Fri Feb 09, 2024 1:33 pm
Chicagojayfan wrote:HandDownManDown wrote:Everyone here is grasping for straws, and doesn’t fully understand where things are now.
We will be straight up purchasing 1-2 starters a year. This year it was Ashworth, Baylor before him, Hawkins before that. When you factor in guys like Johnson and McAndrew - expected to be impact players from the moment they get here, a la Art/Trey/Nembhard - we don’t need future starters the way we used to. In fact it would be better to hire specialists who realize their role than wanna be feature players who can’t feature.
Whether or not Green stays isn’t as large a matter as what minutes he can give NOW. And that’s in question. Making a few hustle plays doesn’t make you playable, just ask Fred.
The evidence we have is that Green is in for a spot weld to hold things together for a quick minute or two. I’ll leave it to Mac to know whether or not he’s capable of more - and with our situation of our bench being what it is and the 4 spot being what that is, it’s damning that he can’t get in.
If we are looking to buy 2 starters (or more) a year, then we might be in trouble, but I can see us looking for one person as immediate fit for some need every year. This year was a bit of an exception in that we had 3 legitimate NBA prospects possibly coming back and needed to fill holes around them, but even then we only bought a PG
Anyway, I do think there is still a need to develop players and get them to learn to play. Remember Kalkbrenner didn't start as a Freshman, and played 13-14 mpg or so. Trey only started 13 games his freshman year, so there's still a need for development to take place, and in particular there are guys who are good athletes and have skills, but need physical development
Outside of the past few games the 4 spot has been a solid contributor this year, and I think they'll get back into the flow here as well
A quick comparison:
Kaluma last year:
30 mpg, 11.8 ppg, 6 rebounds a game, 1.6 assists, Usage 23.2%
Miller + Traudt this year:
34.7mpg, 9.5 ppg, 5.7 rebounds a game, 1 assist, Usage 12.5
and that's including the downturn these past few games. They are being productive with having almost no plays run for them and deferring to every other guy on the court for offense
But with all of that said, I'm hoping that we work Green in more and play Traudt more as the backup 5 also. Dropping Bello's minutes to around 20mpg helps us in a number of ways and think he's more effective like that
Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:36 pm
#RollJays wrote:...
The lack of defensive rebounding from that position has hurt a lot lately.
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:02 pm
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:22 pm
Outlaw_Wales wrote:Chicago -
Is there ANYTHING at all that you are willing to agree is a concern, weakness, limit, problem with this team? Absolutely anything that anyone suggests as a problem is immediately met with you saying “but” … last year / earlier this year / historically / on the whole …
I’m genuinely curious if you think there is anything at all that is a fair criticism or concern?
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:25 pm
Outlaw_Wales wrote:Chicago -
Is there ANYTHING at all that you are willing to agree is a concern, weakness, limit, problem with this team? Absolutely anything that anyone suggests as a problem is immediately met with you saying “but” … last year / earlier this year / historically / on the whole …
I’m genuinely curious if you think there is anything at all that is a fair criticism or concern?
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:27 pm
bluejayfan00 wrote:Outlaw_Wales wrote:Chicago -
Is there ANYTHING at all that you are willing to agree is a concern, weakness, limit, problem with this team? Absolutely anything that anyone suggests as a problem is immediately met with you saying “but” … last year / earlier this year / historically / on the whole …
I’m genuinely curious if you think there is anything at all that is a fair criticism or concern?
Bravo
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:33 pm
Chicagojayfan wrote:#RollJays wrote:...
The lack of defensive rebounding from that position has hurt a lot lately.
It definitely hurt us in the Providence game, but for the year we've generally done a very good job (30th on Bartorvik in defensive rebounding), but we've had a few games where we really struggled this year - UConn, Bama, and Marquette in particular (although this first half of Providence was just as bad, just did better second half.
It does look like we were more consistent last year, but UConn ripped us on the boards last year as did Xavier on the road, and Providence as well once
Wish I had some explanation for why we've struggled in certain games. We do tend to bounce back well after those games though (I'm sure the coaches make it a point of emphasis) so that might bode well for the Xavier game
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:47 pm
Chicagojayfan wrote:
Outside of the past few games the 4 spot has been a solid contributor this year, and I think they'll get back into the flow here as well
A quick comparison:
Kaluma last year:
30 mpg, 11.8 ppg, 6 rebounds a game, 1.6 assists, Usage 23.2%
Miller + Traudt this year:
34.7mpg, 9.5 ppg, 5.7 rebounds a game, 1 assist, Usage 12.5
and that's including the downturn these past few games. They are being productive with having almost no plays run for them and deferring to every other guy on the court for offense
Fri Feb 09, 2024 4:09 pm
HandDownManDown wrote:Also, everyone talking about our lack of bench should look straight at the Lawson whiff as the primary culprit. Everyone except Kalk could be playing less minutes if he could give us 20 (Baylor sliding over to the 4 if needed) but since he can’t we are in a huge bind.
That’s where the problem lies, because that roster spot was where some of the depth optimism was originating from. It also goes to show how narrow the margin is between surviving and thriving.
Fri Feb 09, 2024 4:11 pm
mannygakou wrote:Chicagojayfan wrote:#RollJays wrote:...
The lack of defensive rebounding from that position has hurt a lot lately.
It definitely hurt us in the Providence game, but for the year we've generally done a very good job (30th on Bartorvik in defensive rebounding), but we've had a few games where we really struggled this year - UConn, Bama, and Marquette in particular (although this first half of Providence was just as bad, just did better second half.
It does look like we were more consistent last year, but UConn ripped us on the boards last year as did Xavier on the road, and Providence as well once
Wish I had some explanation for why we've struggled in certain games. We do tend to bounce back well after those games though (I'm sure the coaches make it a point of emphasis) so that might bode well for the Xavier game
The rebounding rate has generally been acceptable but the last two games have exposed the 4 position's inability to defend versatile wings. Unlike with Kaluma, or even when Bello is on the floor, there's a huge issue with switching on defense as Miller/Traudt have poor lateral quickness and aren't strong defending in the paint. Any of the per/40 stats highlighting their offensive production is weak, at best, because their combined efficiency during conference play has been below average.
Hopefully Miller is able to find his stroke again. He hasn't scored since the first Xavier game (granted 3 games, but he's 56 minutes since in that span).