Bench play

#26
#26
wmcovol said:
Barnes has shifted to playing his top offensive 5 players at the start. This is great until you make a couple replacements such as Key, Mashack and Uros. Those 3 together will really struggle plus make it tougher for the 2 starters left out to score. Key has gotten considerably worse not starting.

Someone asked Red Auerbach why he always had a great “6th man”. He said “i intentionally don’t start my 5 best cause I want my team to get better when I make my first sub & at the same time my opponent weakens when they make theirs”.
Click to expand...
2 things…

1. We started with those 5 against Florida but started horribly, if you have a horrible start you’re hamstringed because you want to sub to make a point but you’re also making your team worse while doing so. I like starting our best 5, but they have to come out of the gate better than that.

2. You absolutely can not play Key, Mashack & Plav together…ideally you’d only play 1 of them at a time, but there’s just no way you can put those 3 out there together, it’s a horrendous disadvantage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong and TennEddie
#27
#27
I really think the coaching staff feels Plav and Key are basically "starters" and are not drop-offs from the starting 5, based on how they talk in their interviews.

I agree totally with starting the best 5, which is what has been the case last few games. I think the key is ZZ. He has to start with a better mindset, against
Fla he started the game looking lackadaisical or emotionless, which I have never seen him do before. Almost like he was feeling sick. Has he hit a wall from all the minutes he has been playing?

Barnes needs to find a better way of getting the players motivated at the beginning, not just at half-time.
 
#28
#28
IMO that 'go to' guy we are missing this yr is Chandler. He could make something happen when you needed a basket anytime. I was thinking Santi could be that guy this yr but he is not. I think Phillips has the Chandler dribble / drive ability but has not shown he can be dependable with that. Key has been a real disappointment. Guess I had misguided hopes for him. Guess ZZ is the closest to being that guy.
 
#29
#29
bleedingTNorange said:
2 things…

1. We started with those 5 against Florida but started horribly, if you have a horrible start you’re hamstringed because you want to sub to make a point but you’re also making your team worse while doing so. I like starting our best 5, but they have to come out of the gate better than that.

2. You absolutely can not play Key, Mashack & Plav together…ideally you’d only play 1 of them at a time, but there’s just no way you can put those 3 out there together, it’s a horrendous disadvantage.
Click to expand...

But on occasion, key & Mashack are out there together with Uros/Aidoo and that doesn’t work.
 
#30
#30
wmcovol said:
But on occasion, key & Mashack are out there together with Uros/Aidoo and that doesn’t work.
Click to expand...
Right, they need to stop doing it. If Mashack is only going to play 3-5mpg then it’s pretty easy to avoid putting him out there alongside Uros.
 
#31
#31
jeff1vol said:
That's where all that "depth" is supposed to come in. We are in dire need of an Alpha that isn't 5'9" tall.
Click to expand...
Thinking about who that alpha could be on this team, it would have to come from either JJJ or ON, or less likely Phillips. I don't see any other possibilities, do you?
 
#32
#32
jeff1vol said:
Great. Consistency is the key. Do you know that Awaka has more points in the last 3 games than JJJ??? But I'm SURE that JJJ averages more, right? Realizing what really matters is difficult. BTW... I wonder what those averages would be if you took the scrub teams on the schedule out of the equation. You gotta show up every game and beside ZZ, we havent had that guy even with all that "depth".
Click to expand...

Have no idea what you are talking about. How ever you want to math, Awaka has not outscored JJJ in the last 3 games.

In 6 of 14 games, JJJ has scored at least 12 points, including 22 against LSU and 14 against Texas.
Vescovi has scored 10+ points in 10 games, including 20 against Kansas, 22 against Ole Miss, 13 against UK, and 12 against Texas.
ON has scored 10+ points in 11 games, including 12 against USC, 16 against Arizona, and 27 against Texas.
Phillips scored 25 against USC, 15 against Vandy, and 18 against MSU.
Key scored 10 against Kansas, 9 against Maryland, and 8 against Arizona.

I listed games that were not against "scrub" teams. Some of you seriously don't research or look at anything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: walkenvol
#33
#33
youcancallmeAl said:
Thinking about who that alpha could be on this team, it would have to come from either JJJ or ON, or less likely Phillips. I don't see any other possibilities, do you?
Click to expand...

JJJ is good solid player but there is nothing alpha about him. The mental side of the game is his weakness
 
#34
#34
VolGee4 said:
Have no idea what you are talking about. How ever you want to math, Awaka has not outscored JJJ in the last 3 games.

In 6 of 14 games, JJJ has scored at least 12 points, including 22 against LSU and 14 against Texas.
Vescovi has scored 10+ points in 10 games, including 20 against Kansas, 22 against Ole Miss, 13 against UK, and 12 against Texas.
ON has scored 10+ points in 11 games, including 12 against USC, 16 against Arizona, and 27 against Texas.
Phillips scored 25 against USC, 15 against Vandy, and 18 against MSU.
Key scored 10 against Kansas, 9 against Maryland, and 8 against Arizona.

I listed games that were not against "scrub" teams. Some of you seriously don't research or look at anything.
Click to expand...
That is exactly what they said on the knoxville sports radio just this AM. I didn't bother to look it up, so if I'm wrong I apologize.
 
#35
#35
In my view, a problem with this team is that we're only playing 3 1/2 guards (ZZ, Santi, Key, and I'm counting Mashack as the 1/2 because he's only playing 4-5 minutes a game). ZZ played 36 vs. Florida, SV played 37. ZZ played 37 vs Texas, SV played 35. I think both of those guys would benefit from getting down to 30ish minutes vs. quality opponents, but you can't sub out both of them simultaneously, because then you're basically helpless offensively. But that means you gotta be willing to play Mashack a bit more, I would think.

There has been a theory bandied about for years that the reason Barnes' teams struggle in March is because they're just gassed - his practices are notoriously tough and their legs are gone. Not saying I buy into that, but it's a thought.
 
#36
#36
ColinS said:
JJJ is good solid player but there is nothing alpha about him. The mental side of the game is his weakness
Click to expand...
Yep, James is a rock solid college basketball player. But he is only aggressive on defensive end. Good rebounder and great teammate. On offense, he screams passive by shooting 54% of his FG attempts from 3 pt shot and only averaging 1.7 FTA per game. With his size and decent ball handling would think it would be different. He has developed a very nice midrange game from 2nd half of last year on, but he is on again/off again with his shot and when it isn’t falling he has no other alternative to score….ie: driving to the rim and getting to the FT line. Very good complementary player who doesn’t have to score to contribute but he isn’t a go to player.
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl and ColinS
#37
#37
ColinS said:
JJJ is good solid player but there is nothing alpha about him. The mental side of the game is his weakness
Click to expand...

The mental side of his game is his weakness?? Really?? Have you ever even glanced at his stat sheets? No way a guy with a low basketball IQ can stuff a sheet like that.
 
#38
#38
youcancallmeAl said:
The mental side of his game is his weakness?? Really?? Have you ever even glanced at his stat sheets? No way a guy with a low basketball IQ can stuff a sheet like that.
Click to expand...

Mental toughness and basketball IQ are too different things. JJJ is mentally soft. He is scared to drive and has missed a gauntlet of point blank layups in his career.
 
#39
#39
ColinS said:
Mental toughness and basketball IQ are too different things. JJJ is mentally soft. He is scared to drive and has missed a gauntlet of point blank layups in his career.
Click to expand...

LOL. He's the team's best rebounder and defender. That doesn't describe someone who's mentally soft.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top