Curious if we see more zone or man to man against us this year
- Thread starter yoshukai
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Nobody will be able to stay in front of our guards ......Teams will play zone and hope we have an off-shooting nite
UK will see tons of zone. Offensively, Coach Cal has went back to the Dribble Drive. With our really good guards and shooters, I think teams will have to go zone. When Cal brought Tony Barbee on board (and this is an opinion) it was for his knowledge and expertise of the zone. I can also see UK running as zone of some type, as well.
only time the Cats will try zone is when Humphries is in the game, so not much. A zone would just be wasting this team's talents imo
With the new hand check rules a zone is a must now. Especially when the team you are trying to guard has great guard play.
I'd argue that you'll see quite a bit of match-up zone. Were I an opposing team's coach, I'd front the bigs and play tight on the three-point line.
I'd give up a few put-backs and a couple of lobs, but the UK guards wouldn't likely put up monster long-range numbers, and the entire Kentucky offense would be predicated on the ability of Ulis, Briscoe, and Murray hitting those 10-foot floaters over outstretched help bigs at a pretty high clip.
Offensively, I'd isolate and post Murray virtually every time down the court, hoping to get him in foul trouble, assuming I had a true small forward. Expect Calipari to adjust accordingly, with some combination of Briscoe, Matthews, Mulder, and Willis in at wing. (If Matthews could shoot at all, he's a wild card. Alas, he cannot. Willis' defense will predicate his minutes. Cal loves big forwards-- he's got a shot.)
Most teams have to hope the Cats are having a relatively poor night shooting. However, teams with big wings and physical specimens/ volume rebounders underneath-- LSU, Auburn (who may be seriously underrated by tournament time), South Carolina, and A&M-- may give Kentucky fits.
I'd give up a few put-backs and a couple of lobs, but the UK guards wouldn't likely put up monster long-range numbers, and the entire Kentucky offense would be predicated on the ability of Ulis, Briscoe, and Murray hitting those 10-foot floaters over outstretched help bigs at a pretty high clip.
Offensively, I'd isolate and post Murray virtually every time down the court, hoping to get him in foul trouble, assuming I had a true small forward. Expect Calipari to adjust accordingly, with some combination of Briscoe, Matthews, Mulder, and Willis in at wing. (If Matthews could shoot at all, he's a wild card. Alas, he cannot. Willis' defense will predicate his minutes. Cal loves big forwards-- he's got a shot.)
Most teams have to hope the Cats are having a relatively poor night shooting. However, teams with big wings and physical specimens/ volume rebounders underneath-- LSU, Auburn (who may be seriously underrated by tournament time), South Carolina, and A&M-- may give Kentucky fits.
If you have an outstretched help big, isn't a big man open for us? Why wouldn't Ulis, Murray, and Briscoe hit the open man instead of shooting floaters every time?
I know you said "a few put-backs and a couple of lobs" but I suspect those numbers will be much higher when we are clicking.
Our Weakness this year is going to be interior defense so actually a zone would be doing just the opposite of your post. There are only a few teams on our schedule that have quality Bigs so I would hope that Cal keeps the zone in our arsenal should it be needed, otherwise I do believe the team will play man all/most of the time as that is what Cal prefers.
From Aike:
"If you have an outstretched help big, isn't a big man open for us? Why wouldn't Ulis, Murray, and Briscoe hit the open man instead of shooting floaters every time?
I know you said "a few put-backs and a couple of lobs" but I suspect those numbers will be much higher when we are clicking."
I don't think the combination of Lee, Poythress, and LaBassiere have great hands, honestly, and none of the three looks like a rim finisher. Long arms make passes difficult as well.
It's a pick your poison defense, certainly, but that's the one that makes the most sense against this particular team. At least right now. That may change as the season wears on.
"If you have an outstretched help big, isn't a big man open for us? Why wouldn't Ulis, Murray, and Briscoe hit the open man instead of shooting floaters every time?
I know you said "a few put-backs and a couple of lobs" but I suspect those numbers will be much higher when we are clicking."
I don't think the combination of Lee, Poythress, and LaBassiere have great hands, honestly, and none of the three looks like a rim finisher. Long arms make passes difficult as well.
It's a pick your poison defense, certainly, but that's the one that makes the most sense against this particular team. At least right now. That may change as the season wears on.
I think your strategy is correct. But I also think having three terrific passers doing the penetrating makes it more of a challenge on the defense. I don't expect them to settle for an inordinate amount of floaters.
Maybe our bigs will fumble a few balls, but at least half of having good hands is how the ball was delivered. Seems we have that covered.
Any opposing coach who watched last night's game likely has a migraine today, trying to figure out how to guard these Cats. Truth is, if the Cats are shooting it as well as they did last night, it won't matter how teams attempt to guard them.
I would guess, however, that we'll see everything this year, everything but a press, that is. Any idiot who tries to press this team should be drawn and quartered. But I expect we'll see a bit of 2-3 zone, a bit of a match-up zone, maybe some 1-3-1 with some trapping (but that might backfire). I expect some will try to play us man to man on the perimeter with some zone principles included underneath.
Probably the best approach, if you have the personnel to do it, is to just play like UK plays- a man to man with an emphasis on helping on defense, switching as needed, stopping penetration as much as possible. Problem is, most teams don't have the personnel to do it. Some do, and others will try, but there is no question, this team will be tough to guard.
This is what I meant when I was talking about having a complete team the other day. If you try to zone this team with a traditional 2-3 zone or even a match-up zone, this team has the shooters to kill you. If you give Ulis and Murray, even Briscoe, Mulder, Poythress? open looks at a three, they're gonna knock them down at a good clip. Murray shot 4-8 last night and Ulis shot 4-5. Mulder hit 2-4. Poythress was 2-2 last night and 2-2 in the blue/white game. They won't always shoot them that well, but these guys are capable of hitting close to 40% as a team, in my opinion. If they do, it's lights out. This is what our team was missing last season.
Now, the big question right now, in my opinion, is UK's interior play. Skal looks pretty good and he held his position against a 300lb man last night, so that was heartening. But we need him to continue to develop. We also need a 100% healthy Alex Poythress, and I think we'll have him back to full strength soon. He showed flashes last night, a few more flashes than we saw in the Blue/White game, so I'm feeling better. And from Marcus Lee, we just need him to do what he does best- run the floor, finish with dunks, defend, block shots, and rebound. If he can add a little back to the basket here and there, that's gravy. We don't have to be great in the inside but we need to be a legitimate threat to hurt you if you try to just focus on our guard play. That balance is the key, and I think this team has the potential to have excellent balance.
The key against Kentucky will be how the game is officiated. I'm going to try to out-muscle the Cats inside and bump them off their spots on the perimeter. Trapping isn't a bad plan either, assuming you have enough athleticism to react to how quickly UK will likely get the ball up the court.
Strong guards who play physically have given Ulis problems in the past. Briscoe and Murray don't have much experience playing against guys their athletic/ size equal. Poythress, Lee, and LaBassiere play weaker than their size would suggest.
Too, free throw shooting from the front court would allow others to hack a Shaq for extra possessions late in games.
Humphries and a strong wing are key, IMO. They would allow Calipari to field a physical/ big team if others try to much it up.
(Look for A&M to do just that. And virtually every other SEC team without talent. Largely because the SEC allows it to happen continually.)
Strong guards who play physically have given Ulis problems in the past. Briscoe and Murray don't have much experience playing against guys their athletic/ size equal. Poythress, Lee, and LaBassiere play weaker than their size would suggest.
Too, free throw shooting from the front court would allow others to hack a Shaq for extra possessions late in games.
Humphries and a strong wing are key, IMO. They would allow Calipari to field a physical/ big team if others try to much it up.
(Look for A&M to do just that. And virtually every other SEC team without talent. Largely because the SEC allows it to happen continually.)
I don't think Poythress plays weakly. Passive at times, yes.
I guess it would be fair to say he lacks assertiveness at times on offense. I just don't think weak is a fair adjective to describe him, historically.
I will add one more thought here. After getting a better look at this team, especially the shooting/scoring ability of this group, I am now thinking that the primary way people are going to attempt to beat this team is by getting very physical with them. I wouldn't be surprised to see some play some psychological games with our young guys as well. I can GUARANTEE that Louisville will do all that and more when they come rolling into Rupp. They may try to start something during warmups, like they did the year Cousins and company put them in their place. When you know you're outclassed, some resort to these tactics. I wouldn't be surprised to see different teams try this.
Great post. I had the same thought as I was watching last night. This team will be a nightmare to defend. Too many shooters; too many players that can penetrate; and too much talent under the rim. . Probably about the best balanced team Cal has had.
Oh, and just to add guys...teams are gonna play stall ball again as well. I don't think it will work as well this year (which sounds hilarious to try to act like it did last year as the team won 38/39 games!), but I think the offense we have this year can push the pace more than last year and blow open some of these annoying mediocre teams faster. The 30 second clock helps.
