm not sure he's even been adequate against a zone yet this year).
Third, Syracuse's half court offense was efficient. I think this was the first game all year that Syracuse played at a championship caliber. Up until this game, Syracuse's record was largely the product of solid D and a weak schedule. If we are being completely honest with ourselves we have to say that Syracuse hasn't played very good basketball up to this point. But there is good news, this team is ALL about the up side. In this year where there really are no great teams, somebody is going to get hot in March and win it all no matter how great (or not so great) they were all year long. Lets take a look at what needs to happen for that team to be Syracuse.
First, we needed Southerland back, which we got, and at just the right time. Syracuse has a relatively easy 4 game stretch of St.John's, UConn, Seton Hall, and Providence where Southerland can be reincorporated and Syracuse can pull themselves together for a tough late season run (that will include Georgetown twice, Louisville, and Marquette). Ideally, Syracuse will be hitting their stride right when they are going to need to play their best basketball.
Second, Carter-Williams, needs to make the leap into a star basketball player. We are not going to be a good team unless he is good, and we are not going to be a great team unless he is great. Here's the good news. He is so talented, that there is a 100% chance of this happening. The bad news is, it might not necessarily be this year. But Carter-Williams looked very good in this game, and there have been some signs that he's starting to "get it." Unless his body wears down (which is a legit concern) I expect him to be playing at his best come March. If Syracuse wants to be cutting down the nets, we as fans have to hope that is best falls somewhere in the great category and doesn't top out in the good category. To me, Carter-Williams is going to determine how the rest of our season plays out more than any other factor.
Third, Christmas needs to be a force offensively and defensively. Against St. John's Christmas's numbers were not good. But I thought his play was. His lack of minutes were due mostly to the fact that Keita was also having a good game, and two phantom fouls which got him in foul trouble. Early on I thought Chrsitmas was aggressive and a force St. John's really needed to game plan against. This follows up Christmas playing the best game of his career against Notre Dame. I will be especially looking forward to seeing how he plays against UConn (who is woefully weak inside). I'm hoping for something big, and I expect good things going down the stretch.
For some odd reason a bunch of people (maybe 4, it seemed like a lot) talked to me yesterday about Grant playing center. I dont like it. Championship teams dont have skinny 6'8 freshmen centers who have no experience playing center (even in high school). If Syracuse is going to cut down the nets, a big part of that is going to be due to Christmas being a beast inside. I hope Boeheim sticks with Christmas come hell or high water, because he is the only big with the talent to get us where we need to go.
Just a few random thoughts about this game. Fair was hitting threes, mid-range jumpers, scoring down low, and driving to the basket and scoring. There is just no way to stop him right now. While some of his lefty floaters are reminiscent of Josh Pace, I think those comparisons need to stop. Fair is looking more like a poor man's Carmelo Anthony, than Josh Pace. He might be the best player in the Big East.
This game was a great example of what Southerland does for Syracuse. For lack of a better term, he is another bullet in their gun. When St. John's cut the lead to five, Southerland hit a couple really big 3's to seal the deal. As well as Grant has played, he is not someone we are going to force the ball to when things get tough. In the NCAA tournament Syracuse is going to play four or five good team who will all make runs and force Syracuse to respond. Southerland shooting from deep is one response it has now that it might not have had. If Syracuse wants to win six games in March/April they are going to need that shooting, to go along with the great things Triche and Fair are already doing. Add in contributions from Carter-Williams and Christmas and they might at least have the potential to answer every challenge.
St. John's is a pretty decent team. They are young and threw up a lot of bad shots (especially early) but if everybody sticks around (Sampson staying in college might be a long shot) I think they win a weak Big East conference next year.
