Why the short leash with Howard?

[tbonezone]

the alley oop pass used to be our signature play when guys like sherm and rony ruled the court. seems like now we're the victims on the receiving end more often than not. zone D just opens up the weak side baseline for that touch pass slam.

 

[patcuse]

Everything falls into place when Howard plays PG. We had Frankie at the 1, G at the 2, Mal at the 3, Lydon at the 4 (on the wing for D where he belongs), and DC manning the 5 at one point. It kinda blew my mind b/c it made so much sense.

Everything falls in place ecept one of our best players is on the bench.

 

[rhcuse]

I like Howard in the game. It simply lets the other 4 guys play their natural position and be most effective. Offense flows better (ball movement, motion, getting the "right shot"). Frankie doesn't need to score double digits; he can help the other guys do so.

Let everyone play where they will the next year or two, not where they need to this year out of desperation and roster imbalance. I get that you "play to win the game" and Jimmy has no time left in his career to think towards next year to the detriment of this year. My long-term outlook can afford the opposite.

PG: Howard 20 - 25 min, MG the balance
SG/SF: Mike, Trevor, Mali rotating around Mike's time at PG
PF: Trob, Lydon (although I do love the DC, Trob, Lydon backline with Howard and anbody else)
C: DC game by game whatever he can handle, Lydon as necessary

 

[Ghost]

Everything falls in place ecept one of our best players is on the bench.

Who dat?

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

I like Howard in the game. It simply lets the other 4 guys play their natural position and be most effective. Offense flows better (ball movement, motion, getting the "right shot"). Frankie doesn't need to score double digits; he can help the other guys do so.

Let everyone play where they will the next year or two, not where they need to this year out of desperation and roster imbalance. I get that you "play to win the game" and Jimmy has no time left in his career to think towards next year to the detriment of this year. My long-term outlook can afford the opposite.

PG: Howard 20 - 25 min, MG the balance
SG/SF: Mike, Trevor, Mali rotating around Mike's time at PG
PF: Trob, Lydon (although I do love the DC, Trob, Lydon backline with Howard and anbody else)
C: DC game by game whatever he can handle, Lydon as necessary

I like that idea too. I think there are questions with Frank's motor, and I think Jimmy needs to see better effort to get him to the level you suggest. He needs to show more energy ala a Mike Hopkins, and less coasting like a Daryl Watkins or what we have seen from TRob when he is in a funk. Bring the energy every night, and that rotation could emerge by end of year. And I think the Lydon as necessary at C will be the most effective against teams more our size.

 

[RF2044]

I like that idea too. I think there are questions with Frank's motor, and I think Jimmy needs to see better effort to get him to the level you suggest. He needs to show more energy ala a Mike Hopkins, and less coasting like a Daryl Watkins or what we have seen from TRob when he is in a funk. Bring the energy every night, and that rotation could emerge by end of year. And I think the Lydon as necessary at C will be the most effective against teams more our size.

One of the biggest false attributions is that Darryl Watkins "coasted" and didn't play hard.

Thoroughbred athletes who run effortlessly get that all of the time. Do we wish he would have developed into something more? Sure. But he was the best pivot defender we've had in the last 10 years.

 

[Ghost]

One of the biggest false attributions is that Darryl Watkins "coasted" and didn't play hard.

Thoroughbred athletes who run effortlessly get that all of the time. Do we wish he would have developed into something more? Sure. But he was the best pivot defender we've had in the last 10 years.

Only because Sean Williams transferred.

Did he ever end up playing for CS-Fullerton??

 

[iommi]

I agree, same deal with Lydon at the five - why limit a talented freshman's developmental opportunities during a lost year?

I get your point 100% but unfortunately Lydon at the 5 has been a necessity. We are already offensively-challenged; imagine us with Chino getting big minutes at the center spot.

 

[pearl31]

so apparently JB feels that G doesn't get enough shots when he's off the ball and Frank is in, and has to be the PG to get the preferred amount of shots (per SWC's write-up of the call in show).
That just seems, um... not quite right to me

 

[iommi]

I like Howard in the game. It simply lets the other 4 guys play their natural position and be most effective. Offense flows better (ball movement, motion, getting the "right shot"). Frankie doesn't need to score double digits; he can help the other guys do so.

Let everyone play where they will the next year or two, not where they need to this year out of desperation and roster imbalance. I get that you "play to win the game" and Jimmy has no time left in his career to think towards next year to the detriment of this year. My long-term outlook can afford the opposite.

PG: Howard 20 - 25 min, MG the balance
SG/SF: Mike, Trevor, Mali rotating around Mike's time at PG
PF: Trob, Lydon (although I do love the DC, Trob, Lydon backline with Howard and anbody else)
C: DC game by game whatever he can handle, Lydon as necessary

Great post. Post more often.

 

[iommi]

Who dat?

Release The Kracken!


(that's code for: please give Evan Dourdas 15 minutes per game) Evan Dourdas is... The Kracken!

Okay, I've officially lost my damn mind.

 

[OttoMets]

I get your point 100% but unfortunately Lydon at the 5 has been a necessity. We are already offensively-challenged; imagine us with Chino getting big minutes at the center spot.

I understand that logic, but how many wins would that cost us in what's probably a lost season?

An argument could be made that the damage done to Lydon's development with a freshman year spent at another position might be worse for the program than a season spent using Obokoh plug a hole in the lineup.

Heck, we've used Billy Celuck for long stretches before. I kind of miss the days when the coach was more religious about keeping guys in their natural position at the expense of having the most talented player on the court. With player development an obvious (and recent) concern, perhaps there's some correlation here.

 

[iommi]

I understand that logic, but how many wins would that cost us in what's probably a lost season?

An argument could be made that the damage done to Lydon's development with a freshman year spent at another position might be worse for the program than a season spent using Obokoh plug a hole in the lineup.

Heck, we've used Billy Celuck for long stretches before. I kind of miss the days when the coach was more religious about keeping guys in their natural position at the expense of having the most talented player on the court. With player development an obvious (and recent) concern, perhaps there's some correlation here.

Great post. I'm just not sure Chino is close to what guys like Celuck gave us but you make some great points about the developmental stuff. I kind of contradicted myself in this thread because on one hand I want to spoon feed Howard minutes at PG. On the other hand, I feel like we'd be sacrificing too much at the center spot in the Lydon/ Obokoh scenario.

I don't think Lydon is sacrificing that much in his development. He's still getting a ton of time and I think in a way this trial by fire will help him. Playing inside on defense and not having the strength he needs will be very impactful on him. Kid needs to gain 15 pounds of muscle at least.

 

[Cuse'91]

I understand that logic, but how many wins would that cost us in what's probably a lost season?

An argument could be made that the damage done to Lydon's development with a freshman year spent at another position might be worse for the program than a season spent using Obokoh plug a hole in the lineup.

Heck, we've used Billy Celuck for long stretches before. I kind of miss the days when the coach was more religious about keeping guys in their natural position at the expense of having the most talented player on the court. With player development an obvious (and recent) concern, perhaps there's some correlation here.

The only problem is that Chino isn't even a big body, he is woefully undersized AND unskilled...

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Great post. I'm just not sure Chino is close to what guys like Celuck gave us but you make some great points about the developmental stuff. I kind of contradicted myself in this thread because on one hand I want to spoon feed Howard minutes at PG. On the other hand, I feel like we'd be sacrificing too much at the center spot in the Lydon/ Obokoh scenario.

I don't think Lydon is sacrificing that much in his development. He's still getting a ton of time and I think in a way this trial by fire will help him. Playing inside on defense and not having the strength he needs will be very impactful on him. Kid needs to gain 15 pounds of muscle at least.

If Lydon gets his shot back, having him at the 5 opens up the lane for drives, and helps TR get more offensive rebounds.