Can we agree this talented kid needs to take some threes and jump shots, and make a few so he can beat his defender off the dribble.
Paul
- Thread starter zappaa
- Start date
I believe in the off-season he said something to the effect of he wasn’t able to “be me”. And was excited for the opportunity to Show everyone what he could really do. Only speculating but sounded like that meant he wanted to do more scoring. Pikiell when asked about the quote…brushed it off.
So either
A) injury is limiting him ability/ confidence wise
B) Pike is happy with him playing in a similar fashion and not taking more shots
C) he just has gotten comfortable and familiar playing a certain way and has not been able to change his approach even though he wants to.
So either
A) injury is limiting him ability/ confidence wise
B) Pike is happy with him playing in a similar fashion and not taking more shots
C) he just has gotten comfortable and familiar playing a certain way and has not been able to change his approach even though he wants to.
First of all I do not think he is so talented. Foot speed is slow, gets beat on defense. Second has no offensive game ,backs down the defender in the lane and either gets stripped of the ball or has to toss it out. Probably would not start on any other Big team.
Paul shooting helps Cliff, and the entire team most.
We just lost a game where he didn’t take a shot outside the paint
I agree
Career Paul is 58/160 from 3, 36.3% and over 50% from 2
CLIFF is averaging more 3 point attempts per game than Paul
Mag is averaging more 3 point attempts per game than Paul
He needs to shoot more, he's better at it than guys who are shooting more than he is
Yea I agree. My point was Paul made a statement that makes me believe he would agree as well.
So not sure why it’s not happening.
I think the injury is impacting him more than we know
Ok, that’s why he was all big 10 last year.
A few thoughts
1. Paul really doesn't get a lot of space to shoot. He isn't perceived as a threat to beat people off the dribble. In addition, the key to really slowing down Rutgers in the half court is pushing out perimeter players and take them outside of where they want to run offense.
2. Paul has shown he can take and make open and mildly guarded 3s. He hasn't shown the ability to make "volume shots"
The goal is to make 3s and not take them for the sake of taking them.
The Rutgers 2022-23 reality is we don't have a lot of skill and ability on the offensive end. That is why I think we have to be an elite defensive team hoping to score just enough points. Given what I have seen so far of Simpson I disagree with the alternative sentiment that he needs to be out there. With that being said I completely respect and understand where it is coming from.
1. Paul really doesn't get a lot of space to shoot. He isn't perceived as a threat to beat people off the dribble. In addition, the key to really slowing down Rutgers in the half court is pushing out perimeter players and take them outside of where they want to run offense.
2. Paul has shown he can take and make open and mildly guarded 3s. He hasn't shown the ability to make "volume shots"
The goal is to make 3s and not take them for the sake of taking them.
The Rutgers 2022-23 reality is we don't have a lot of skill and ability on the offensive end. That is why I think we have to be an elite defensive team hoping to score just enough points. Given what I have seen so far of Simpson I disagree with the alternative sentiment that he needs to be out there. With that being said I completely respect and understand where it is coming from.
Just to keep in the back of people's minds.......
A little RU short term history
Start of 2021-22
Simpson have early good games
Paul and Caleb are awful and fans want Hyatt and Jones
Geo gets hurt and fans think we are better without him
We blow a lead to MASS (without Geo) and Pike changes rotation
We start winning and Paul and Caleb and Geo are liked again
Paul goes on a 4 1/2 game stretch where he is Magic Johnson
He and others tire down the stretch and we lose in B1GT and NCAAs
Start of 2022-23
Fans think Reiber is starting 4
Spencer and Simpson have early good games
There are threads saying Simpson is better than Geo and Cam will easily replace Ron
Fans are certain this year will be better than last year. There is more ball movement
Paul gets hurt and we can't win without him.
Paul is back and we can't win with him.
A little RU short term history
Start of 2021-22
Simpson have early good games
Paul and Caleb are awful and fans want Hyatt and Jones
Geo gets hurt and fans think we are better without him
We blow a lead to MASS (without Geo) and Pike changes rotation
We start winning and Paul and Caleb and Geo are liked again
Paul goes on a 4 1/2 game stretch where he is Magic Johnson
He and others tire down the stretch and we lose in B1GT and NCAAs
Start of 2022-23
Fans think Reiber is starting 4
Spencer and Simpson have early good games
There are threads saying Simpson is better than Geo and Cam will easily replace Ron
Fans are certain this year will be better than last year. There is more ball movement
Paul gets hurt and we can't win without him.
Paul is back and we can't win with him.
He did for a 4 1/2 game stretch in B1G play. There was an end game where Pike actually put the ball in his hands while Geo and Ron watched.
Paul is a good shooter when he is wide open…which is rarely or never with this offense. He can’t create a shot for himself or shoot off the dribble. We don’t or can’t run anyone off screens or our real shooter, Spencer, would be scoring. Paul’s shooting doesn’t matter because he can’t get a shot.
Paul can still be the point guard, call the plays, and move people around in attempt to set up the offense as soon as he crosses mid court.
His first pass immediately makes him in off guard where he should be looking for his shot without the ball
His first pass immediately makes him in off guard where he should be looking for his shot without the ball
I watch a lot of B1G basketball games, especially when we’re winning.
Don’t know how you’d keep the stat but based on vision alone our 3 point attempts are BY FAR (that’s a big deal) the most contested/guarded shots of any team in the league.
Northwestern against anyone gets a ton of wide open 3s, so does PSU.
We are rarely, sometimes never wide open.
Truthfully, all of Cams in and outs, not getting the friendly roll 3s on Sunday we’re not wide open looks
I don't think any power conference has a starting 3 guards/wings like Paul, Cam and Caleb. Has to be the slowest, off the dribble, out of them all.
That does not surprise me in the least. Way too many role players on this team without complete skill sets but it says even more about our anemic offensive scheme (or lack thereof). Take a close look at the passing on this team. It’s horrible. Occasionally, we swing the ball decently and a good pass would set up a shot and the pass winds up being at the player’s feet and the opportunity is lost. Lots of missing fundamentals and details.
He is not quick enough to beat a PG off the dribble. When he tried against SH he couldn't beat the kid and ended up stuck at the base line.
Agree. Stated such in a separate thread regarding over passing. He has to be more balanced between shooting and passing; teams are defending his passes more than his threat to shoot. He has a height advantage on most everyone guarding him. Has great footwork as well to get off shots in the lane or when posting up or as an off guard (as you state) after an initial pass.
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Make a few jump shots and that changes how they guard him
Totally agree while adding it's gotta be tough to put together an effective offensive scheme when you have so many players who can't dribble/pass/shoot/make good decisions and effectively implement team concepts.
Woolfolk and Simpson have the potential to have more complete skill sets than most of our rotation guys now,
hopefully Chol too.
We are headed in the right direction but for now, it's ugly offensively.
I don't know why there aren't more Pikiell/Rutgers to Calhoun/Uconn comparisons.
There are a lot of similarities to early Calhoun/Uconn, hard-nosed, defense-first teams with limited guys who were solid role players and always bad in half-court offense
Dean had a wide open look and made it.
We never saw that again.
I would have gone to him until they covered it
We never saw that again.
I would have gone to him until they covered it
They did cover him better a couple of times when he received the ball at the three point line but I still want to see Dean in there more and even as a 4; as a 5 he is also a WAY better passer than Cliff who when he gets doubled either never passes out of the double or when he does its a turnover
I understand the point of your post. But, incorrect that we can’t win with Paul. We lost one game by two points to a Seton Hall team that had a great defensive plan and played with tremendous intensity and had a great chance to tie the game on our last possession. With Paul, we ran away from Indiana and beat OSU at their place for the first time ever if not for a blown call.
I think the answer is we are who we are and not try to be something we aren't.
Paul can't beat his man off the dribble, but he can get in to the paint. Part of the problem against SHU was when Paul did get in the paint guys weren't moving and making cuts. Hate to call out Cliff, but it looked like he ate a 32 oz pack of twizzlers and had a sugar hangover. There were times he seemed to be staring in to space and not fully engaged.
I am very intrigued about Woolfolk. I think he can be a threat with the ball in his hands in the low post looking for others.
My solution is to be looking more inside to out and as many ball reversals as possible. Unfortunately not easy when teams know they can apply presuure 30 feet from the basket making offense initiation a real problem.
Paul can't beat his man off the dribble, but he can get in to the paint. Part of the problem against SHU was when Paul did get in the paint guys weren't moving and making cuts. Hate to call out Cliff, but it looked like he ate a 32 oz pack of twizzlers and had a sugar hangover. There were times he seemed to be staring in to space and not fully engaged.
I am very intrigued about Woolfolk. I think he can be a threat with the ball in his hands in the low post looking for others.
My solution is to be looking more inside to out and as many ball reversals as possible. Unfortunately not easy when teams know they can apply presuure 30 feet from the basket making offense initiation a real problem.
That is the view from fans. I think we can win with the pieces we have and I think the SHU game was an anamoly.
I think Dean is being under-utilized. Is Cliff were a dominant defensive stopper, maybe I think differently. But Dean can put the ball in the hoop.
You sir are a moron. Look up PM’s assist number relative to the rest of the country
If Cliff had a set of hands, he would’ve had ten assists and RU wins Sunday. Paul is the furthest thing from a problem with this team. He actually creates offense and shots for others. Outside of a couple nice passes from Spencer, no one else creates offense for others
From a pure metrics perspective
You need 70 ppg …
That’s on average 14 ppg from each position on the court
Paul is playing 35 mpg ….you need 12 ppg from those 35 minute otherwise someone else has to score more to make up the diffeenxe
Paul doesn’t shoot anywhere close to enough to be at 12 mpg …so is he doing that much more in the set up of his teammates to score thsr justifies him being on the court ?
Some days …yes
some days …no
You need 70 ppg …
That’s on average 14 ppg from each position on the court
Paul is playing 35 mpg ….you need 12 ppg from those 35 minute otherwise someone else has to score more to make up the diffeenxe
Paul doesn’t shoot anywhere close to enough to be at 12 mpg …so is he doing that much more in the set up of his teammates to score thsr justifies him being on the court ?
Some days …yes
some days …no
People do not think of Paul as a scorer or a good shooter, but he is just as good at hitting shots as the rest of the team that keeps throwing up brick after brick.
Paul needs to become selfish and look to shoot every time he touches the ball.
If he is a threat to score he opens up both Cliff and Cam.
Somebody needs to talk to him now.
Paul needs to become selfish and look to shoot every time he touches the ball.
If he is a threat to score he opens up both Cliff and Cam.
Somebody needs to talk to him now.
Last year Paul shot .438 from the field and averaged 9 points a game and led the team in assists.
He needs to shoot the ball whether he is injured or not, it opens up other players.
He needs to shoot the ball whether he is injured or not, it opens up other players.
Like socaldave said I think he is still a little dinged up. He looked uncomfortable to me shooting the ball in warmups. Maybe it’s my imagination.
Kind of reminds me of a Ron Harper Sr quote when his PPG went down when he was with the bulls and lakers “who do you want shooting - Shaq, Kobe or me? Jordan, Pippen or me”
Think Paul was 4th in line for shots with Geo, Ron and Cliff - now he needs to be 1 or 2. Been impressed with his quickness and vision, hope his reluctance to shoot isn’t a lingering issue with the shoulder. He’s hit some really big shots for us the last 3 years.
I agree the injury is impacting him more than we know, and I realize it would be tough to do it now because of the injury, but I really liked it when Paul sat around the foul line and could distribute from there. RU also hasn't see a tremendous amount of zone defense that I can remember.
Those statements of beating guys off the dribble and Paul doesn’t possess that skill is not entirely true as he has gone to the hoop and gotten many layups. But it really not that relevant with what we are running on offense. Pike should be running more pick and roll with either Cliff or Dean or Woolfolk or pick and pop with even Cam. But the critical piece is Paul has to pull up and hit the 12-15 foot jumper. He is 6’7 and should have no problem shooting. He just doesn’t and that has to end and he has to shoot more. Now if his shoulder is hampering him and that is why he is not shooting , that sucks. But with Geo and Ron gone , those extra shots should be his or passes to guys who are going to take those extra shots like Cam and Andre , He should be getting 10-15 points a game. You can only do that if he shoots more or drives and gets fouled more and hits free throws, which he does very well. He has to stop dribbling forever and into the baseline. Shoot the damn ball.
Paul doesn't look reluctant to shoot like he did his 1st year. He used to pass up uncontested 3's.
I thought he looked off offensively against SHU. I'm glad he didn't force up more shots. I didn't see any opportunities for him to shoot the three ball against SHU.
I see a bunch of complementary players on the court. When guys try to do more than they're capable of, these are the results that you get. We're scoring in the low 60s against anyone with a pulse.
I thought he looked off offensively against SHU. I'm glad he didn't force up more shots. I didn't see any opportunities for him to shoot the three ball against SHU.
I see a bunch of complementary players on the court. When guys try to do more than they're capable of, these are the results that you get. We're scoring in the low 60s against anyone with a pulse.
I think the injuries to Paul Caleb Reiber are all still impacting our team in terms of chemistry and flow, don’t know what’s going on with Cliffs inconsistent play, I don’t think he knows himself as a Bball player he should never shoot another 3 unless we are up by 20 with 5 to play. Combined with getting totally RU screwed at OSU.
Reality without those injuries and the refs we could have 1 loss or be undefeated at this point
The RU screw curse will never leave us!!!!
