Its about the resistance guys. Sure players are going to have off nights and some are playing better than others on any given night, but what you saw last night wasnt about that is was our problem, as a team, handling resistance. We are a really talented team and we look better than anybody . . . WHEN WE HAVE THE FREEDOM AND SPACE to do what we do. When that is taken away we look completely different.
Ive used this analogy before but its just like golf. There are a lot of guys that can look damn good for 100 yards in the fairway with the ball sitting up nice and neat, but move that ball to the rough or in a divot and they look completely different because the resistance has changed. Same swing but different outcomes until they figure out how to adjust. Same thing with a QB that looks like an All American when he can sit in a clean pocket, but when that blitz and pressure starts coming in on him, he looks completely different.
That's what happen with us (and all teams really). We thrive when we have driving lanes where we can attack and move and drive and kick etc, thats where we get our shots at rim, thats where we get our 3s, and thats how we get our assists. We look as good as I've seen in a long time this year in those conditions. It all starts with how much space we have but some teams take away that space with ball pressure and physicality and we kind of break down when the do. We still get shots but they are hurried or under pressure and not in a comfortable rhythm. So when guy arent hitting its not just because they'r off, its because they arent comfortable and under duress by the defensive pressure.
It wasnt just yesterday, you can see this play out in several different games this year and sometimes just in one half. There are games where we come out lighting it up and we will most of the time if you give us space. But then in the second half you see the other guys extend their defense on the ball, push us out farther, overplay the passing lanes and suddenly we dont look the same. Its all about how we handle that pressure when they take away our space.
Nobody likes pressure and its not easy to deal with. We only have on guy that sort tries play through it and that is DJ and he tried the other night but even he was thrown off just enough to where he couldn't finish at the rim like he has been. The others all struggle and look like different players when the pressure D comes and we have to find a way to fix that.
The answers are easy but here's three that I think we have to try:
1. The first answer to pressure is always more spacing. If they are going to extend the defense and play in our face, you always attack that by making them pay by beating them off the dribble and breaking that down. But to do that you have to have driving lanes and that requires space. Cal tried to free up DJ and others by using the high ball screen but SC just hedged out aggressively and shut that down and clogged things up. We ended up in a trap half the time just trying to get a relief pass off. We should have scrapped that and went 5 out early on and said whoever has the ball attack you man. Once you beat the first guy you have the defense in rotation and the shots will come. You can't tell me DJ, Rob, Reed, Antonio and even Mitchell cant beat their man off the dibble enough to create movement. But when we arent spaced enough, the help defense can step in before we get the penetration to make it work. 5 out is our go to offensive set with these guys.
2. Create more transition chances. To do this we have start playing better defense and rebounding the ball cleaner to get out on transition. I think we could also help create more transition if we played a more trapping style of defense. We have the quickness, we have the depth, we have the length, lets get out of the man to man or least give the guys the freedom to gamble and trap out of it more to create tempo and turnovers and transition. We have the rim protectors now too so lets extend that defense ourselves and stop just playing it straight and grinding it out half court.
3. And last we have to find a way to play more physical on both ends. Too many times we play the victim while the other guys are the aggressors. We have to toughen up simple as that especially our bigs. Our bigs guys use their length but hardly every use their bodies (especially their lower half) to bang, push or just hold their ground. We need to bring back Rick Robey or Josh Harrelson to teach these guys something.
Just my thoughts guys. We have seen this problem play out several times already this year and each time we start talking about who's doing what or who should have started etc etc, but its not about that its about finding a way for his young team to learn how to play through the resistance. Because I guarantee thats what they are going to face against the better teams and in the tournament. They're not going to let us play free.
Ive used this analogy before but its just like golf. There are a lot of guys that can look damn good for 100 yards in the fairway with the ball sitting up nice and neat, but move that ball to the rough or in a divot and they look completely different because the resistance has changed. Same swing but different outcomes until they figure out how to adjust. Same thing with a QB that looks like an All American when he can sit in a clean pocket, but when that blitz and pressure starts coming in on him, he looks completely different.
That's what happen with us (and all teams really). We thrive when we have driving lanes where we can attack and move and drive and kick etc, thats where we get our shots at rim, thats where we get our 3s, and thats how we get our assists. We look as good as I've seen in a long time this year in those conditions. It all starts with how much space we have but some teams take away that space with ball pressure and physicality and we kind of break down when the do. We still get shots but they are hurried or under pressure and not in a comfortable rhythm. So when guy arent hitting its not just because they'r off, its because they arent comfortable and under duress by the defensive pressure.
It wasnt just yesterday, you can see this play out in several different games this year and sometimes just in one half. There are games where we come out lighting it up and we will most of the time if you give us space. But then in the second half you see the other guys extend their defense on the ball, push us out farther, overplay the passing lanes and suddenly we dont look the same. Its all about how we handle that pressure when they take away our space.
Nobody likes pressure and its not easy to deal with. We only have on guy that sort tries play through it and that is DJ and he tried the other night but even he was thrown off just enough to where he couldn't finish at the rim like he has been. The others all struggle and look like different players when the pressure D comes and we have to find a way to fix that.
The answers are easy but here's three that I think we have to try:
1. The first answer to pressure is always more spacing. If they are going to extend the defense and play in our face, you always attack that by making them pay by beating them off the dribble and breaking that down. But to do that you have to have driving lanes and that requires space. Cal tried to free up DJ and others by using the high ball screen but SC just hedged out aggressively and shut that down and clogged things up. We ended up in a trap half the time just trying to get a relief pass off. We should have scrapped that and went 5 out early on and said whoever has the ball attack you man. Once you beat the first guy you have the defense in rotation and the shots will come. You can't tell me DJ, Rob, Reed, Antonio and even Mitchell cant beat their man off the dibble enough to create movement. But when we arent spaced enough, the help defense can step in before we get the penetration to make it work. 5 out is our go to offensive set with these guys.
2. Create more transition chances. To do this we have start playing better defense and rebounding the ball cleaner to get out on transition. I think we could also help create more transition if we played a more trapping style of defense. We have the quickness, we have the depth, we have the length, lets get out of the man to man or least give the guys the freedom to gamble and trap out of it more to create tempo and turnovers and transition. We have the rim protectors now too so lets extend that defense ourselves and stop just playing it straight and grinding it out half court.
3. And last we have to find a way to play more physical on both ends. Too many times we play the victim while the other guys are the aggressors. We have to toughen up simple as that especially our bigs. Our bigs guys use their length but hardly every use their bodies (especially their lower half) to bang, push or just hold their ground. We need to bring back Rick Robey or Josh Harrelson to teach these guys something.
Just my thoughts guys. We have seen this problem play out several times already this year and each time we start talking about who's doing what or who should have started etc etc, but its not about that its about finding a way for his young team to learn how to play through the resistance. Because I guarantee thats what they are going to face against the better teams and in the tournament. They're not going to let us play free.
