The Downside

[SWC75]

- We tried desperately to give this one away but the attempt failed.

- We couldn’t have looked worse down the stretch if we were wearing Notre Dame’s uniforms. In the last 7:17 of regulation we got four free throws from Baye Keita, a 49% shooter. He seemed to be our #1 option on every play. But he’s the #5 option any time he’s out there. We were lucky he picked this night to have a career game.

- But so did his opposite number. Mikael Hopkins, who averages 6 points and 3 rebounds per game, got 15 and 8.

- CJ Fair has been a rock for us all year, getting double figures and sometimes double –doubles game in game out. In the game we most wanted to win, he whiffed. Yes, he had Otto Porter who is as good on defense as he is on offense on him. But CJ missed 13 of 16 shots, many of them in front of the basket. He inexplicably put up an 18 footer in the last minute of regulation when Georgetown had two defenders on the floor with 4 fouls. They couldn’t have afforded to foul him if he drove to the basket against him. Then, up two on Georgetown’s last possession, he committed a silly foul on Porter who makes two free throws to tie it. Finally, he misses two free throws at the end of overtime to allow Georgetown to launch a half-court shot that still could have tied it. Wow.

- Michael Carter Williams was 1 for 7 from the floor and had as many turnovers, (6) as assists. And they were bad-looking turnovers, too, passes to nobody. When it was obvious that CJ couldn’t do anything right and Georgetown was taking Southerland away, MCW needed to take over. Instead he kept feeding Keita. It somehow worked, but it shouldn’t have.

- Two games in a row we’ve built up big first half leads and struggled to hold on during the second half, largely due to ball possession. Against Georgetown, rebounds went from 18-14 at the half to 10-26 in the second half while turnovers went from 4-7 to 6-5. In this game rebounds went from 11-11 to 18-22 and turnover from 4-4 to 10-6.

- Rakeem Christmas played four ineffectual minutes and DaJuan Coleman not at all. Is Baye the starter now? And Jerami Grant, who seemed like an emerging star, got one minute of play.

- Rick Pitino, the perennial spoiler for the Orange, awaits in the finals.

 

[RF2044]

There was a downside?

 

[Orangezoo]

mcws boardwork has helped offset the turnovers. he is hustling all over the court. js' defense is what keeps grant on the bench. the positive body language from dc2, grant and trevor is promising as they get that their time will come and they try to make the best of their opportunities.

 

[Henny & Coke]

Agree with most of what was written about Fair & MCW above (esp Fair), but also would like to make a counterpoint on each:

- Fair going 3-16 in such a big game is tough. But, for the most part, the shots Fair was taking were not bad shots. (With the noted exceptions that are pointed out...unfortunately, these occurred at the end of the game, which make them hurt more.) I remember saying to myself, after the 1st half, that Gtown was lucky our lead wasn't more than 9, considering Fair hitting shots he usually does hit.

So, in the first half especially, it was more a sense of shots simply not falling for the guy. (Can't go 0-2 on those late game free throws, though. Such a killer.)

- Wanted to point out a "hidden stat" - one you won't find in the box score. And that's how MCW's (as well as Triche) driving, hustle, and movement without the ball on a few occasions led to a great thing...namely, Gtown playing 3 mins of overtime without a key player (who was also playing well in 2nd half) in Markel Starks.

Check out the circumstances surrounding his 5 fouls:

Foul #1 (10:15 1st half): MCW gets the pass on the outside & gets Starks to jump in the air. MCW takes advantage of this opportunity, takes a few dribbles, pulls up for a jumper, and is fouled by Starks, who is attempting to recover from being out of position. MCW hits 1 of 2 foul shots.

Foul #2 (8:53 1st half): Triche passes to Southerland, then runs towards the hoop, and cuts back to get the ball again. He gets the ball at top of the key, and instantly looks to drive to the hoop. Starks, having just run around with Triche, is a bit out of position, tries to "body" Triche, and gets called for the foul. Triche makes both foul shots. Great job.

Foul #3 (17:34 2nd half): MCW gets ball at top of key, begins to drive to the hoop, and is tripped by Starks, who is trying to keep MCW from gaining the edge & getting to the hoop. Foul #2 on Starks - the result of trying to play defense on a player who is being aggressive & taking the action to him.

Foul #4 (5:01 2nd half): MCW walks ball down, passes off to Cooney, and then runs towards the basket, about to make a cut & run back towards the ball, when Starks starts to body MCW under the basket. Starks bumps MCW twice, and on the second time MCW is pushed out of bounds, resulting in foul call. In this instance, moving without the ball is rewarded with a foul call. (Also rewarded: MCW for being like 100 pounds.)

Foul #5 (3:36 OT): Triche gets ball, on wing, begins to drive towards the foul line, and Starks simply plays the drive with too much body. This results in his 5th foul. Good things happen when you are aggressive, and Brandon made a great thing happen there. (Removing an important player from the game for GTown.)

All 5 of Starks fouls were caused by the combo of MCW (3) & Triche (2). And almost all were the result of either good movement without the ball, or being aggressive on offense & looking to drive/take to the hoop. And as a result, we were able to eliminate one of GTown's best players for the final 3 mins of the OT period. And without Starks for 3 of 5 mins in overtime, GTown is only able to score 4 points.

Good stuff. And something you would not know by simply looking at the box score.

 

[swish7]

Good stuff.

There was a lot of cloud behind this silver lining. I appreciate your posting it, as usual. These are all areas to improve on for the NCAAs.

If BMK doesn't get even one of those stats, we likely lose.

BTs resurgence is coinciding with CJs funk.

MCWs turnovers were inexcusable. Yet he had some stellar moments. He needs to become consistent for us to go far.

Posting the downside does not take away from the win.

Be certain that JB addressed all these points with the team.

 

[RF2044]

Good stuff.

There was a lot of cloud behind this silver lining. I appreciate your posting it, as usual. These are all areas to improve on for the NCAAs.

If BMK doesn't get even one of those stats, we likely lose.

BTs resurgence is coinciding with CJs funk.

MCWs turnovers were inexcusable. Yet he had some stellar moments. He needs to become consistent for us to go far.

Posting the downside does not take away from the win.

Be certain that JB addressed all these points with the team.

What is this "funk" that everybody keeps referring to with CJ? He had one poor game. And in the last 20 games, it seems like his only subpar performances have come against Georgetown.

Had a very solid game against SHU, then a 13 point / over 50% shooting performance against a tough Pitt team. I don't think he's in a funk at all, I just think that Georgetown / Porter have proven to be tough matchups for him. He wouldn't be the first Syracuse player to struggle against Gtown.

 

[swish7]

What is this "funk" that everybody keeps referring to with CJ? He had one poor game. And in the last 20 games, it seems like his only subpar performances have come against Georgetown.

Had a very solid game against SHU, then a 13 point / over 50% shooting performance against a tough Pitt team. I don't think he's in a funk at all, I just think that Georgetown / Porter have proven to be tough matchups for him. He wouldn't be the first Syracuse player to struggle against Gtown.

I recall a few unforced turnovers in the Pitt game. More than usual. Dribbling into multiple guys, trying to be the hero. Not good.

Last nights performance almost took us out if it.

For someone who was mr consistent, this is a funk.

IMO, it's as much a decision making funk, as anything else. Stuff that should be avoidable.

 

[br801]

What is this "funk" that everybody keeps referring to with CJ? He had one poor game. And in the last 20 games, it seems like his only subpar performances have come against Georgetown.

Had a very solid game against SHU, then a 13 point / over 50% shooting performance against a tough Pitt team. I don't think he's in a funk at all, I just think that Georgetown / Porter have proven to be tough matchups for him. He wouldn't be the first Syracuse player to struggle against Gtown.

He was 5-16 against Pitt as well, making him 8-32 over the last two games. Remove his 3-5 shooting from deep against Pitt and he is 5-27 from two point range in these games. To my eye, though, he's only forced up a handful of bad shots in this stretch; he's just missed a lot of open mid-range shots and shots at the rim he ordinarily makes in his sleep. This sort of thing happens to everyone in the course of a season and I'm confident he'll bounce back once he sees a few balls fall through the basket.

 

[baggerbob]

The only real problem with CJ has been his foul shooting the last 8 games he is 12-25, after being over 80% most of the year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

What is this "funk" that everybody keeps referring to with CJ? He had one poor game. And in the last 20 games, it seems like his only subpar performances have come against Georgetown.

Had a very solid game against SHU, then a 13 point / over 50% shooting performance against a tough Pitt team. I don't think he's in a funk at all, I just think that Georgetown / Porter have proven to be tough matchups for him. He wouldn't be the first Syracuse player to struggle against Gtown.

His previous game wasn't that strong, either. I give him a pass. He's been a rock for 2 months.

 

[SWC75]

What is this "funk" that everybody keeps referring to with CJ? He had one poor game. And in the last 20 games, it seems like his only subpar performances have come against Georgetown.

Had a very solid game against SHU, then a 13 point / over 50% shooting performance against a tough Pitt team. I don't think he's in a funk at all, I just think that Georgetown / Porter have proven to be tough matchups for him. He wouldn't be the first Syracuse player to struggle against Gtown.

I'll add this point: JB, in his presser, made the point that Otto Porter is as good on defense as he is on offense. He had a lot to do with CJ's bad offensive stats, (although CJ still missed a few he normally makes). But CJ "took up" Porter's attention so he wasn't guarding his teammates and CJ was part of the reason Porter didn't go off either, so he had a better game than is apparent in the box score.

 

[baggerbob]

Last nights game was won by the kid with the biggest heart, BMK never pouts or complains about playing time. He always comes in and plays his butt off, dives to the floor for loose balls, and plays because he loves the game. Last night some of that rubbed off on his more talented teammates, we have more talented players, but every good team needs someone like BAYE.