Thoughts on the offense

[RF2044]

I'm going to try not to duplicate the game summary posts that went into detail about yesterday's performance. Last night was the first game in YEARS where it seemed like we were sitting helplessly back in the zone while a semi-inferior opponent bled the clock, seemed to score at will inside, and hurt us on the offensive boards. It seems like we used to have several of those games every season back in the Flynn / Harris era--I certainly don't want to see a return to that level of play.

Unfortunately, there are several issues that stand out four games in that need to be addressed if this team is going to right the ship offensively. In no particular order...

• Ennis needs to take charge -- Last night was indicative of what I hate to see from a point guard: dribbling the ball with no purpose, and the offensive set breaking down after only the first cut or two while the PG does nothing to orchestrate the half court set. Simply put, this team can not actualize its potential if Ennis isn't running the offense the right way. That doesn't just mean him looking for his own scoring opportunities, but also him getting the team into sets and making them run plays. Yesterday's offense felt completely discombobulated, and Ennis under performing was part of the reason we got off track. I feel like in each of the six games [including exhibitions] we've played, we were athletically so superior to the opposition that we lapsed into some bad habits in terms of running the offense. That's on the coaching staff, but its also on Ennis. I'm guessing that this won't be as big of an issue once he gets more games under his belt and recognizes more that he is and has to be the quarterback. When the team is struggling and can't buy a basket, the answer isn't to let things devolve into entropy, but rather to get the team into the right play, have guys go to the right spots, and not let the game degenerate into chaotic one-on-one forcing. Ennis has also proven that he can score; last night, he deferred the whole game. Ennis needs to be a consistent threat--as both a playmaker for others and as a scorer. We simply can't afford for him to be non-existent and go through the motions.

• UnFair expectations? -- Everyone is entitled to an off-night. But this is probably the first time in his career that I have seen CJ be so ineffectual. Unforced turnovers, forced shots, missed free throws, etc. But worst of all was how quickly he got taken out of his game when the offense got discombobulated. The tell tale sign was Fair coming out 35 feet from the basket to get the ball and try to force something. That's not your game, kid--just keep moving without the ball and find your spots. The offense isn't going to jump start having you look to create something 40 feet from the basket--it just isn't. CJ needs to play within himself and let the game come to home--not force the action, because that isn't his game. That doesn't mean that he can't be all-ACC--he absolutely can--he just needs to do what he does best instead of getting away from it.

• What is this, the 80s?: "Foul" shooting -- A recurring problem this season has been missed free throws, and there is no lone culprit. Simply put, we have the look of a team that is offensively challenged. Consequently, we can't afford to squander any opportunity to put points on the board. When we have the chance to tack on some freebies, we need to capitalize. Now, I was pleased that down the stretch, the concentration seemed to hone in and we knocked down several when it counted. But missing double digit free throws in ANY game regardless of opponent is a recipe for double-digit losses. This issue needs to get corrected.

• Backcourt Inexperience -- Yesterday's game was a classic example in a team's offensive concept falling apart. How does that happen? In part because we got rattled. And in part because we didn't have anyone take over and put the team on their backs until the ship got righted again. Since the awesome 2009-2010 season, we've had the luxury of having tremendously experienced guards that were capable of shouldering the load and creating for themselves and others. Even last season, although MCW wasn't the most game experienced player, there were several games where he just took over and made plays that helped us win. Triche was like old man river, but there were times [especially late in the postseason] where he made important plays. Example--at Louisville last year. I believe that Ennis has that kind of ability, but he didn't step up yesterday. Intermittently, both Cooney and Gbinije did some nice things yesterday, but I have a feeling that the backcourt will be work in progress all year as they gain experience.

• Ennis needs to take charge -- This team has a pretty clear formula for how they can be successful: CJ needs to play and play well, Grant needs to give them high double digit scoring, and we need a few other guys to step up and compliment them. Well yesterday, CJ had a dud outing, and Grant didn't play all that well for the majority of the game [he got a ton of late points to finish up around 12 points]. Getting very little from those two, we scored 56 points. Can't afford for those guys to be "off" like they were yesterday.

• Threepeat of last season? -- Two threes? Am I right [going from memory], and is that all we hit yesterday? We aren't going to win many games without being able to hit jump shots--that's for sure. And forget about threes--we need guys to hit shots so that we can space the floor and open things up a bit inside for Grant, Coleman, CJ, and to a lesser extent Rak. We didn't really have anybody make shots yesterday [other than Cooney's two trifectas]--everything else was either right at the rim or a free throw. Tough to keep defenses honest when nobody is making any shots. CJ, Grant, Ennis, Gbinije--this means you.

• Cooney / Gbinije -- Both guys did some good things yesterday. Cooney had a couple of nice drives, but it was counterbalanced by him driving and getting blocked a few times. Really liked the drive to the hole at the beginning of the game, even though he missed [play resulted in a Coleman put back], but he also had a pair of nice drives in the second half that got blocked. Badly. He needs to go up strong and forget that stuff that he got away with in high school. But I liked the added dimension of him doing some stuff off of the bounce. We need him to demonstrate more of that and expand his game. Gbinije made some nice plays, especially at the end of the game. Gave us some much-needed scoring late, and also knocked down some critical free throws. I get the impression that Boeheim doesn't really trust either one of these guys yet, although it seemed like Gbinije was on the floor yesterday at crunch time. Bottom line: we need this duo to improve and play better collectively. Seems like an oversimplification, but no way around it--this team can't go far without some modicum of consistent productivity from this pair

• Where's DeJualdo? -- In the first half, we saw what was probably the best stretch [Montana game notwithstanding] of play in Coleman's brief career thus far. Several put backs, a nice drive, and when he got the ball down low he went up strong. Kid seemed en route to a 20+ point type of game...only to get sat in the second half. Clearly, JB only plays guys that he trusts, and despite Coleman's career outing, he was parked on the bench at halftime--a clear indication that JB doesn't trust him...yet. Some more solid outings like what Coleman demonstrated in the second half would go a long way toward JB affording him some more rope in these types of games, which would be fantastic for DCII's developmental curve. Tough to expect a kid to execute in pressure situations when you don't ever play him in the clutch and let him get accustomed to the pressure.

• Sophomore class -- IMO, the two most important players on the team are CJ and Ennis. But I've believed all along that we're only going to go as far as our sophomore class takes us. Grant, Coleman, Cooney, and Gbinije are very, very, very important to this team's success. We need all of them to get their sea legs and start to show more consistent production. But sink or swim, these four will determine whether we have a great year or a forgettable one.

• Freshman class -- Disappointing outing for the frosh. I covered Ennis above, but none of the other three frosh--including BJ, Buss, or Roberson--saw the floor. When St. Francis got on a roll in the second half and was having success inside, I thought we might go with a "smaller" lineup of Grant, CJ, and Roberson to counter that, but JB stayed big. Roberson and Buss in particular have been regular parts of the rotation up until this point. We need them [Roberson especially] to be given the opportunity to play and deliver more. He's CAPABLE of delivering more, and given what is shaping up to be our offensive limitations this season, we need every contribution we can get.

I had a few more items I was going to list, but it's time to get back to work!

Here's hoping we can iron out some kinks prior to next Monday's game against Minnesota. Living in Minneapolis, I have a lot of skin in the game on this next one...

Fortunately, yesterday's stink bomb performance will give the coaches lots to harp on in practice this week. I have a feeling we'll be ready to go.

 

[Dave85]

Although I do not disagree with all your criticisms, not all of it was because the Orange were playing bad. I thought St Francis played an excellent game. NYC is notorious for an excellent basketball culture. Any team out of NYC has to be respected. St Francis played very well last night.

 

[MikeSU02]

I think Ennis will get to where we need him to be, as you said, just needs some time. But the one worry I have is that he isn't explosively athletic which means his shooting near the rim and his first step / blow-by-ability is a step down from MCW and Dion. He's going to have to be more heady and savvy (a la Billy E). I think he gets there. But he has to get comfortable.

And, same as last year, when we hit threes, it opens up our offense. When we don't, our offense is stagnant.

 

[Marsh01]

solid Ryan!

 

[RF2044]

Although I do not disagree with all your criticisms, not all of it was because the Orange were playing bad. I thought St Francis played an excellent game. NYC is notorious for an excellent basketball culture. Any team out of NYC has to be respected. St Francis played very well last night.

Just to be clear, that wasn't the point I was making. My OP was really just about what is causing our offense to bog down.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Great post... you have highlighted JB's biggest weakness as a coach which is if he doesn't trust a player that player does not play in close games. This makes it extremely hard for players to get experience in tight games and develop their games such as DC2 and the Freshmen. I'm not saying they are the answer but given how poorly we shot last night you would think we could use someone like Johnson to space the floor and maybe hit an outside shot or two or maybe we could have developed a post game with DC2 in the game but we will never know.

BTW JB's second biggest weakness is that he seems overly willing to sacrifice offense for someone whom he perceives better at playing his system on D. That has bit us on the ass over the last few years as we run into good defensive teams and we have trouble scoring. This also played into DC2 not getting much run in the second half last night as Keita is perceived to be the better defender tho given that he fouled out I am not sure how true that is.

 

[Jack Hall]

Great post... you have highlighted JB's biggest weakness as a coach which is if he doesn't trust a player that player does not play in close games. This makes it extremely hard for players to get experience in tight games and develop their games such as DC2 and the Freshmen. I'm not saying they are the answer but given how poorly we shot last night you would think we could use someone like Johnson to space the floor and maybe hit an outside shot or two or maybe we could have developed a post game with DC2 in the game but we will never know.

BTW JB's second biggest weakness is that he seems overly willing to sacrifice offense for someone whom he perceives better at playing his system on D. That has bit us on the ass over the last few years as we run into good defensive teams and we have trouble scoring. This also played into DC2 not getting much run in the second half last night as Keita is perceived to be the better defender tho given that he fouled out I am not sure how true that is.

Very true. If dajuan can't play at end of st Francis game. How's he gonna play at end of minn, IU, ND, Virginia, Duke or unc game?

 

[Sgt Cuse]

Very true. If dajuan can't play at end of st Francis game. How's he gonna play at end of minn, IU, ND, Virginia, Duke or unc game?

You do realize it is unlikely DC2 will be in at the end of close games this year, don't you? There is a trusted senior in BMK ahead of him. This trust is something that is earned, not given (unlike the token starts).

If/when DC2 pays his dues and earns this trust, it will be DC2 who is in at the end of the games. He has a long way to go, odds are it is not this year.

 

[Jack Hall]

You do realize it is unlikely DC2 will be in at the end of close games this year, don't you? There is a trusted senior in BMK ahead of him. This trust is something that is earned, not given (unlike the token starts).

If/when DC2 pays his dues and earns this trust, it will be DC2 who is in at the end of the games. He has a long way to go, odds are it is not this year.

Yup I agree

 

[orangejunkie]

Coleman got burned on a couple plays and it was clear that the smaller/quicker "centers" for St. Francis were a bad match up for him. I don't think that he will automatically be relegated to the bench at the end of future games unless he is continuing to play matador defense.

 

[IthacaMatt]

• Ennis needs to take charge -- Last night was indicative of what I hate to see from a point guard: dribbling the ball with no purpose, and the offensive set breaking down after only the first cut or two while the PG does nothing to orchestrate the half court set. Simply put, this team can not actualize its potential if Ennis isn't running the offense the right way. That doesn't just mean him looking for his own scoring opportunities, but also him getting the team into sets and making them run plays. Yesterday's offense felt completely discombobulated, and Ennis under performing was part of the reason we got off track.

Here's hoping we can iron out some kinks prior to next Monday's game against Minnesota. Living in Minneapolis, I have a lot of skin in the game on this next one...

RF, I think that part of the problem is that we run so few actual "plays" on offense. Buzz Williams said about Boeheim last year, "I don't mean this with any disrespect, but they only run about 5 plays ..." and he's right.

Most of the offense last night was putting the 2 and the 3 about half-way between the wing and the corner, and having them run off baseline screens by the 4 and the 5, switching sides two or three times until one of them was open to receive a pass. I saw a couple double-stack screens at the top for Ennis to dribble around in the second half, but not many.

One of our standard plays that I didn't see enough of last night was the high pick and roll with the shooter stationed in the weakside corner to attempt a 3. That would have opened up more opportunities for Cooney to get going.

Another play that we ran maybe too much, especially early, was flashing Grant to the foul line and making the entry pass to him. Early, he turned and shot jumpers. I didn't really see any high-low action out of him. Later on, he took the pass and attacked the rim on the dribble. That was more effective, but again, he's got to make his foul shots for that to be an effective strategy.

Part of the problem is that our offense is predictable, and too reliant on individual talent to generate offense.

I also didn't like that Ennis stayed all the way out at the half court line to start the offense. I'd like him to step in a little closer to the defense so he isn't right up against the mid-court line if a defender comes out to pressure him.

Being farther out gives him better passing angles to see the floor, but it takes longer for the passes to get there, and he eliminates himself as a threat in the offense. If he was closer to the 3 point line, he would also make himself a threat to score and the offense wouldn't stagnate as much.

 

[Knicks411]

One thing that bugged me last night, and it's a small thing, but whatever, was the 3-4 times it seemed where we had a big guy (Keita was the most likely culprit, but I think Jeremy once also) had the ball behidn the 3 point line and was trying to do a hand-off type play to the guard, and they couldn't make it work, and we just had a guy holding the ball, facing the midcourt stripe, trying to get a pass off.

 

[tbonezone]

i gave you i like becuz i appreciate anyone who takes the time and effort to break down the team so thoroughly and give a rational analysis (preferably backed by stats) of their thoughts on the quality our of play. well done.
however i will give a d grade to the " Where's DeJualdo? --" sorry but i found that portmanteau rather lame.

 

[RF2044]

RF, I think that part of the problem is that we run so few actual "plays" on offense. Buzz Williams said about Boeheim last year, "I don't mean this with any disrespect, but they only run about 5 plays ..." and he's right.

Most of the offense last night was putting the 2 and the 3 about half-way between the wing and the corner, and having them run off baseline screens by the 4 and the 5, switching sides two or three times until one of them was open to receive a pass. I saw a couple double-stack screens at the top for Ennis to dribble around in the second half, but not many.

One of our standard plays that I didn't see enough of last night was the high pick and roll with the shooter stationed in the weakside corner to attempt a 3. That would have opened up more opportunities for Cooney to get going.

Another play that we ran maybe too much, especially early, was flashing Grant to the foul line and making the entry pass to him. Early, he turned and shot jumpers. I didn't really see any high-low action out of him. Later on, he took the pass and attacked the rim on the dribble. That was more effective, but again, he's got to make his foul shots for that to be an effective strategy.

Part of the problem is that our offense is predictable, and too reliant on individual talent to generate offense.

I also didn't like that Ennis stayed all the way out at the half court line to start the offense. I'd like him to step in a little closer to the defense so he isn't right up against the mid-court line if a defender comes out to pressure him.

Being farther out gives him better passing angles to see the floor, but it takes longer for the passes to get there, and he eliminates himself as a threat in the offense. If he was closer to the 3 point line, he would also make himself a threat to score and the offense wouldn't stagnate as much.

IMatt, I think you played [at least at the high school level--might be wrong about that] before, so I will go out on a limb as saying that most teams do not have more than 5 offensive sets. Variations off of sets--sure. But by and large 5 plays is more than enough to run a diversified offense.

Back in the day, Bobby Knight used to brag about only having ONE offensive set. His take: I don't give a shi- if anyone knows what we're going to run, its up to them to stop it and up to us to execute it to our advantage.

I also like that JB doesn't over-architect how he runs games like so many coaches. But that in-game freedom needs to be predicated upon talent, play making aptitude, and the ability to get buckets. This team has shown a distinct lack of performance across all three of those dimensions.

And they are doing a crappy job [my opinion only] of running their half court offensive sets. It is really apparent that they are getting frazzled and out of their sets and resorting to too much one-on-one play, which is detrimental to the team offensive concept.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

however i will give a d grade to the " Where's DeJualdo? --" sorry but i found that portmanteau rather lame.

Disagree. STRONGLY DISAGREE. "Where's DeJualdo" alone was going to earn a like from me.

Lawrinson! Ooh, ooh! Idea! Can you photoshop Coleman on to a picture of TV star Waldo Geraldo Faldo from ABC's hit TGIF entry "Family Matters" such that he becomes "Where's DeJualdo" Geraldo Faldo?

 

[IthacaMatt]

IMatt, I think you played [at least at the high school level--might be wrong about that] before, so I will go out on a limb as saying that most teams do not have more than 5 offensive sets. Variations off of sets--sure. But by and large 5 plays is more than enough to run a diversified offense.

Back in the day, Bobby Knight used to brag about only having ONE offensive set. His take: I don't give a shi- if anyone knows what we're going to run, its up to them to stop it and up to us to execute it to our advantage.

I also like that JB doesn't over-architect how he runs games like so many coaches. But that in-game freedom needs to be predicated upon talent, play making aptitude, and the ability to get buckets. This team has shown a distinct lack of performance across all three of those dimensions.

And they are doing a crappy job [my opinion only] of running their half court offensive sets. It is really apparent that they are getting frazzled and out of their sets and resorting to too much one-on-one play, which is detrimental to the team offensive concept.

I agree up to a point, RF. I think that, as you say, some coaches script many more variations than we do out of a given set, whereas I think Jim wants our players to play more naturally and less robotically, so he gives them options and reads, rather than saying, run this set, and this particular variation. Bilas, I think it was, in interviewing JB a couple years ago and becoming the most vocal proponent of the benefits of the zone, said that other teams have around 50, 60 or even 70 plays that you have to game plan for. We don't have that many variations and options out of our sets because JB wants players to play instinctively and not have to think so much out on the floor. We hear much the same thing about football defense - we don't want players over-thinking their reads, we want them flying to the ball to make plays.