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Well after starting off being down 8 to 2, then going out to a 14-point lead, we collapsed and sucked up at loss.#sadstateofaffairs
He does not have the instinct nor the quick enough movement!got to have at least one big… I feel sorry, we get exploited at the rim every game. What happens to Rodney?
Those last 10 seconds changed the game I think. Really bad foul that kept us extremely short handed the whole 2H.left Mecca in with less than a minute to go knowing he would be ahead or close at half is beyond stupid. He does need to get racked over the coals for that one. Especially if he had decided he wasn't going to play Howard after the first half. that decision arguably turned the game. Risk that wasn't worth taking.
... Not prepping Meka for next year? Isn't that what many are asking to see?That 4th foul on Meka with 6 seconds left in the first half really hurt. It seems that Pastner is giving up on Rodney.
... Not prepping Meka for next year? Isn't that what many are asking to see?
Might be just to see how the game flows through him at that point. Then decide if it's time to fish or cut bait.Why are we starting Rodney the past few games if he’s only going to play less than 5 minutes? Is it to give a look?
@SecretAgentBuzz great summaryHey, who you calling apathetic?
This one was there for the taking. We played them close for most of the game, but fouls absolutely killed us. Remember when I said after the Clemson game something like, "When the refs let us play aggressive defense and we hit open shots, watch out!" Well, the refs were horrible in this game and called touch fouls and unexplainable fouls all game long, and we did shoot well...but only for the first half. The result was inevitable.
Here are some notes:
-27 fouls against GT, 15 fouls against Miami. This disparity is not because were we behind at the end, and not because we were more aggressive than them. We were constantly being called for ticky-tack fouls and they got away with the same stuff. I don't know how Sturdivant can drive to the basket, get position for the layup, get contact from the defender on his back, and get called for an offensive foul (his 5th!). To quote the millennials, "I can't even."
-Not only did foul trouble hurt (sitting Usher, Sturdivant, Meka, etc. when they were playing well), but Miami got to the bonus really quickly in both halves and that neutralized some of our advantage on defense. They got 26 foul shots.
-Despite the fouls (some of which, I admit, were legit fouls when we were too aggressive), I thought our defense was mostly good. Miami is good at working the ball around, have lots of guys that can get to the basket, and lots of guys that can shoot. Defending them well is hard. The biggest one that hurt us was Waardenburg...
-And he was the reason you didn't see much of Howard. No need for a offensively-challenged banger, when their big guy pops out for threes and doesn't score inside a lot. Miami is small and quick and it was the perfect chance to see more of Meka. Neither he nor Howard are going to score much, but you saw Meka's skill in this game protecting the rim. Finally, when we needed offense, Pastner said, "forget it," and just put Moore/Usher in the middle.
-I wish we would run more sets to get Kelly and Deebo free for outside shots.
-Once again, the PG spot was not an issue. Combined line: 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 5 TOs. You want a better Assist/TO ratio, but that is still a good line. These guys are both improving and playing well. I love the way Smith gets rebounds--he has some serious hops.
-One of the things that killed us in the second half--we stopped making our 3s, even when they were open. 1 of 9 ain't going to cut it. I would love to see Devoe make the extra pass a few more times like he did in the last game.
-Finally, 18 TOs is way too many. We made a few too many ill-advised passes.
This one was going to be tough, being on the road against a good Miami team. We weren't far away (until the last 2 minutes) but we still have a number of areas that need improvement. I wish we could have won, but even with the loss...I'll keep cheering. Go Jackets!