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Message: [QUOTE="br801, post: 1986176, member: 932"] With all the new faces, this team is learning how to play JB's zone on the fly. They will get better, particularly as Howard and Battle settle in at the top. But right now, solid teams can torch this defense inside and outside. Defensive rebounding is a concern, as usual, but particularly so if they can't count on much from Roberson. Without improvement here, transition scoring opportunities will be hard to come by. More troubling is the poor offensive rebounding I'm seeing from this group. Historically, SU has been strong in this area, and this has helped make up for some deficiencies in the half court offense. I'll cross my fingers here and hope a few guys are able to step up. A few more things about the offense... [SIZE=16px]To date, the offensive production from the guards (Howard, Battle, Gillon) has been outstanding in terms of shooting percentages and advanced metrics like PER, TS% and eFG%. However, I would not expect this to continue into conference play, given how the offense sputtered against South Carolina and Wisconsin. I do think Howard and Battle will turn out to be better deep shooters than I imagined, but the key to their long term effectiveness as scorers will be how consistently they are able to score at the rim.[/SIZE] Another area of concern for me is how infrequently this team is getting to the line. Last year Gbinije and Richardson were adept at drawing contact. So far, I'm not seeing this from any of the guards. Of the post players, Coleman seems like the guy who might be able get to the line with some frequency. Perhaps that will happen now that JB seems intent on making him an integral part of the half court offense. [URL="http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/syracuse/2017.html"]2016-17 Syracuse Orange Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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