Questions for x's & o's guys

[rudad02]

Not an x's & o's guy. Wondering if someone can tell me, 1]why when we are consistently not getting out on a hot shooting guy from the corner we don't play man to man, & 2] what our bigs are doing on D running around 25 feet from the basket?

 

[kcg88]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

This is 100% on the money. And it is still " a make or miss league", to phrase what the NBA talks about...if the 1st one goes in, you're instantly a 10% better shooter from distance.

 

[bac2therac]

So coaches...what is our best defense vs Maryland

 

[kcg88]

So coaches...what is our best defense vs Maryland

Probably not this one but with one day of game prep we're not going to change anything.

 

[rudad02]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

Thank you. As you pointed out they were wide open in the corners.

 

[Anon1751594821]

We must absolutely keep Cowan from penetrating and doing us in and keep Maryland from getting easy transition baskets. If we can do that, we have a real good chance of knocking them off(even though they are undefeated also at home) as long as we shoot fairly well.

We also must make sure that Jalen Smith does not become Moses Malone. If Myles gets in foul trouble again, Smith might have a field day. He has the tools to be a rebounding and scoring machine.

I'm going to the game and crossing my fingers that we play really tough defense and are able to come away with a victory.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[kcg88]

Jalen Smith is a dominant inside force who has been shooting 50% on threes since the calendar flipped. I don't know how you stop that.

The rest of the team had a shooting slump and they lost to Iowa and Wisconsin. Since then they've been cruising. Indiana should have beaten them, yes, but the Hoosiers shot out of their mind in that game. That's what we're going to need to do to win.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

against Purdue we saw multiple turnovers with an inexperienced and less skilled point guards trying to force the ball to the big who set the pick

 

[soundcrib]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

Spot on, man.

 

[BillyC80]

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

Aren’t those 3-point makes by Mich factored into the 1-point per possession (which is good D by us)? If so then how did those 3-pointers do us in?

Your analysis of our hedging D is excellent and much appreciated, but in this game at least, I maintain our overall defense was fine, more than good enough to win. We were “done in” by missing 56 shots.

 

[tjb_rivals53842]

And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

This was it.

And the adjustment to it left the middle more open for one of the best high ball screen guys in the game, who was playing with a chip on his shoulder after letting his team down.

 

[Plum Street]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

Great post . Are you a coach ?

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Great post . Are you a coach ?

No he isn't, but he did spend the night at a Holiday Inn Express. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Nice post kcg88.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

I'll also add, while our aggressiveness is one of the strengths of our defense, it can lead to defensive breakdowns and open looks. Young, in particular gambles for steals far too often on the perimeter. This puts him briefly out of position, and forces help and rotation from teammates in situations where we shouldn't have to. Stay aggressive, but contain your man. Easier said than done.

 

[Scangg]

Aren’t those 3-point makes by Mich factored into the 1-point per possession (which is good D by us)? If so then how did those 3-pointers do us in?

Your analysis of our hedging D is excellent and much appreciated, but in this game at least, I maintain our overall defense was fine, more than good enough to win. We were “done in” by missing 56 shots.

The average can be a good defensive number but if you're getting killed against one particular play then its that play that had us "done in"

It's not like the coach should be thinking... Hey, we are getting crushed on the pick n roll every time but as long as we are playing good defense when they don't go to the pick n roll it's still good overall. No need to adjust.

IMO we could have held them to under 60 with a better gameplan against Simpson and the pick n roll. Just play off Simpson and make him shoot. Go under the screen hard to cut off his right. He isn't a confident shooter from the outside and airballed his first wide open 3 by a mile. At that point, you need to make him prove he can even draw iron on his next 3. There is a mental aspect of playing at MSG and missing so poorly on your first jumper. Sag off. Dare him to shoot. If Simpson beats you with his outside jumpshot, so be it.

 

[kcg88]

One other thing: Last year at the RAC Michigan wore us out to the tune of 1.17 points per possession. Doorson definitely wasn't mobile enough to hedge up top, so he played back, and Omoruyi was a below-average perimeter defender. My recollection is that Simpson and Brazdeikis killed us running the pick-and-pop and getting threes that way.

Teams with a skilled PG (like Simpson), an inside-outside big man (Teske), and talented wings (Brooks, Livers, and I guess Johns) are very difficult to defend.

This spells trouble because Maryland is built in a very similar way. Cowan is a worse distributor but better shooter than Simpson. Jalen Smith is a really good players who was elite in January. And their wings aren't shooting as well as last year but they're good shooters.

 

[kcg88]

The average can be a good defensive number but if you're getting killed against one particular play then its that play that had us "done in"

It's not like the coach should be thinking... Hey, we are getting crushed on the pick n roll every time but as long as we are playing good defense when they don't go to the pick n roll it's still good overall. No need to adjust.

IMO we could have held them to under 60 with a better gameplan against Simpson and the pick n roll. Just play off Simpson and make him shoot. Go under the screen hard to cut off his right. He isn't a confident shooter from the outside and airballed his first wide open 3 by a mile. At that point, you need to make him prove he can even draw iron on his next 3. There is a mental aspect of playing at MSG and missing so poorly on your first jumper. Sag off. Dare him to shoot. If Simpson beats you with his outside jumpshot, so be it.

My addition to this is that the defensive scheme with Carter/Doucoure on the floor should not be the same as the defense with Johnson on the floor.

I didn't think Pikiell had a terrible game like some posters but that was one thing that stood out. The other was a big lack of inside touches for Myles. Michigan has been getting destroyed in the post this year and we didn't really try to attack them there at all.

 

[carmenst]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

Great analysis. Thanks for sharing!

 

[goru7]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

Great analysis , and the problem was the rotations were slow and we left the corner open except for the last 9 minutes of the game. If you want to watch perfect execution watch the Minnesota tape and how we shut out Marcus Dunn and cut him off, and recovered on Oturo, and still rotated to the corners to stop the 3 . That was textbook execution and Saturday was not. Also believed John’s was not on the scouting report as the game before, until Nebraska , he hardly scored in a game and never saw him hitting threes. He killed us , with15 of his 20 in the first half . Will be interesting to see Pike’s adjustment for the rematch at the RAC on the 19th.

 

[goru7]

So coaches...what is our best defense vs Maryland

Better put tremendous ball pressure on Cowan so they do not get into their pick and roll easy, and make it hard for them to pass it down low to Smith. Kinda like our Indiana and Minnesota defense. Montez, and Jacob, and Geo have to really harass Cowan and give him nothing easy. I would attack them from the wings and drive the ball, and hopefully for once play inside out , feeding Myles the ball. As Kcg pointed out , we missed an opportunity against Michigan . Garza scored 44 and 31 points against Michigan and got Teske in foul trouble. We didn’t try enough as our guards have to do a better job feeding Myles which we have been terrible at all year.

 

[Scangg]

Something we all agree on. More post touches for Myles.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Doesn’t Smith like to hang in the perimeter, much more than Garza?

 

[goru7]

Something we all agree on. More post touches for Myles.

I really think that we are overdue for a complete game , both offensively , defensively and rebounding . We have seen some flashes of offense at home and against Iowa but also a lot of droughts within games. We have seen elite defense both home , Indiana and Minnesota, and away at Illinois. We have also seen some lax defense . I think tomorrow we put it all together. All the guys know they need a maximum effort to win tomorrow so the best of Geo, Ron, Caleb, Myles, Akwasi, Jacob , Montez have to bring it tomorrow. If Pike lessens the minutes of Paul and Shaquille tomorrow and the rest of the way , I do not think that is a bad thing. Let’s go!!!!!

 

[Scangg]

I really think that we are overdue for a complete game , both offensively , defensively and rebounding . We have seen some flashes of offense at home and against Iowa but also a lot of droughts within games. We have seen elite defense both home , Indiana and Minnesota, and away at Illinois. We have also seen some lax defense . I think tomorrow we put it all together. All the guys know they need a maximum effort to win tomorrow so the best of Geo, Ron, Caleb, Myles, Akwasi, Jacob , Montez have to bring it tomorrow. If Pike lessens the minutes of Paul and Shaquille tomorrow and the rest of the way , I do not think that is a bad thing. Let’s go!!!!!

I agree we are due for a good all around game. Especially shooting. Hope it comes against Maryland instead of Northwestern

 

[BillyC80]

I’m baffled as to why we’re so interested in analyzing our defense in this game. We allowed less than 1 point per possession, so defense was not the reason we lost. We missed 56 shots for chrissakes. Shouldn’t we spend more time analyzing the shots we took?

It’s like our baseball team’s batters left 27 men on base and we lost 2-1, and all anybody wants to talk about is how with better pitching we could have won the game by a score of 1-0. SMH.

 

[fluoxetine]

It’s because in spite of the numbers it looked really terrible.

 

[BillyC80]

It’s because in spite of the numbers it looked really terrible.

I hear ya but I gotta be honest, missing 56 shots looked pretty horrific to me.

 

[Night Man]

Myles couldn't get position

 

[fluoxetine]

I hear ya but I gotta be honest, missing 56 shots looked pretty horrific to me.

I agree but there is less interesting analysis to do there.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I'm actually surprised that the Michigan game is getting this much discussion. I think my count of the overall rankings of each player on their roster before the season was 8 Top 150 kids recruited in the last 4 classes and a 9th kid (Brazdekis) went to the NBA after 1 year who wasn't in that 150 grouping. Some left early (Jordan Poole) or were injured (Livers)

The players taking 3s (Johns, Wagner, Brooks, Simpson, Teske are not exactly scrubs and capable of hitting shots once in awhile. I don't know when Baker and Harper shoot 2-19, how this turns into a defensive discussion.

As far as Maryland being more than capable of scoring on RUs hedging, they have 9 Top 150 kids on their roster and I believe the Mitchell twins who departed may have been part of that group. Better players/athletes on Maryland vs Michigan are going to score if they hitting shots.

I am glad RU fans are holding a high profile and have an expectation to slow down a Maryland team that's undefeated at home. But if RU shoots 6-19 from Baker and Harper tonight and gets good games from Yeboah, Mathis, Young and avoid silly turnovers, they're going to be in this game tonight.

St Bona, Michigan both shot a high 3 point percentage in neutral locations, above their normal season average. If teams make shots, they're going to be more likely to win. I don't think it's overly complicated vs what defense Pike plays or doesn't.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Something we all agree on. More post touches for Myles.

We need to draw sets to get him post touches. It can't just be, get it to the wing and try to feed him, it's easy to shut off. Pike is doing Myles no favor with getting him touches in good positions.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Myles couldn't get position

I posted this in another thread, we can't just rely on Myles to always get position we have to do things to help him out. Something simple like this.


As good as garza is, mccaffrey is a GREAT coach despite being a dick, don't let that cloud your judgement. If we had mccaffrey as our coach we'd be on our way to being a top 10 team.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

The answers are related.

The gameplan is predicated on not letting opposing point guards into the paint. So against Zavier Simpson, you really don't want to let him get going right where can turn the corner and get into the lane. So when the pick gets set for him, our bigs come way out so he can't turn the corner.

This means that when the pick-man rolls (Teske, in this case) another player has to fill the paint area and "tag" the roller until Johnson gets back. This is usually someone coming from the corner. So this means the guy in the corner is open.

Brandon Johns Jr. entered yesterday as a 28% three-point shooter. That's why it was usually his defender tagging Teske and not Eli Brooks' defender.

The calculus was:

1. We're going to cut off Simpson with our big man and prevent him from getting in the lane.

2. We're going to tag Teske (or Davis) on the roll while the big man recovers. This leaves the corner open

3. If Simpson a) sees the corner open and b) can make the pass, the end result of the possession is a 28% three-point shooter taking a shot. Hopefully a semi-contested one, as Johnson will have gotten back to the paint and the tagger gets back to the corner. This is generally not a terrible result for a defensive possession.

The reason this all broke down is that our bigs were not recovering fast enough and/or not cutting off the pass inside. This was generally not a Myles Johnson problem (read between the lines). So then Michigan got some REALLY easy dunks in the lane because the big didn't recover and the tagger is just there to help until that happens, not to be a primary defender.

If the tagger DOES have to overcommit to make up for the slow rotation of the big man, then the corner is wide open. And Simpson is a good enough passer to get it there. And a 28% shooter hit 57% of his threes. (Plus Eli Brooks, a 40% shooter, shot 50%).

In the end, we only allowed 1.00 point per possession. Our defense was disruptive in terms of forcing turnovers, and 46% on two-pointers is acceptable from a defense. Brooks and Johns shooting 7-13 on three-pointers did us in. The slow rotations hurt because those shots were often not contested at all. If we semi-contest them then maybe they only shoot 5-13 (still 38%). Subtract two makes (six points) and it's a tie game.

As an X’s and O’s guy ....this is well said

 

[Shell21]

i agree,
we are very vanilla in the halfcourt and don't run many sets. We could definitely benefit from more screen the screener action and cross screens from the one just posted like Iowa runs. I'd also like to see us get Montez who is our best finishing guard in the lane some more curl action to get him going to the basket.

 

[RutgersDom]

The average can be a good defensive number but if you're getting killed against one particular play then its that play that had us "done in"

It's not like the coach should be thinking... Hey, we are getting crushed on the pick n roll every time but as long as we are playing good defense when they don't go to the pick n roll it's still good overall. No need to adjust.

IMO we could have held them to under 60 with a better gameplan against Simpson and the pick n roll. Just play off Simpson and make him shoot. Go under the screen hard to cut off his right. He isn't a confident shooter from the outside and airballed his first wide open 3 by a mile. At that point, you need to make him prove he can even draw iron on his next 3. There is a mental aspect of playing at MSG and missing so poorly on your first jumper. Sag off. Dare him to shoot. If Simpson beats you with his outside jumpshot, so be it.

KCG, nice job. I agree Scangg here as well...After it was obvious the pick and roll was hurting us we should have tried straight up man and undercut the screen. Mixed it up earlier...Having said that, they didn't score many baskets the last 8 minutes or so. It was our 3 point shooting (Too many of them) and inability to penetrate the lane that killed us...They did play good D and have some trees in the paint. I like our chances at the RAC and having played them already. Heck, Pike even said he needed to do a better job vs the pick & roll...

 

[Scangg]

I posted this in another thread, we can't just rely on Myles to always get position we have to do things to help him out. Something simple like this.


As good as garza is, mccaffrey is a GREAT coach despite being a dick, don't let that cloud your judgement. If we had mccaffrey as our coach we'd be on our way to being a top 10 team.

I like this set and could lead to some good position under the basket. We could also use this to get the ball to Caleb or Harper down low as well. Our offensive sets kinda suck which doesnt help when you dont have a team that shoots the ball well in the first place and struggles getting to the rim 1 on 1 off the dribble

 

[Big boy stan]

I’m baffled as to why we’re so interested in analyzing our defense in this game. We allowed less than 1 point per possession, so defense was not the reason we lost. We missed 56 shots for chrissakes.

I agree that as bad as the we felt watching Michigan's open 3s go in, we lost the game due to our offense. There is nothing that any coach is going to do when you can't hit your shots. Rutgers shot 35% for 2 pointers including Harper (0 for 9, yuk!), Geo, (0 for 4), MJ (2 for 7) and Yeboah (2 for 7). These 4 players have season averages of 54% (combined) but shot less then 15% Many of these were poorly contested shots that clanged off the front of the rim.

Despite the above horrible numbers, it was a 5 point game with 2-1/2 to play. If only two of the above guys shoots close to their season average, we win this game easy.

 

[rudad02]

KCG, nice job. I agree Scangg here as well...After it was obvious the pick and roll was hurting us we should have tried straight up man and undercut the screen. Mixed it up earlier...Having said that, they didn't score many baskets the last 8 minutes or so. It was our 3 point shooting (Too many of them) and inability to penetrate the lane that killed us...They did play good D and have some trees in the paint. I like our chances at the RAC and having played them already. Heck, Pike even said he needed to do a better job vs the pick & roll...

Also thought we should have played some man, but I'm 140 yrs old!