Geo’s Post-Game Comment Provides More Insight to Team Woes

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Lotta guys posting from their typewriters, sojo one of the few guys here living in 2021

 

[fluoxetine]

Basketball is a game of small margins.

Please. There is no reasonable relationship between tempo and our success that you can draw from that data and there is no particular reason to believe that a fast tempo benefits us more than it does Iowa.

 

[fluoxetine]

Is RHJ shooting the ball well...??
If you're answer is yes, then you're correct.

If the answer is NO and RHJ is 0 for his last 16 from 3 (or 1 for his last 21) ,then you would be obviously 100% wrong

I don't understand this. Harper's eFG since Jan 1 has been 39.3%. That seems bad.

 

[Pancho1939]

Imagine shooting 6-28 from 3 of which the starters accounted for 3-19 and thinking the reason why we lost is because we didnt want to get into a shootout.


Alot of those 3s were wide open standing still...

 

[RUsojo]

Please. There is no reasonable relationship between tempo and our success that you can draw from that data and there is no particular reason to believe that a fast tempo benefits us more than it does Iowa.

First Iowa game pace of 72.3 77 points allowed

Last night pace of 66.2 79 points allowed

 

[RUsojo]

Having Harper exit his slump would surely help a lot. Feeding Geo and Geo getting big numbers could help in a couple ways. There's the obvious, we'd score more. But it might also take defensive pressure off Harper and that, combined with Harper figuring out how to stop thinking about his shot entirely, could reignite Harper's game.

I think Pike probably thinks we don't go anywhere without Harper, and also that sitting Harper too much will be counter-productive to helping Harper overcome his shooting slump. Maybe sitting him for an extended time could help, but it's not a sure thing.

why do you want to get the 5th best shooter on the team more shots?

 

[zappaa]

why do you want to get the 5th best shooter on the team more shots?

I want to get him playing above the rim, rebounding and out on the fast break for alley oops,,,, I don’t care if he shoots

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Really think you guys are over thinking last night ...

we were 2 for 19 ....and go back and look in that stretch at the quality of those 19 takes ...

they were predominately very good looks ...the type that you wound expect to make 35-40% ...

a mediocre 7 for 19’insread of ice cold 2 for 19 and we are looking at a much different game ...and possibly a win

l

 

[RU at the shore]

"Shoot better from the field and/or the line."

-Summary of every loss this season

 

[RUsojo]

I want to get him playing above the rim, rebounding and out on the fast break for alley oops,,,, I don’t care if he shoots

should’ve said that the first time. Though that’s not Geos game so wouldn’t expect it LOL

 

[zappaa]

should’ve said that the first time. Though that’s not Geos game so wouldn’t expect it LOL

Obviously I meant Harper.
It will help us win

 

[RU-ROCS]

Fans can discuss playing fast or slow on offense but that doesn't address the fundamental problem of being a abysmal 3 point shooting team.This game was decided in the first five minutes when both teams were shooting bricks.Then Iowa started making 3 pointers and Rutgers was in catch up mode for the last 35 minutes of the game without the shooters to be successful.Without any semblance of consistent high double digit scoring from Harper and Baker Rutgers margin for error are very slim against any opponent with a pulse on offense.Yes,Rutgers can win grind out games when the score is in the 55- 70 point range and that is what will be needed in the six remaining games except for Michigan.which has too much talent.

Good point, but I would argue it was decided in the first 2 minutes when Johnson was called for his second foul. That really changed our offensive game plan.

 

[brucelaw8]

*THIS*
It also appears we are hesitating when shooting from 3 and that has made it worse . We get a lot of wide open early looks and turn them down.

We are an athletic team that thrived on the break for our first several games..Harper jamming when we run, led to his confidence and the teams success .Pushing tempo when not on the break is a different matter.Press and fast break is the ticket IMO.This is what can set us apart.Slow it down and rely on the three and we are dead in the water.Let's bring a little excitement back.Even get the frosh involved.That we slowed it down and beat 4 lower level teams is meaningless.Time for some fun.Time to go.

 

[fluoxetine]

First Iowa game pace of 72.3 77 points allowed

Last night pace of 66.2 79 points allowed

Seems like the problem is.. worse defense? Iowa hitting a ****ton of threes? Like you are literally just going to compare two games and claim QED? lol

 

[dpwhite]

“Team’s woes”=losing to a desperate team on a losing streak while coming off a four game win streak

 

[Caliknight]

Rutgers won't win shootouts vs Iowa

True. But we won't win a defensive stand off against them either.

We are an athletic team that thrived on the break for our first several games..Harper jamming when we run, led to his confidence and the teams success .Pushing tempo when not on the break is a different matter.Press and fast break is the ticket IMO.This is what can set us apart.Slow it down and rely on the three and we are dead in the water.Let's bring a little excitement back.Even get the frosh involved.That we slowed it down and beat 4 lower level teams is meaningless.Time for some fun.Time to go.

I would agree with this. We aren't going to win too many games being a half court based offense.

Use the one thing we do have. Athleticism and a deep bench. Press the hell out of teams forcing tempo. It's our best shot at this point.

 

[RUsojo]

Seems like the problem is.. worse defense? Iowa hitting a ****ton of threes? Like you are literally just going to compare two games and claim QED? lol

Look we can only evaluate the samples we’ve seen. This hasn’t been my main point. But this is for those who say we can’t win a shootout vs Iowa. Those that think slowing the game down and winning by defense is the way to win.

We’ve played two games against Iowa. The first game we played at a faster pace and score more points. The second game a slower pace and scored less points. In each game the defense on the other hand gave up virtually the same amount of points.

Its obviously assumed there is noise in any data and we are dealing with sample sizes. But when you can point to 2 games and clearly rule out the pace of our offense isn’t tied to our defensive (or points allowed) it should be enough to slow those people in their tracks who think otherwise.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

@RUsojo Nate Oates comes into bama and what does he do? Speeds them up and says take the first good shot you find. Result? They go from 18-16 2 years ago with equal talent to top 10 this year

Tempo:
2019 under avery johnson: 117 nationally
2021 nate oates: 9 nationally

average possession length:
2019 under avery johnson: 84th nationally
2019 under nate oates: 2nd nationally.


tempo tempo tempo.

oh and does this mean you sacrifice defense? NO. Guess whos number 1 nationally in defense? ALABAMA.

our tempo is 214th national and average possession length 158th nationally

 

[mildone]

why do you want to get the 5th best shooter on the team more shots?

5th best by which metric? By the percentages, at least up until the last game, Young was our best 3 point shooter. Yet I don't think he's our best 3 point shooter.

I'd actually have a hard time listing our best shooter based on what I've seen this season. Because it seems to fluctuate from game to game. The entire team has been inconsistent.

But also, stats overlook recent changes. Geo is now shooting way better than he was in the weeks immediately after his return from injury, right? But his stats reflect those weeks he was getting reacclimated and back into game shape. Same with McConnell, whose starting to hit 3s more regularly, and at key times.

 

[mildone]

I want to get him playing above the rim, rebounding and out on the fast break for alley oops,,,, I don’t care if he shoots

The best way to get Harper shooting well again is to get him loving the game again. And the best way to do that, when he's in a shooting slump, is for him to play really hard on D, and on the offensive glass, playing above the rim as you say. Focusing on doing those things will, ironically, probably help relax and shoot better.

I don't think sitting on the bench will help him shoot better. It *might* encourage him to play harder on D and move more without the ball on O.

 

[RUsojo]

5th best by which metric? By the percentages, at least up until the last game, Young was our best 3 point shooter. Yet I don't think he's our best 3 point shooter.

I'd actually have a hard time listing our best shooter based on what I've seen this season. Because it seems to fluctuate from game to game. The entire team has been inconsistent.

But also, stats overlook recent changes. Geo is now shooting way better than he was in the weeks immediately after his return from injury, right? But his stats reflect those weeks he was getting reacclimated and back into game shape. Same with McConnell, whose starting to hit 3s more regularly, and at key times.

5th in eFG% 5th in ts% 5th in raw fg% and 5th in 3pt%(at 29%)

 

[RUsojo]

The best way to get Harper shooting well again is to get him loving the game again. And the best way to do that, when he's in a shooting slump, is for him to play really hard on D, and on the offensive glass, playing above the rim as you say. Focusing on doing those things will, ironically, probably help relax and shoot better.

I don't think sitting on the bench will help him shoot better. It *might* encourage him to play harder on D and move more without the ball on O.

Harper loves the game right now.

The best way to get him going is play him with Young and Mathis more.

 

[fluoxetine]

Look we can only evaluate the samples we’ve seen. This hasn’t been my main point. But this is for those who say we can’t win a shootout vs Iowa. Those that think slowing the game down and winning by defense is the way to win.

We’ve played two games against Iowa. The first game we played at a faster pace and score more points. The second game a slower pace and scored less points. In each game the defense on the other hand gave up virtually the same amount of points.

Its obviously assumed there is noise in any data and we are dealing with sample sizes. But when you can point to 2 games and clearly rule out the pace of our offense isn’t tied to our defensive (or points allowed) it should be enough to slow those people in their tracks who think otherwise.

@RUsojo Nate Oates comes into bama and what does he do? Speeds them up and says take the first good shot you find. Result? They go from 18-16 2 years ago with equal talent to top 10 this year

Tempo:
2019 under avery johnson: 117 nationally
2021 nate oates: 9 nationally

average possession length:
2019 under avery johnson: 84th nationally
2019 under nate oates: 2nd nationally.


tempo tempo tempo.

oh and does this mean you sacrifice defense? NO. Guess whos number 1 nationally in defense? ALABAMA.

our tempo is 214th national and average possession length 158th nationally

Ok, I'm going to reset a bit here because I don't want to stick myself arguing a position I don't believe in just because I think the data presented was pretty laughable.

I agree we should play faster in the half-court and should not pass up open shots. I also agree that we play better when we play faster. Over the last three seasons, the average tempo of our wins has been 69.07, and the losses has been 67.89. That difference is a lot more significant over a bigger sample than lol 6.

However, I don't believe we are actually winning those games because we play faster in the half-court. Pikiell's rather slow half-court offense is a constant. Rather, what happens is:

Better defense => Transition offense => better and faster game

 

[mildone]

Harper loves the game right now.

The best way to get him going is play him with Young and Mathis more.

No, he absolutely isn't loving the game right now. If asked he might say he does. He might even think he does, who knows.

But his body language, his facial expressions, his movement off the ball, and his shooting form are often about as far from love as it gets. He's in a slump right now.

I'm not sure how playing with two players who are also struggling is going to help him. Not saying it won't. Just not seeing it. I don't much like how Young and Mathis are playing when on the court at the same time lately.

But who knows, maybe it'll somehow help all three of them.

 

[Caliknight]

Look we can only evaluate the samples we’ve seen. This hasn’t been my main point. But this is for those who say we can’t win a shootout vs Iowa. Those that think slowing the game down and winning by defense is the way to win.

We’ve played two games against Iowa. The first game we played at a faster pace and score more points. The second game a slower pace and scored less points. In each game the defense on the other hand gave up virtually the same amount of points.

Its obviously assumed there is noise in any data and we are dealing with sample sizes. But when you can point to 2 games and clearly rule out the pace of our offense isn’t tied to our defensive (or points allowed) it should be enough to slow those people in their tracks who think otherwise.

When you have an athletic team where you can play 10 guys if you wanted, that can't shoot from the outside, speeding up the game is actually a better move than forcing half court offense. Iowa is surgical. Slowing them down plays right into their hands. They get to run their offense which they do with precision.

Pike deciding to slow the team down played right into Iowa's hands. It's the most consistent chance we have to score.

Slowing it down was waving a white flag. I like PIke a lot, but sometimes coaches are their own worst enemies.

 

[S_Janowski]

Look we can only evaluate the samples we’ve seen. This hasn’t been my main point. But this is for those who say we can’t win a shootout vs Iowa. Those that think slowing the game down and winning by defense is the way to win.

We’ve played two games against Iowa. The first game we played at a faster pace and score more points. The second game a slower pace and scored less points. In each game the defense on the other hand gave up virtually the same amount of points.

Its obviously assumed there is noise in any data and we are dealing with sample sizes. But when you can point to 2 games and clearly rule out the pace of our offense isn’t tied to our defensive (or points allowed) it should be enough to slow those people in their tracks who think otherwise.

It’s easier to play faster when you shoot better than 21% from 3, out rebound the opponent and force more than 10 turnovers.

We did none of the above. When we do the above, or a combination of the above, we are a much better team.

You keep saying we should have played with a higher tempo which I don’t disagree with.... but not sure why you don’t realize our tempo is usually driven by our defense and rebounding (our strengths)....not on the offensive side of the ball (our weakness).

 

[brucelaw8]

I want to get him playing above the rim, rebounding and out on the fast break for alley oops,,,, I don’t care if he shoots

There you go.Easy hoops = confidence.

 

[Pancho1939]

Didnt we just win 4 of our last 5? Tough crowd

 

[Westcoast]

Ron’s offensive inconsistency has nothing to do with pre injury or post injury and everything to do with the offense playing with tempo and playing the majority of his minutes early in the year with Young and Mathis.

You are speculating here.