Without re-creating the wheel - the two easiest adjustments/instructions we could use to improve our play.
I read the first couple paragraphs and mostly agree but now I have to take my daughter for a scooter ride. But I’d just like to point out the title of my favorite Xtina song is actually Genie in a Bottle
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Can we get an bonus Cuts on interpreting the Rohde points on offense?
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She saw all of this coming.
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What do you mean?
It’s really weird that Rohde went from last season’s shooting to being at his most effective as a catch and shoot player this year, eh?
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Watch how he is constantly pointing on offense.
I have always felt he is reaction guy shooting. Like the long threes at end of shot clock with no time to think he has been making. Also was good off the dribble at St Andrews
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Oh his literal pointing!
I thought you meant his points in the box score.
Rohde is shooting 45% from three this year which is wild - like almost a 20% improvement. His release is quick - I’d like him to shoot more if he’s gonna be out there.
He does direct traffic probably more than anyone. I could pay more attention to that iirc it’s mostly telling people where to fill space/go along with setting up ball screens.
His shots were a bit out of control in the lane this game but I have been wanting to see him be more aggressive there. I didn’t mind that as much. Really most aggression that doesn’t end in a midrange jumper or a turnover I’m for at this point.
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It’s a classic Read and Point, but DO NOT React, offense
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I’ve now read the first part, and my only reaction is: SHOOT IT! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S GOOD AND HOLY, SHOOT THE GOSH DARN BALL!
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I seriously contemplated just posting the clips without any explanation aside from “Shoot it!”
But then I realized that was just the holiday lazies.
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IMac not shooting after Rohde flipped him the ball and screened off his man caused me physical pain, especially since American hit a 3 on us with that exact same action.
Not sure what to think of Cofie’s shot. If these two games with 0 3PA came right after his 5-game 0-fer run, I’d say his green light got changed to yellow or red, but he had two games where he went 1-for-2 to break his streak of misses.
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Loved the piece.
I don’t disagree with most of your premises.
- I agree that we need to take good shots, not wait for great. This is a legacy that Ron should abandon. Drove me crazy when TB teams did it, but with greater discipline and better guard play, it hurt, but we (usually) compensated. With this team, it just hurts.
(I would add, though, that in many of the clips you feature, there is no-one in rebounding position for a miss. Whether that explains the choice not to shoot or not, IDK, but it’s probably a factor. There are solutions to this other than passing up the shot all the time [like crashing the boards on the shot], but we aren’t employing them). - I hear you on leaning in to the size, but that’s probably too drastic a change to implement mid-season. I think this is a coaching failure – Ron is trying to run Tony’s systems with tweaks, but we don’t have the personnel for it, which he should have realized. We don’t have a natural “3” in the TB system - we have a 1, a 1.5, and a 2, which is the general floor shape we seem to be trying to run, but we don’t have the ball-handling skills at the 1.5 and the 2 to run it effectively. Shifting to a more pass and cut oriented offense (some kind of Princeton variant) with bigger players and a more traditional 3 (into which role you could shoehorn Murray or Sanders) would probably play more to our strengths
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I like that. 1 a 1.5 and a 2
One thing I can add having played. Just shoot it! Is harder than we all may think
Since its a sport, not golf, people are guarding you and usually trying not to let you shoot a shot you can maybe make
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I suspect it’s very hard! But the question is whether it’ll get easier by just waiting around and dribbling/passing around the perimeter.
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Well thats another story. And Cuts brings that out really well
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I also think the social element of a team’s dynamics is underrated.
What is considered a “good shot” by the coaches? Do younger players think they should defer to the vets? Do some guys not want to feel like they’re hogging the opportunity?
That’s why it’s on the coaches to put this stuff up in the film room and say in front of everyone what needs to be a shot. Scold guys who don’t shoot those shots. It eliminates the other dynamics because Coach is going to get on me if I don’t.
The way the team is playing it’s pretty clear that’s not happening.
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Cuts, what about tallying an unofficial team and player stat for good shots declined (GSD)? “IMac continues to lead Rohde with a 48% GSD rate vs. 43% for Rohde. Cofie is climbing the ranks of late and has registered 12 GSDs in the last 2 games. Overall, the Team rate has stabilized at 40% which is at the bottom of Coach Sanchez’s target number of 40-50%.”
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Yeah - I love this.
Great as always. I do think a bit of humility as it pertains toTaine is justified. He’s played two nice games in a row and played hard. Hard to delegate him to mop up minutes when he plays like that, especially if we aren’t doing it to develop younger players who likely won’t be here in the future anyway.
From my last piece against Memphis:
“Taine Murray taught me a lesson with regard to this team. We can’t afford to sit any of our ten guys who regularly get minutes. It highlights that our guard play has been so inconsistent on a game-by-game basis and we’re just not good enough to view anything as the definitive answer. Of course, the piece after I write about how I’d use Taine so much less, he plays his best game as a Cavalier! That was cool to see, and admittedly when I saw him warming up at the scorer’s table and things had been going well for us, I was worried that he would derail our momentum. Quite the opposite, he was our only guard who consistently made something positive happen on the offensive side of the ball. His straight-line attack showed back up, and he was playing with confidence.”
And followed that with a whole section showcasing him playing well against Memphis.
I’m curious as to what from this recent piece made you think I was being hard on Taine (genuinely, not being confrontational).
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