One of those missed opportunity games whose details we hopefully absorb and use better next time.
We started of out of sync on O, with the first unit labouring with passes which were more moving the ball rather purposeful advancement. LMA was continuing his solid effort and was shooting and driving and scoring with determined physicality and decisiveness. Trey came back down to earth and missed 3s and some bunnies, but I liked that he was assertive again looking for his chances. DeMar missed shots he usually makes as he was getting his spots. DJ had an off game in terms of turnovers, and missed shots. He needs to work on his handles and his shot as both look too 'hard' or coming from his palm or stiff fingers, can't quite express it right, but the ball doesn't move sweetly or consistently and he tends to lose it trying to dribble it through players. Bryn - well, when he dribbles and handles the ball, we are not the team we can be when he's more off ball. He did have a couple of good drives, but facilitating is not a strong suit and when pressured he makes mistakes with the ball or gives it up like a hot potato. He has to make his shots, especially 3s since that's his main role.
But Bryn, Beli, and Patty were each 0-4 from 3, and in such a close game, these hurt a lot. I like that after 9 minutes in the first half, and six minutes in the 3rd Q, Beli sat the entire 4th Q - you don't do your job, you don't play.
So why didn't Lonnie get any minutes? I don't know, but what I do know is that what we see is a small fraction of what is actually going on. I'm not implying anything bad, just that as fans we make inferences based very small pieces of information, but want to see certain changes as if we see the big picture. Some perspective:
Rudy picked up the slack with a solid bounce-back game with a terrific 7-10, including 4-7 from 3, and a team-high 8 rebounds, but he couldn't do it alone. Jakob was 3-3 FGs on some nice shots - taking a pass inside for a hook J, a fake pass and drive off glass (yes!), and an assertive dunk. He still bobbled the ball when passed to him, and threw out an errant O rebound for a turnover, and so it's times like these he looks like a combination of scared to make a mistake and rushing to make the right move. He was great with the D boards, fighting for position, grabbing the ball and holding on to it. While our poor 3 shooting was a big culprit, in a close 4-point game, Jakob going 0-4FTs and the team hitting 10-15FTs also stood out.
Not sure what was with DeMar but when he sat for the final four minutes or so of the 3rd Q he looked peeved on the bench. I mean, we went on a solid run to tie the Q and keep the game close, so.... But even before then, one shot in the 1st Q, then kept operating around the paint and was more active driving in the final Q. But some old habits crept in - missed a layup, drove into defenders, got stripped and turned it over, got blocked in addition to still going 4-6 - it was this good / bad in the game that was more apparent. Despite ending up leading us in scoring, his effort overall to be assertive from the start and playing smart was noticeably not as strong tonight.
Our O boards still need work, both the ones we get (5) and the ones we give up (13!) for second chance points. I thought our guards outside of DJ and Derrick need better positioning and hustle and just general awareness of long ball long rebound. Just a step slow in picking up defenders to cover and reacting to where the ball bounced out and so we were on the wrong end of 52-45 total rebounds.
The second unit looked more cohesive and active defensively, and Patty's consecutive steals and points in transition got us going and we ended the 1st Q on a 13-2 run and a lead. We actually won two quarters, tied one, and gave up a nine-point deficit in the second Q that they finished on a 5-0 run. We finished the 3rd Q on a 8-0 run and despite their 3 scoring barrage in the final Q, we did well to chip away at a 15-point lead, and down 102-92 we full court pressed and Bryn staying with the ball handler forced a turnover. On the next possession Bryn drove aggressively for a basket and a made FT, and we fought hard to end the game on another 8-0 run but fell short.
So defending 3s was a culprit as they went on a drive and kick barrage and finished the game with 16-8 made 3s.The contested ones you tip your hat, but we gave up some open ones where we flat out didn't hustle to contest. Derrick is wonderful in his effort and he is so skilled at that side contest that disrupts shooters without fouling. But we also had Jakob who trotted out with hands down, a half effort that did nothing to affect the made 3, and surprisingly DJ who gave up on running out to the left corner and watched another made 3 as two examples of less than stellar closeouts. It was not a great game for DJ what with reach-ins, an off shooting night, only 2 assists, and team-high 3 turnovers and 5 fouls. He has an instinct-react defensive style that is slightly higher risk which garnered 3 steals in this game, but there's a give and take in the gamble.
We held a very good offensive team to 102 points, but our missed shots accumulated (we did see the DJ-Derrick back court later in the 4th q, which was solid defensively, but needs seasoning on O, looking as if their tendencies are not as familiar to each other). At times we settled for outside shots too much and too early in the shot clock, and we could have implemented some more cuts and drives to get the to FT line, but overall we fought back hard in three quarters and showed some gumption in pushing through from double digit deficits. After previously defending the P&R much better, we were now adjusting to running out to stop many outside shots. It can get tiresome running out forty times, and even when playing the percentages on inefficient shooters, the effort has to be there.
I'm not sure why we looked so cohesive in one game and out of sorts in another, but we were on our heels a bit versus their main guy and giving too much deference and space on drives, almost too careful in trying to anticipate what he'd do. To our credit we kept pushing back, and this was on the back of some good steals and blocks, so it's a pity that after such a high scoring output we couldn't find ways to put a few more points up in this one. It was there for the taking and it stings some, but there are positives to take from it along with the lessons moving forward.
