What will it take to beat Clemson? | Page 3 | Syracusefan.com

What will it take to beat Clemson?

I've been very impressed with Maliq being able to stay out of foul trouble for the most part considering how active his hands are.
He’s been good not committing fouls but I believe that has hurt his interior D some. He’s great at getting steals and deflecting passes but I’ve definitely noticed a drop off since Naheem has been out. Can’t blame him for not wanting to contest shots, he needs to be on the court with no suitable relief.
 
The less zone the better against them given the rebounding issues.
agreed.
He did well on offense but Syracuse embarrassed him repeatedly when he tried to play defense. He is a liability there we need to take advantage of. Same with JG3.

I think the key to the game is getting Hall in foul trouble. We got 2 early ones on him and with him out, we were able to get into the paint and core fairly easily.

When he is in, it is hard to get to the basket. He is quick and a fine shot blocker.

I am sure we will put Judah on Joe. He did a fairly good job with him last game except the last 5 minutes or so, when Joe embarrassed Judah and made a number of big baskets. Judah has to play his best defense on Joe all game long.
1. cant make the game a joe-judah referendum - judah obviously spazzed out a little bit last time and was hyper focused on beating joe...and didnt play as well as he couldve. big key

but i wouldnt want judah on joe - i dont think thats a good matchup for judah...need a better defender...would like to see Q on him or someone else

2. fouls will be huge...for both teams - seems ACC bends over backwards to give southern teams a hand at home - going to be hard if any of the players get in foul trouble esp maliq - but he cannot play not to foul, either

how will the team rspond if the expected home cooking calls go clemsons way? going to be huge. red needs to prep them mentally for that.

3. rim protection will be necessary and important...cannot have these games like the recent second halves when its just a layup line for the other team. wont work this time. have to play defense for 2 halves not 1.

It’ll come down to our ability to score. Clemson is a good defensive team and they’ll get away with a little more physicality at home.

We have to make shots. I really think the key player is Bell. If he can get hot, we have a chance. I fear this is a game that sets up poorly for us to win because we’ll struggle to score.

Hope I’m wrong.
4. the offense has been great lately and its really a tale of two strategies - team ball, ball movement and working together or iso 1 on 1 drives...

if the iso is working, it can be fine...but seems much more prone to extended droughts. if the iso is working, they dont seem to go away from it...but double down.

im not saying dont use the iso - just dont stick with it if it isnt working.

and attack the weak defenders on clemson - cook joe and shefflien if you can. make joe work on defense and expose his weak rotations...put actions will bell near him and he has to be the one to switch onto bell shooting, for example. would be sweet to see joe not rotate to cover bell like he did soooo many times for the orange.

5. rebounds will be so important, most likely. cannot get mauled on the glass...have to a least keep it respectable

but alos save some energy for the end game and for the offense...cant blow your load on first half boards and have no gas late in the game.

they can lose some of these battles and keys but if they can win most of them, they can win.

in big games this year, they come out tight...and dont shoot well...play loose and happy and they will win.
 
It’ll come down to our ability to score. Clemson is a good defensive team and they’ll get away with a little more physicality at home.

We have to make shots. I really think the key player is Bell. If he can get hot, we have a chance. I fear this is a game that sets up poorly for us to win because we’ll struggle to score.

Hope I’m wrong.

Bell hits seven threes and Maliq goes 5x5. I’d love to see Maliq get to run a few 4 on 3s after the high screen early to push a little, but he has to be aggressive with the ball.

A lot of work before the ball goes into the post for Clemson is going to drain Maliq, so we need him to take a Kobe-esque trip to Germany to get some good stuff so he can go Superman.

Guards can’t try to get into 1 on 1s. JJ and Judah score 30 points on 32 FGA last game.

We can get this one.
 
Funny you should say that. I am more than worried about the refs in this game.
Me too. We need to win going away. A close game is going to end up being a home job. Red needs to be very vocal, very aggressive early with the refs. He can't sit back.
 
Btw, the last Clemson game is the game that put the knife in the heart of Judah’s 2024 NBA consideration, albeit one that was on life support already.

I am very very worried JJ and Judah press again.

Bell, Maliq and Q. Judah in spots.

If we open and Judah is going one on one again against this team, Red should bench him.
 
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Btw, the last Clemson game is the game that put the knife in the heart of Judah’s 2024 consideration, albeit one that was on life support already.

I am very very worried JJ and Judah press again.

Bell, Maliq and Q. Judah in spots.

If we open and Judah is going one on one again against this team, Red should bench him.
The key will be not dropping into a big early hole like they did in the first game. It was actually a minor miracle that they came all the way back to tie that game late in the second half, but as so often happens, that sort of comeback takes its toll in the end. Playing with a lead is obviously preferable but still precarious with this team. They have the talent to compete with Clemson, so I'm hoping for the best tomorrow.
 
Btw, the last Clemson game is the game that put the knife in the heart of Judah’s 2024 NBA consideration, albeit one that was on life support already.

I am very very worried JJ and Judah press again.

Bell, Maliq and Q. Judah in spots.

If we open and Judah is going one on one again against this team, Red should bench him.
I feel oddly confident Judah won’t do that. I feel like we are watching him turn into the best version of himself these last 4 games or so. Let’s hope I’m right!
 
Funny you should say that. I am more than worried about the refs in this game.
This scares the crap out of me- not just for tomorrow night, but for the remainder of the ACC games we play this year. We are a slashing team and we have seen what happens when refs tire of Judah and swallow whistles. I hope Red can smooth this out sooner rather than later.
 
I feel oddly confident Judah won’t do that. I feel like we are watching him turn into the best version of himself these last 4 games or so. Let’s hope I’m right!

Hope so! It’s the best case for Judah and Cuse.
 
Btw, the last Clemson game is the game that put the knife in the heart of Judah’s 2024 NBA consideration, albeit one that was on life support already.

I am very very worried JJ and Judah press again.

Bell, Maliq and Q. Judah in spots.

If we open and Judah is going one on one again against this team, Red should bench him.
I agree but honestly JJ's forays have been more concerning to me of late than Judah's. We need both to play well to have a chance moving forward.
 
I agree but honestly JJ's forays have been more concerning to me of late than Judah's. We need both to play well to have a chance moving forward.

Agreed.

And to be clear re Judah: I think he is very talented and should be rewarded with first or second team all ACC.

Re JJ, I’m worried about him. He seems like a black hole once he gets the ball.
 
It’ll come down to our ability to score. Clemson is a good defensive team and they’ll get away with a little more physicality at home.

We have to make shots. I really think the key player is Bell. If he can get hot, we have a chance. I fear this is a game that sets up poorly for us to win because we’ll struggle to score.

Hope I’m wrong.
Yeah I agree. I don't think there is too much to think about here. This game will come down to how well we play on offense. Clemson is going to score, Hall and, most likely, JG3 will put up big numbers. Our offense has evolved over the last 4-5 games, so I'm more optimistic that we can continue that trend. Need big games from Judah, Bell, JJ, and Q vs Clemson M2M. We will likely see more zone from Clemson as a counter. In which case the transition game, points off of turnovers, and free throws will play an even bigger role.
 
Bell hits seven threes and Maliq goes 5x5. I’d love to see Maliq get to run a few 4 on 3s after the high screen early to push a little, but he has to be aggressive with the ball.

A lot of work before the ball goes into the post for Clemson is going to drain Maliq, so we need him to take a Kobe-esque trip to Germany to get some good stuff so he can go Superman.

Guards can’t try to get into 1 on 1s. JJ and Judah score 30 points on 32 FGA last game.

We can get this one.
Yep, that was an issue last time
 
To me the key will be, can Bell knock down some shots? Will the refs call nickle dimer's on us, while letting clemson play bully ball? Will we regress into iso drives to no-where instead of passing/cutting and getting a good shot? I am more worried about the above than anything Clemson will run offensively.
 
I think the most important things are rebounding the ball and scoring. They will score and we need Bell to play well in my opinion. I think Judah and Brown will play well and if we get scoring from Bell and a reasonably good game from JJ we should be right there with them.
 
This scares the crap out of me- not just for tomorrow night, but for the remainder of the ACC games we play this year. We are a slashing team and we have seen what happens when refs tire of Judah and swallow whistles. I hope Red can smooth this out sooner rather than later.

Yep... Like Dixon Pitt teams in the NCAA tourney... all the hand-checking his teams got away with in the big east season stopped when the tourney started and they always flamed out as he spazzed out in those games thinking the calls were all ticky-tack.

Must have drove him insane that Pitino's teams did basically the same hand-checking but got away with it...

If it's true there's chatter going around that Judah's behavior is going to be "trained" by the refs, you can bet Red and his staff are well aware... Will be interesting to see how the kid responds if so.
 
  • Their top 3 rebounders avg 22 ribs/game. Our top 3 avg 16 ribs/game. Be within 5 rebounds overall, and we win.
  • Their top 3 scorers avg 19, 16, & 12. Our top 3 avg 19, 14, & 12. If our top 3 outscores their top 3 by 2, we win.
  • Their 6th & 7th scorers avg 6 and 5. Our 6th & 7th scorers avg 5 and 5. If our 6th and 7th scorers outscore their 6th & 7th scorers, we win.
  • If Judah collects a total of 2 fouls, we win.
  • If Maliq collects no more than 3 fouls after 30 mins, we win.
  • If the Rizzler, Peter Carey, gets a 3 by 5, 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 among any 3 other categories, we win.
  • If GMac never stands up outside of a timeout, we win.
 
Joe may get his average 15 or 16...that won't hurt the Orange.

It's what's up front that counts.

Must battle and limit their front court in points and on the boards.
That means Maliq MUST stay out of foul trouble.
And he'll need some help on D.

Bell needs to be on and hit some 3's.
And the Orange overall need another great shooting game.

Judah must play a smart game.
And it would be nice to see him go at PJ Hall and get a couple fouls on him.
Hall's performance is a key factor in the game.
If he is scoring/rebounding and defending really well...there's trouble.
 
Girard’s their 2nd leading scorer and shooting 42% from 3… think about when he struggled for Cuse, he struggled against guys who were longer and more athletic that could stay on him in space. If we want to shut him down, we could probably accomplish with Q out there on him.

But does it make more sense to focus on PJ Hall than shutting Joe down?

Higher % shooter with a size advantage, Maliq’s going to need help. Do we show more zone looks? Where do we give Maliq help from?

We’re going to have to come with some energy and shoot well here.

I love big games, but I hate big games lol.

Goooo Cuse!!!
 
Joe may get his average 15 or 16...that won't hurt the Orange.

It's what's up front that counts.

Must battle and limit their front court in points and on the boards.
That means Maliq MUST stay out of foul trouble.
And he'll need some help on D.

Bell needs to be on and hit some 3's.
And the Orange overall need another great shooting game.

Judah must play a smart game.
And it would be nice to see him go at PJ Hall and get a couple fouls on him.
Hall's performance is a key factor in the game.
If he is scoring/rebounding and defending really well...there's trouble.
That’s what she said
 

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