The kids are all right.
It's not a coincidence that the tale of two halves, almost as it if were two different teams, resulted from a couple of key substitutions early in the 3rd Q. It's easy to sweep that first half debacle away since our second half was such an inversion, but there's no point in hiding from our tendencies: poor P&R and back-door cut coverage, insufficient rebounding, not nearly enough effort to get to the FT line (3-4 in the first half), and too many turnovers, especially in the 2nd Q where we got absolutely clobbered 35-20. We also got blocked six times in the first half, so even as we passed it horizontally too much, on the times we did drive, we were pushed back. There's some defensive struggles and offensive disorder that reared their ugly heads and mistakes on each end - point after point down low against us, wasted possessions from unforced turnovers and holding the ball without purposeful forward movement for too many end of clock shots - fed into one another and left us reeling.
Giving up 63 points to this team was disappointing but a 13-point deficit is not insurmountable. I had visions of Pop laying into our guys at half time. Sean said they got out on the court quite late, so hopefully there was some stern truth telling but the hope for a desired appropriate response was dashed within the first minute and a half as they went on a 5-0 run to balloon the deficit to 18.
Cue the subs: Jakob in for LMA (2-7, 0-1 from 3 for 4 points in 17 first-half minutes), and Derrick in for Bryn (1-5, 1-3 from 3 for 3 points in 12 first-half minutes). From that point on, we outscored them 29-5 the rest of the 3rd Q(!) and 64-21 overall for a huge 42-point swing.
So what happened? Well, DJ, Patty, Lonnie, LMA, and Beli needed to get their O games going, and they contributed in various ways. With LMA out and bigs like Trey and Jakob who were already contributing in, we didn't have to cater to slowing down into left block post sets, looked to Jakob inside, got moving again, generated great looks inside and out, and drove and got to the FT line, finishing with an improved 21 attempts (though making a less than stellar 14).
DeMar, despite some strange off-his-shin turnovers, led us in scoring with 24 on 10-15, 4-5FTs, 2 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals. Others stepped up as well. I really like seeing the assertive version of Trey. He's getting better at faking and quickly finding a driving lane. I like his footwork and how he uncoils at the rim for big physical dunks. He finished with 11 on 4-6, 2-3 from 3, 1-2FTs, 5 boards, and a steal. He fits really nicely into our movement-oriented game, and I like his defensive presence as well, wide stance to be a physical presence, and good footwork to stay with drivers. His aggressiveness in getting after the boards is standing out, too. DJ brought it in the second half with 3 steals, 8 boards, 4-6, and 1-2 from 3 for a total of 9 points and 10 boards.
Our bench counterparts were wonderful, outscoring theirs 56-29. Jakob scored a season-high 17 points on 7-8 and an improved 3-5FTs, 7 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, and a block. There was a synergy on our effort to keet looking for him inside, and he did his part by rolling to the rim and to open spots with drivers to be able to get passes and finish quickly - no missed bunnies, just smart lay-ins, a dunk, and a terrific Euro-step after a steal. It was great to see us utilizing him more and him responding with more depth to his game. He stepped up to the responsibility on both ends and was integral to our comeback.
Derrick came in for defensive purposes, too, and like Jakob stepped in to take another charge. I loved his looking for driving lanes and asserting himself. He finished with 12 points on 4-8, 1-4 from 3, 3-4FTs, 5 boards. Patty, after 0-for-everything in the first three Qs, had a huge 4th Q with three 3s, a lay-in after a steal (one of three) for 11 points along with 1 board and 4 assists, one of which was a sweet no-look pass inside to Jakob who rewarded him with a quality finish at the rim. Patty was also ever the energy leader on the court, clapping for and encouraging us throughout our great run.
These three were central, and around them Lonnie pitched in with 3-6 for 6 points, but also 3 boards, 4 assists, and 1 steal in 19 minutes. He at times still struggles with decisions as to where to go with the ball, sometimes using screeners well to get open Js or finding open lanes, other times dribbling into some that opponents quickly collapse on so reading these situations is something that will come with experience and recognition through film. Not sure if he got pulled after not bothering to run out to contest a 3 they made, but balancing talent and having a lot to learn to channel it properly is where he is now. Beli was 0-2, 1-2FTs, and anyone who hadn't watched the game would have thought he didn't contribute. In fact his movement, understanding where to be and what to do quickly with and without the ball for 3 assists and 1 rebound were central to keeping defenses off kilter.
I've left out Bryn until now. He's been such a focal point of criticism that opinions are getting disproportionate, but I think it's a response to the frustration of his getting chance after chance but reaping the same or worse results. It is abundantly clear he is not up to the task of his position. While in the previous season he looked mechanical moving within our sets, he stepped up to a new role last season as a starter but it was DeMar that was the main ball handler. This season I think we've dedicated enough time to see whether he could improve in an expanded role of handling the ball more, deciding when to drive, where and how to pass, and it has frankly been a disappointment. Not only is he not hitting his shot consistently, he's being targeted on defense and he continues to blow assignments - getting driven by, defending with his arms at his sides, at times missing rotations - so his spacing the floor strength is mitigated by poor ball handling, uncreative and unintuitive passing. Sometimes he bounce passes to LMA or DeMar in the post, but many other times he dribbles only to pass out around the arc or jump in the air for a risky back pass or pick up his dribble when pressured. His footwork and movement off ball is bad when it's anything off script as sometimes plays get when we have to respond to what defenses give us. So basically if he's not hitting his shot at a very efficient rate, he's a liability.
Here's the thing: the team is being negatively impacted by Bryn's presence as a starter. It's clear that it's wearisome to continue to have to compensate for his deficiencies, and we can no longer keep catering to that. There's an unspoken energy drain and frustration from having to cover for him when he makes a bad D play or slows the O down with his attempts to try and do something with the ball only to pass it to someone else, wasting the clock in the process.
Whenever he goes out of the game, there's an energy shift and we click and get going. This has happened time and again but having to keep catching up after wasted possessions feels like we keep being constrained then unleashed and while guys have to stick together so no one will say it publicly, they are saying it with how they are playing with and without Bryn. In a post-game interview, DJ talked about the second half being about five guys willing to defend and mentioned having fun in the second half several times.
LMA did come back in the 4th Q when we had a 10-point lead, he altered his role to helping out in other ways beside scoring since that part of his game wasn't going. He grabbed a couple of D boards, got a block, and made two key O board tip-ins. So unlike Bryn, he was able to use other parts of his game to contribute to the team and give Jakob a much needed rest after he flat out played his heart out. But it is interesting that we have found ways to play slightly differently and ways to win without LMA. It's the smallest of sample sizes so I'm not reading anything into it, but still our other guys stepped up without LMA for a lot of the game and Rudy for the whole second half.
We finished the last 1:57 with Lonnie, Bryn, Keldon(!), Trey, and Metu. Usually in these situations the team up a lot gets outscored, but I liked our focus in outscoring them 7-4 in that time. Lonnie was the primary ball handler. Sure enough Bryn stepped into a rhythm 3 from a pass. No pressure, within his comfort zone. I like Metu's drive down the middle for 2-2FTs, and his two assists for Bryn and Keldon, who drove with exuberant physicality and grabbed a board in the same way - this is his baseline mode, and I love it.
So, no Bryn? Check. Reading and guarding the P&R and back door cuts for deflections and steals? Check. Driving to get to the FT line? Check. After 6 turnovers in the 2nd Q, we made only four in the second half giving up 11 points, and getting 26 off of theirs. Our 13 steals (11 in the second half) showed the switch to increased defensive focus and intensity. We ended up winning the rebound battle 44-37, and 7-6 on O. It was all part of an overall shift in effort and dedication to playing together without limitations.
This day off between our two-game home winning streak and the upcoming Rodeo Road Trip
marks a palindrome - 02/02/2020 - the first one in 909 years (and which won't happen again for another 101 years - both also palindromes). I can only hope it marks the turning point of better, more consistent play and that we keep pursuing it with the line-ups that have shown to give us just that.
NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS
