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Defense/offense and the catch-22

IL Lusciato

Heisman Winner
Gold Member
Oct 31, 2011
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12,536
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Newark, NJ
It's sometimes so crazy to watch this team, because one day it looks like they are completely within themselves and very tough to beat, and the next day they look completely overmatched and incapable of even making it respectable.

I think we all know it - but it just seems to boil down to maintaining energy, and applying that energy consistently to Defense and rebounding.

Yesterday, we clearly came in on a mission, and it showed. Our rebounding and defensive intensity was ridiculous for most of the game. Myles had some solid points, but for the most part he was just an absolute beast on the defensive boards. Jacob was insane on defense, etc.

I'm not saying anything we all don't know - but I think it's clear at this point that when the shots are falling, the kids clearly feed off of that and it helps maintain the defensive energy, which in reality, is how this team wins games, and how Pike has built this team. Yesterday, we started off slow offensively, but bc of the urgency of what the game meant or whatever else, the team was able to maintain the defense anyway, and eventually the shots were falling, and we had fast break opportunities etc. That then kept feeding our energy on the other end.

I think this season has partly been more inconsistent bc of no fans. It's easier to maintain defensive energy when the RAC is rocking, with or without great offense. Without that, and without shots falling, and with this insane COVID lifestyle, it's probably just hard on some days for them to keep up on the defensive end.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see if with fans back in, Pike can still rely on racking up wins at home and worrying mostly about defense, or if he can get a few of these young guys to be consistent shooters, bring an assistant in to help with offense, etc., So that we don't have to worry that stagnant offense is going to completely stifle our energy and effort on the defensive end on any given night. It isn't easy to play defense in basketball....it's constant and relentless, esp with some of the offensive teams in this league.

Anyway, kind of a rambling post, but I thought it was quite clear yesterday that we played as the team we "know". The team Pike built, from the defense out, and it just seems like when there has been a problem, it's been the intensity on that end, and alot boils down to that, and trying to maintain that.
 
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