The Official #7 Tennessee vs. Syracuse Game Thread, 2:30 PM ET, ESPN2

#903
#903
johnfnkelly said:
Gainey should be starting at the 1. The offense just flows more cohesively when Gainey is in. I hate seeing our offense look so stale to start games with Mashack starting, but it’s clear I’m in the minority.
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We get it. You think Gainey should be starting over Mashack. I’m a big fan of Gainey’s but Mashack does so many things well. I think you need to consider the whole package
 
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#905
#905
The Vin Man said:
We get it. You think Gainey should be starting over Mashack. I’m a big fan of Gainey’s but Mashack does so many things well. I think you need to consider the whole package
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IMO Mashack has become an integral part of our team on both ends of the floor. He’s our best defender IMO and he needs to be on the floor as much as possible. Really like what the coaching staff has done with this young man.
 
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#906
#906
The Vin Man said:
We get it. You think Gainey should be starting over Mashack. I’m a big fan of Gainey’s but Mashack does so many things well. I think you need to consider the whole package
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It’s also important to consider who they’re sharing the court with. The other starters have offensive firepower in spades so it’s easier to slide mashak into those lineups. You need Gainey’s scoring punch more with the second unit.
 
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#910
#910
PKT_VOL said:
Trying to get the whole tournament fit into 3 days (Monday - Wednesday). There are 4 games to be played in Round 1. The last game can start at 11:30pm EST at the latest. Work backwards from there and adjust for the Hawaiian time difference.

We just happened to draw the shortest straw with the times slot but luckily didn't have a rough Round 1 opponent.
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Good explanation. I was going to post this too along with the world is round and spins! 🤣
 
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#912
#912
The Vin Man said:
We get it. You think Gainey should be starting over Mashack. I’m a big fan of Gainey’s but Mashack does so many things well. I think you need to consider the whole package
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I agree. I love what Mashack brings--but Gainey is a good defender himself, maybe not quite as good/physical as Mashack--but quick and sold, and of course he's a lot better offensive player.

Bilas pegged Awaka's weakness early in the game when he said that the UT big needs to stop trying to get closer to the basket and just go up quickly when he gets the ball. Get the shot off--don't dither with the ball. Dithering in the paint is not good, by anybody--too many defenders around. Neither of our centers are natural offensive players, and that is probably the biggest weakness of this team, IMO.
 
#913
#913
turbovol said:
I agree. I love what Mashack brings--but Gainey is a good defender himself, maybe not quite as good/physical as Mashack--but quick and sold, and of course he's a lot better offensive player.

Bilas pegged Awaka's weakness early in the game when he said that the UT big needs to stop trying to get closer to the basket and just go up quickly when he gets the ball. Get the shot off--don't dither with the ball. Dithering in the paint is not good, by anybody--too many defenders around. Neither of our centers are natural offensive players, and that is probably the biggest weakness of this team, IMO.
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As long as Aidoo does close to what he did today, then we are fine. He can hit the mid-range and occasionally a three. We don’t need Awaka to be dynamic offensively. His job is to rebound the basketball.
 
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#915
#915
johnfnkelly said:
Gainey should be starting at the 1. The offense just flows more cohesively when Gainey is in. I hate seeing our offense look so stale to start games with Mashack starting, but it’s clear I’m in the minority.
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I don't completely disagree, and wouldn't be opposed to either guy starting. I think Gainey brings some offensive punch off the bench that Mashack lacks. I don't have a preference who starts, I guess. They played almost identical minutes, today. Gainey did play his worst game of the year, today.
 
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#916
#916
ColinS said:
I said we won this game by having our older players step up and play well. We didn't play a deep rotation at all especially in the second half. We are agreeing on this.
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But what everybody is trying to communicate to you is that nobody would play a deep rotation with three rotation players already out! The point is that a rotation that can withstand three players being out and still carry a game is a deep rotation! Deep can mean 8-9 solid players or 4-5 really good players who can win a game for you. We’ve got both, as opposed to being completely reliant on our starting five or one one player to carry us
 
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#918
#918
Hard to see us beating Purdue without Awaka to give us some size--and fouls--against him. Aidoo will either foul out by halftime or their giant
will be scoring a lot.....Tough break.
 
#919
#919
Vol49er said:
But what everybody is trying to communicate to you is that nobody would play a deep rotation with three rotation players already out! The point is that a rotation that can withstand three players being out and still carry a game is a deep rotation! Deep can mean 8-9 solid players or 4-5 really good players who can win a game for you. We’ve got both, as opposed to being completely reliant on our starting five or one one player to carry us
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I have already acknowledged what you are saying. At first I thought yall were saying we wore them down with depth which is not the case. Our depth allowed us to finish the game with three guys out is what was meant. I see that point.
 
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#922
#922
Today my player of the game award goes to Estrella for the rebounds and toughness that he provided when Awaka went out of the game with his injury.

Tennessee will need Estrella to perform big against Edey tomorrow night.

Aidoo just needs to stay down low and bang with Edey while Mashack and JJJ guard Jones who is the transfer from Southern Illinois.
 
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#924
#924
Obviously Edey is going to be a problem, but we can beat these guys if we shoot well and don’t have careless turnovers. I would run Edey all game long off defensive rebounds. Aidoo, Estrella and maybe Phillips need to have their track shoes on and get up the floor. Aidoo will have a ton of open looks in half court facing up.

Defensively it will be interesting to see how Barnes plays Edey. I would bring help off the weak side if/when he puts the ball on the floor. If he doesn’t put ball on the floor play him straight up. Can’t let him live on FT line. We could play them with small ball at times and double team him immediately in post.
 
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