This is a reflection on another week of basketball and retirement…
Start With Positive- If you didn’t watch the Spurs vs Thunder play-off games, you missed on out on some great basketball. The obvious is that these two teams are going to be teams that will be competing for championships for the next several years.
Classy- The behavior during the games and the comments made by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exuded class. During the games, he just competes. Some will say he flops but others admire that his ability to get defenders off balance. When things didn’t go for him, there was no whining or pleas to refs- just played. After the game he had NO excuses, one of his major comments was, “I just need to get better.”
Love or Hate- Alex Caruso is one of those players that you love if he is one your team and hate if he is on the other team. If you are a basketball fan, you have to love how he plays. At 6’5” he matches up against anyone and makes all the hustle plays.
Man, Caruso is just what my Bulls need. A hard nosed, hustle player. Too bad they traded him away.
Wow- Who knows what will happen in the Finals, I think it will be a great series with New York. Think about this with the Spurs- Stephon Castle 21 years old, Dylan Harper 20, and Victor Wimbanyama 21.
Segue- A two common characteristics of OKC, NY, and San Antonio are that-
1- They have strong, long, quick players who ALL seem committed to playing defense. Players they have who don’t fit that profile are rim protectors.
2- Most of their players are scoring threats and are three point shooters.
What Was Fever GM Looking At- The Fever have major roster flaws. They have four players who are offensive threats- Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark, and Sophie Cunningham. Lexie Hull can hit a three if left open but is not consistent this year. There are only two consistent three point shooters on their roster- Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham.
The trio of Mitchell, Clark, and Boston are good enough to compete for a championship if surrounded with players who can defend and rebound. And some players who can knock down open threes to space the floor. The pieces added do not fit any of these things.
Except for Hull or Cunningham, there is NO three point shooting threat on the roster. They chose to draft a backup point guard who cannot shoot. Against Golden State and Portland, defenders on Johnson stayed back at the free throw line and let her shoot. Johnson, Billings, Harris, Hines-Allen- all the players picked up this year are not three point threats.
Fever Don’t Have Championship Defense- The Fever have major flaws defensively. Hines-Allen, Billings, VanSlooten, and Timpson have not shown the ability to rebound and defend. The Fever are SOFT inside.
Hide Clark on Defense- Opposing teams this year have chosen to attack Caitlin Clark with isolations. Portland picked out who they wanted to attack on offense, and they had Clark’s person set a ball screen to get Clark on the iso they wanted. The result they got easy points and they got Clark in foul trouble.
If you doubt what I am saying, find the replay of the Portland game. Get a pad of paper. Calculate how many points are scored by the person Clark is guarding- whether in isolations or on offensive rebounds. When she was on the floor, 50% of Portland’s points came attacking Clark.
Last night’s defensive scheme was to send a second defender to double when Clark was isolated. The Fever did not rotate well enough to make it work. It is not a long-term solution to double anytime Clark is guarding.
Only Dean Smith Could Hold Michael Under 20ppg- The joke was that no one defensively could hold Michael Jordan under 20ppg but when Dean Smith coached Michael, he used him in a way to keep him under 20ppg.
Coach White’s plan for her four best players is baffling. Vs. Portland, Cunningham starts on the bench. After 3:15, Cunningham went in and Hull, Clark, and Boston went to the bench.
As I already have covered- Indiana does not have any bench players who can shoot the ball besides Cunningham. When teams go on a run, it is usually because of bad offense. The team cannot score and the other team then gets run outs off turnovers and missed shots.
With Boston, Clark, and Hull sitting on the bench- in the next three minutes, Portland went on a 13-0 run.
With Boston, Mitchell, and Clark- 2 of the 3 MUST be on the floor at all times with either Hull or Cunningham on the floor with them. The Fever’s good players are VERY good and the rest of their players NOT VERY good.
Mitchell, Boston, and Clark need to play 32+ minutes if the Fever are going to win. And Hull and Cunningham need to play 25+ minutes.
Have you seen another men’s or women’s college or pro team where the coach subs out 2 of their 3 best players after playing 3 minutes and 15 seconds?
Why Not?- The Fever want to switch everything on defense. Why not go with a line up of Clark, Mitchell, Boston, Cunningham, and Hull. What might be lost on defense will be more than gained on offense.
Much Improved But- As disappointing as the Indiana performance was vs. Portland, Clark’s improved composure was a real positive.
Caitlin Clark’s emotions, whining, and body language vs. Golden State was absolutely horrible. It was not bad, it was absolutely horrible. Her rookie year, the way the refs let the defense beat up on Clark, the whining was often forgivable. Vs GS, her whining had no merit.
Whether it was Nike or State Farm or friends- hopefully someone told her that her behavior was unacceptable vs GS. In any case, she was better vs. Portland.
“It’s Early, We’re Trying To Figure Out Who We Are”- When a high school, college, or pro coach makes this quote, they might as well say, “I don’t know what I am doing.” I realize that sometime the pieces don’t all fit together immediately, but as a coach you have a plan going into the season.
Right now the Fever have played close 20% of their season. What is more alarming than that they have had bad games, they really don’t seem like they have had any great games.
Right now the Fever are not fun to watch.
On the Bright Side- How about those White Sox? They are fun to watch- they play with enthusiasm and hustle.
Credit to the Sox’s GM for finding some pieces to fit. The starting center fielder for the Sox, Tristan Peters started his career at a Savannah Banana.
Just a thought- maybe there are still a couple players in Europe who can knock down threes that would like to play in the WNBA!!
No comments:
Post a Comment