No huge takeaway from this game – we did what we needed to do and got the win.
We did start out a bit tentative, sort of feeling out the other team, and when they got an 8-4 lead Pop called a timeout and righted the ship by putting the ball in LMA’s hands on one end, and Bryn closing out very well on the other. Some good passing, great cuts, high-low passes, steals, D to O transitions and away we went.
It was great that we took control of the game so that not only were the minutes far lower and more evenly distributed (DeMar had the most with 28), but our young guys got some minutes, too.
Our starters put in the work early to rest late: LMA kept getting great positions down low, sealing their C and effectively using his post-up moves. He finally found his shot, hitting 10-13 and 4-4FTs for 24 (plus 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block); DeMar was an even better 10-12 and 5-5FTs for a team high 25 (20 in the first half alone), driving, getting into his pet spots for Js, posting – there was nobody to stop him, and he also helped with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and good awareness on D with a steal and a block; Rudy got us going with some energetic drives and dunks for 12 and solid rebounding (8); Bryn didn’t have the best shooting night (3-7, 1-1FT for 7) but got a career-high 7 assists.
Bryn’s defense, along with Dante’s and Davis’s really stood out. Dante (2-4, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) is emerging as a complementary defensive anchor for us on the starting unit. He is a smart and mobile defender with good size that fills an important need. Bryn was doing a great job when guys were trying to post him, and Davis (who needs more shots, 1-2, 2-2FTs, 4 rebounds, 1 assist) did very well to stay in front of his man with quick feet and great positioning, forcing opponents out of easy lanes, and gave our help D time to adjust. Terrific effort.
Patty (9 on 2-6) and Beli (who needs to find his shot - 14 on 5-14 team-high FG attempts) didn’t have strong shooting nights, but did well to get into those hard to guard spaces with great cuts and off-ball movement. Pau’s patience, fakes to throw off defenders, great passing (4 assists), and rebounding (team-high 9) on 4-7 shooting for 8 helped keep their bigs busy – old dogs with old tricks still works.
This allowed the rest of our young group to finally get some court time. Bryn, Beli, Quincy, Metu, and Jakob were in together from around the 8 minutes mark in the 4th, and we finished the game with, Q, Dante, Metu, Davis, and Jakob, with Q playing PG. Q has a low center of gravity and is stocky but agile enough for his build, so opponents feel his presence on both ends. Made a good all around contribution, shooting 2-4 (plus 2-2FTs) and grabbing 4 rebounds to go with 2 steals and an assist. Metu is smart, moves well, and is assertive, perhaps at times a little too much so that the shot gets away from him (1-4) but each time he plays he gets to the line. Jakob was clearly executing his positioning and plays that he’s practising. Setting screens comes naturally, but playing up top at the arc, dribbling to the right and passing off to a moving guard and then taking a post position is something I don’t recall seeing him do before; next up, learning to execute the high-low pass like Pau does. He executed his part of plays well even if it showed he was thinking through it a bit (sort of like Bryn did last season, and now look at him). Jakob’s J at the right elbow looked good, as did his hustle on the O boards when he grabbed it to maintain our possession to end the game.
Our middle two quarters were our highest scoring, but not without some reminders about playing the right way along the way. Once again, an opponent finished the first half on a run (10-0 in this one). In the second Q, Beli made a poor pass that got stolen and he was quickly subbed; early in the 3rd Q, despite a 23 point lead, Pop called a timeout after our turnover led to their dunk in transition; we’re learning as we go.
A lot of our numbers and efficiency were inflated because our opponents are young and need to learn how to play and play together (all of our players scored, and all were in the plus; all of theirs, in the minus). But for the most part, we executed as we were supposed to. We shot 81% in the paint in the first half, finishing 66-52, and had a 55-44 rebounding advantage. We also committed only 14 fouls, and made excellent 24-26FTs after concerted efforts to get to the line. Still, to our 24 assists, we were 10 steals against, and our 14 turnovers cost us 18 points (more than their 15 TOs for 15 points for us). We had 55.4FG% but our 3 was a poor 22.2%. When we attempt them so judiciously, we need to make them at a better rate. But we’ve been shooting it very well overall, so hopefully our aim returns. So some things to clean up on both ends.
I like that our assistant coaches were giving instructions to our players in the fourth (in addition to Ime’s quick reviews with DeMar at the start of third quarters) and that overall we did what we sought to do – implement the game plan, get a big enough lead, rest the starters, and give playing time for the young guys. A solid overall effort in terms of being able to accomplish more for our team as a whole than we have been able to previously.
Noteworthy achievementsLaMarcus:
DeMar:
Bryn:
