Driving to the basket questions
Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem with what seems to be the Michigan style of driving to the basket? I'm not sure how to explain it, but I'll give it a shot.
When Trey and Tim drive they seem to go out of their way to avoid any contact by attempting to twist and weave through larger defenders. I understand the need and desire to avoid injury, but it looks like they are making their shots more difficult than necessary. This also means that a lot of our complaints about lack of calls doesn't really have a basis. If those two want to play in the NBA, you would think that their goal on just about any drive to the basket would be to draw contact.
The other question is what has happened to GR3 following those two guys down the lane, or coming in off the other side. It seemed like a lot of his rebounds and points came from being a couple of steps behind the initial drive and cleaning up the inevitable misses. Now it looks like whoever is playing at the 4 ends up at the basket at the same time as the guy driving to the basket. Not only does this remove the threat of the follower cleaning up misses, but it brings in yet another defender for Trey and Tim to try to avoid.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:20 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:21 PM ^
Except me leaving the bar after watching this horseshit game.
Edit: Soulfire21 does not condone drinking and driving
Edit2: Possible snowflake? /thatguy
February 12th, 2013 at 11:23 PM ^
tonight was just an absolute joke no matter what they did
February 12th, 2013 at 11:31 PM ^
So many of our drives seem to end in blocked shots, because it doesn't look like we go up strong. Maybe it's fear of drawing a charge. We go up, then when the help defender comes, we try to go up and under and end up with an easy shot to block because it's released down low, or we fade away from the basket and end up with a fadeaway jumper rather than a layup attempt.
We also don't seem to be very good at dishing the ball in the lane at the end of drives when the help defender leaves his man. It just isn't a strong point for our guards.
I'd rather see McGary develop a post game where he can create offensive chances for himself, and create a threat of an inside/outside game to create open looks for the shooters. We take a lot of slightly contested perimeter shots because our guards are good enough to create some space with their ballhandling, but ball movement in terms of crisp passing seems to be lacking overall.
February 13th, 2013 at 8:09 AM ^
A lot of Hardaway's drives are what appear to be lobs for a block. Many of the shots were going to get blocked even before the shot was released.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:45 PM ^
That, good friend, is absolutely hilarious. Wouldn't have thought The Woody to be uncut.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
on the shape, size, color, and cut
February 13th, 2013 at 12:32 AM ^
I imagined it'd be that big.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:35 PM ^
The worst game we've played all season. We've started games just as bad (it's a trend) but we've been able to come back. Let's hope we play the neutral sites in the tournament more like home and less like the road. Going to be tough to get a one seed now, need to win basically every game or win the BTT.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:38 PM ^
No, we've played a lot of bad games lately.
We are young and overrated.
A very-good but not great team.
I expect a 3-4 seed.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:46 PM ^
if the season ended now i'd say we're safely a 2. if we lose to msu and indiana and again to one of osu/indiana/msu/wiscy in btt, i'd think we're a 3 (which is what i'm expecting in my current gloom and doom state). i hope we don't do worse than that!
February 12th, 2013 at 11:42 PM ^
trey may very well be the best player in cbb, but the fact that he is so small hurts michigan against physical teams. considering refs don't call handchecking in the big ten, the key to shutting down our offense is to get in burkes pants, and take advantage of his small stature to keep him out of the paint. this is why i question burke's potential in the nba.
February 13th, 2013 at 2:53 AM ^
I somewhat agree. If you can shut Burke down our offense is...(as much as I hate to say it) SHIT
February 13th, 2013 at 9:41 AM ^
Except that NO ONE in the NBA bellies up on D against the point guard. There is no Aaron Craft style that he will see at the next level. Point guards can dribble freely and pass the ball around the perimeter without a single handcheck. It is a different game.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:38 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:43 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:46 PM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 12:25 AM ^
Burke is going to need to put on some muscle to have a long career in the NBA. He won't be a step faster than his opponents on a regular basis, and he isn't going to get any taller. If he can't get big enough to absorb contact instead of ending up 10 feet from the basket on layup attempts, he won't be a driving threat at the next level.
I'm not saying he isn't a very skilled player, just that he has a size disadvantage that he isn't physically capable of overcoming quite yet. Who knows, maybe that is enough to keep him out of the top half of the draft and he decides to come back for another year. At this point I think most people would agree that GR3 needs another year, so I'm holding out hope for Burke and Hardaway too.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:39 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:55 PM ^
While this teams offensive efficiency has been off the charts, I'm starting to see how much they miss Smot, and his ability to pull bigs out of the paint. He might not have always hit on his 3's but he cleared the lane for other players.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 12:02 AM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 2:49 AM ^
The only person who creates their own shot is Burke and occationally Hardaway. It seems like everyone else is more catch and shoot. I think Robinson needs to work on getting to the rim.
February 13th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 12:24 AM ^
That will be a nice rest. Not that the coaches or players will look at it as such, because obviously, but just that those games won't be a grind to the end (or a blowout loss early on), so the guys can focus a little more on running their sets and doing so in an environment not full of screaming brahs.
The guys look beaten down from this four game stretch from hell. I feel really bad for them because they're working their butts off (tonight you can question that a little regarding certain players) and the results haven't been there.
A little confidence building against the dreck of the conference will go a long way, I think. People are acting like the season is over today. Come on!
February 13th, 2013 at 12:33 AM ^
What if we give PSU their first win of the year?
February 13th, 2013 at 12:36 AM ^
Good joke and all, but PSU couldn't even protect home court against Nebraska!
February 13th, 2013 at 2:45 AM ^
They don't avoid contact to avoid injury, they avoid contact so they don't commit a charge foul. The charge call is becomming a bigger part of the game and, in my opinion, is getting called a lot more frequently. I don't think they are avoiding contact because of injury.
February 13th, 2013 at 3:04 AM ^
Team's regressed. GR3 especially. The easiest way to get to the bucket with the ball without drawing a charge is to get an offensive rebound. MSU had 14, UM had 6. Take all of the horrible shooting and fouls and charges aside, and there's your stat that defines this game, and the flaw with Beilin Ball - rebounding. Coincidentally, rebounding is the what Izzo Ball revolves around.
I still see us beating Staee at home because Beilin will adjust on the boards, and THJ won't shoot 1 for 11 and GR3 can't possibly play worse, though he's put together several stinkers in a row recently.
Reason I hate State isn't because they're good. It's because they have such an insane focus on solving Michigan. They rarely win anything, but one thing they're always good for is presenting the formula to the country for how to beat Michigan. Just as Narduzzi's contain did with Denard, so too Izzo here. They won't win crap this year or next, but hey, they beat Michigan - all that counts to them.
February 13th, 2013 at 8:13 AM ^
I agree with and wholeheartedly support your hatred for state, but they have won things. Izzo has been to the final four on multiple occasions in my memory. They have won a title and made it back to the title game. It is us that hasn't won anything except the share of the Big Ten last year.
February 13th, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^
While it does seem like beating Michigan matters to MSU more than it should (which makes no sense since MSU has been the top program in the conference for more than 10 years now), I would hardly say that it is all that counts for them. I think Sparty wants to win the B10 (which they have regularly) and make Final 4 runs (which they have regularly). MSU wanted blood last night and our team let them take it.
February 13th, 2013 at 3:12 AM ^
THJ is worse than Burke at it, but both struggle to deal with bigs contesting their shots. THJ should be better, given his height. Burke's stuggles are actually less than I would expect given his stature. There are small players who are great at finishing at the rim, guys like Tony Parker or Chris Paul. But those players make use of a (1) lot of head fakes (2) lateral motion to use the rim to block the blocker and (3) shots with a lot of "English", which are just hard to get good at.
One thing to watch with Burke is whether he is using his short/mid-range game of floaters and pull-up jumpers. Both Paul and Parker are excellent at both of those, but effective use of a short range floater really helps open up the small distances that let smaller guys finish, IMHO. Using a short-range shot like lets your defender know that he can't just run down toward the hoop as fast as he can once you've initiated your drive, because if you do pull up he'll foul or leave you wide open. That slows-up the on ball defender and helps open up the lane.
To take another NBA example, this is how Rondo is able to attack the basket. He's fast, but not blazing like Parker was early in his career. He has a terrible (but improving) jumper. He can't jump out of the building. So how does he effective get to the basket? He uses short range, though not right at the rim, shots. Once you check up to try and guard those the shots right at the rim open up.
February 13th, 2013 at 6:52 AM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 8:48 AM ^
but I think the options behind him are relatively slim. I think if Jordan Morgan was healthier we would have seen more of he and McGary on the floor at the same time. Honestly, I think that would be our best line-up at this point anyway. Hope he gets back to 100% soon.
February 13th, 2013 at 8:57 AM ^
What happened to the multitude of backdoor cuts we used to run? I'm not saying we were Princeton but we use to drive and cut, or drive and kick. We haven't done much of this the past several weeks and its becoming a major issue.
February 13th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^
the backdoor cuts have not been there. There were 2-3 opportunities last night, but other than that, teams have done an excellent job guarding against that.
Also, McGary can't post up, yet. That's not helping things.
February 13th, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 1:55 PM ^
I don't know a ton about basketball offense, but can someone explain what good it does to have Stauskas and GR3 stay in the corner for large stretches of the majority of possessions? It seems like it would make sense to occasionally use Stauskas as the screen man at the top of the key, which would require the defense to actually gaurd the screener when he stays up.
The play they run for Hardaway where he takes the handoff from the screener and immediately shoots in the space provided by the screen seems like it would be extremely effective when Stauskas is involved. Keep whoever is the 5 away from the top of the key occasionally and use our relatively large wings to run that as a different look and you would think it would result in some more open shots.
February 13th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
I'd suggest the M1A1/2 Abrams.
February 13th, 2013 at 1:48 PM ^
The offense we're running is a variation of the old UCLA high post offense which they ran during the early Wooden years.Beileins version became famous when he had a center at WV named Pitznoggle who could hit the 3 from top of the key.Absent that threat the def. 5 man can sag which clogs up the middle and narrows driving lanes.That and the absense of any players who can drive to the rim with contact makes our offense very easy to defend.We needed 15 threes to beat OSU at home in OT by 2,we are in more trouble than you think folks.
February 13th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^
STaukas and Robinson need to drive to the rim and create some fouls. Evrytime Burke attuacks the rim he gets fouled but never gets the call so i think he is a little scared to attack. Hardaway showed some handles during the OOC but since the B1G season started he won't attack. We need to draw up some plays for Robinson so he can get involved in the offense. Also we need to start working Mcgary and Morgan more together out on the court so they can be ready for the Spartans march 3. They just too big for us. We don't shoot alot of 3s, hell the Badgers have shot more 3s than we have this season. We need to start playing defense again and stop being passive. We can win our final 6 games and still share the title, but 1 loss and we are history. Don't try to win the B!G Tourny, win 1 and lose on sat. we need the rest.