Acknowledging key injuries is simply facts.. I don't recall anyone here saying that we beat SFA if Coleman-Jones and Jordan were playing as an example.. the team has responded and moved forward without those guys on the court.
Noticeable improvements so far:
1. Depth: deeper rotation, especially in the backcourt with interchangeable guys but more importantly there is little drop-off when reserves are rotating in. Yesterday 43% of the total points were off the bench. The minutes are getting spread out and that's kind of thing that can pay dividends late in games and in back-back games like tourney play..
2. Athleticism: the increase in athleticism is obvious- yesterday the MT social media folks posted 4 videos of dunks that occurred in halfcourt sets- these weren't fastbreak dunks that were wide open these were off of offensive rebounds, extra passes to cutting players, or out of good offensive execution- anyone recall those types of plays last year, more less 4 in just 1 game? I don't recall seeing it that often so it speaks to a number of positives but mostly to the player's athletic abilities and their confidence..
3. Chemistry: while the TO's are still too high most have been out of poor ball handling and not just chucking it out of bounds because a player zigged when the passer thought they were gonna zag. We've seen backdoor cuts for layups, extra passes, defensive recoveries, etc. You also see the chemistry with the deep rotations CNM is playing- the lack of drop-off with scoring and defense shows that these guys are comfortable with each other..
4. Defense: the team defensive improvement is noticeable so far- steals/TO's result in points more often than not.. but more than that, guys are more consistently in position and they're not giving up layups left & right.. one on one post defense is a weak spot against skilled BIGs but overall no other glaring weaknesses.. scoring the ball consistently has allowed for multiple, switching defensive schemes as well.
Improvement Areas:
1. Ball Control- too many TO's, usually double digits by 2 (different) guys alone each game- yesterday it was the experienced guys in Dish & Sims, SFA it was the young guns in Weston & Lenard. Gotta correct that & play under control..
2. Shot selection- this isn't a great shooting team, especially in isolation situations- the percentages will improve if they take better shots (under control, on balance & out of the offensive flow, etc) but there seems to be a ceiling to how good this team will ever be- would love to be wrong there..
3. Limited post production- need more consistent post production to open things up more in the halfcourt offense. Team scores in the paint just fine but it's mostly on cuts, drives, offensive rebound/putbacks- not so much one on one in the post. Dish needs some help down there and he's inconsistent with his assertiveness (hence the high TO games)
4. Consistent offensive execution- still too many possessions where guys are playing hero ball- quick shots, drives out of control with help side defense in position- haven't seen huge scoring droughts but when other teams go on a run MT doesn't help themselves by trying to individually do too much.. still some young guys and I expect some of that but they need a sharp learning curve if they're going to keep winning games..
