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After a rough string of games, I had all but decided that one of my New Years Resolutions was to stop writing about Mizzou until they started playing basketball. I decided against that, but I have plenty to complain about. I doubt that I'm the only one, though. The Fine Line In the 4 games spanning from UNC Greensboro to Belmont... Mizzou: FG 45.8% (106-231) 3P 35.7% (25-70) FT 69% (65-94) Opponents: FG 43.5% (104-239) 3P 38% (35-92) FT 66% (58-88) What this means? Well, if you've seen a game, Mizzou obviously hasn't played at a very high level for more than a couple minutes at a time since last season. Numbers can help diagnose the problem, but like a doctor, we'll need more than numbers to see what is going on (unless we're a certain pain-in-the-ass). We need the charts, the x-rays, and maybe even a colonoscopy (for a simple search of embedded heads). Here are some observations (mostly mine, but some borrowed) based on what I've seen on the floor, in addition to the box scores. Great teams take care of the ball In the four games outlined, the Tigers have done a poor job taking care of the ball (this has been the case for the entire season). An average turnover differential of -7.5. Why? Jimmy McKinney is not a point guard, at least not yet. I'm starting to wonder if he ever will be. He has a knack for finding shots for himself, but he hasn't shown an ability to find shots for others. Based on what I've seen, I can't assume that Pulley or Laurie would do a better job, although both Pulley and Laurie have positive A/TO ratios, while McKinney doesn't. In a half-court set, the backcourt seems content to hang out on the perimeter until the shot clock winds down. As often as opponents have deployed double-teams in the post against AJ, the guards need to be flashing through the lanes to give Johnson another option besides "kick it back out and wait for the shot clock to run down so someone can put up a bad shot". Our guards/forwards just don't penetrate (in the flow of the offense) very much. Maybe that's not a part of the offense, but God help us, it needs to be. If the only penetration comes with less than 5 seconds left to shoot, there's not much time to drive, draw a defender, and dish it to the open guy. Other teams drive and dish, so Mizzou should be able to, given the heralded talent on the roster. Passes are rarely quick and precise. The Tigers hold the ball longer than they need to, allowing opposing defenses to regroup and get into the passing lanes. On top of this, the lack of off-the-ball movement makes passes predictable and easy to deflect. Needless to say, Mizzou has not been a great team thus far. Great teams play tough defense In the four games outlined, the Tigers have done a poor job playing defense (this has been the case for the entire season). Opponents are taking as many (and making about as many) shots as Mizzou. For comparison's sake (and because, on offense, they shoot similar percentages across the board), we'll look at Duke, who is playing outstanding defense this year. Mizzou (8 games): FG 44.6% (215-482, or 26.8/60.25 per game) 3P 36.2% (51-141, or 6.4/17.6 per game) FT 68.9 (124-180, or 15.5/22.5 per game) Duke (10 games): FG 47.5% (269-566, or 26.9/56.6 per game) 3P 35.4% (69-195, or 6.9/19.5 per game) FT 69% (167-242, or 16.7/24.2 per game) So, if Duke is shooting almost identically to Mizzou from the floor, the stripe, and from 3, how do they have a scoring margin of over +20, and Mizzou has a scoring margin of less than +2? Defense. Tons of people hate teams like Duke, Arizona, Kentucky, etc., including many of you. Why? Because they can take an offense with the output of Missouri's (or fill in your favorite team) and blow people out. They win with what they have, and if they have 75 points per game, they know they need to keep their opponents at 55-60, and they do. Do you think Kentucky won so many games in a row last year by scoring 120 every time they took the floor? Far from it. And once again, how do these teams do this? Defense. So what is wrong with Missouri's defense? Lots of things. I can't count all of them, but I'll try. It would be nice if Mizzou could run some sort of full- or three-quarter-court press (like other good teams), but unfortunately, they aren't playing defense nearly well enough in the half-court to even try this right now. First and foremost, defense requires a team effort. If all five guys were strictly concerned with their man, the other team would score two points nearly every time the guy guarding the ball got beat. Fortunately, players on defense are allowed to help each other, although that isn't always the norm for Mizzou. If you've ever played basketball, you know that on defense (man-to-man defense, to be specific), you need to see both your man and the ball at all times. Commonly, an MU defender will become enamored with the ball and let his man roam around to an open spot behind the arc. This helps explain how teams are killing Mizzou with the 3 this year. Too often, help defense is coming from the wrong places. MU's guards like to collapse, and when that happens, someone gets open on the outside. Then, when the other team swings the ball, they either get a shot, or the entire defense tries to rotate towards that man. A few more quick passes can almost always create a quality shot for opponents. Instead, the guards need to focus harder on keeping their guy out of the lane. Also, help should come from the low post (with some exceptions, such as on screens), not from a fellow backcourt player. Post defense: basically, what's killing the Tigers the most down low are fouls. It's tough to play post defense when the best post defenders are on the bench early with a few unnecessary fouls. Hey big guys: keep your hands up and play defense with your feet. That's all you have to do. Block some shots here and there and you'll be fine. Just stay between your guy and the basket, and keep those hands up. Don't lean in, just keep those hands up. It wouldn't hurt to send a double-team once in awhile, but right now, that's just one more guy who can slip in a slap to the wrist. For the most part, AJ, Travon and Kleiza can all play solid post defense, but they can't do it when they're sitting next to Brian Grawer. Pressure: most exterior passes (and quite a few entry passes) against Mizzou are uncontested. If you watch most of the teams that have been staples in the top 10 for the past few years, you'll notice that this isn't generally the rule when good teams play defense. Pressure can be exerted on-the-ball and off, or in Mizzou's case, rarely at all. (Note: I'm not going to get into it too much, but if you're wondering how a team like Belmont can only commit 9 turnovers against a team like Mizzou, it has a lot to do with a lack of defensive pressure.) First and foremost, the guards are flat-out getting beat. Off the dribble, off the pass, you name it. There aren't any excuses for this. McKinney, Paulding, and Conley are as athletic as any backcourt in the nation. Kroenke isn't a great on-ball defender, and while Pulley was touted as one, we haven't seen enough of him to know for sure yet, but he hasn't been overly impressive so far. Before they can put any kind of pressure on the ball, the guards need to focus entirely on keeping their men between them and the basket. But that's still not going to cut it. So they need to focus entirely on keeping their men between them and the basket, and they need to put pressure on the ballhandler, or if they're not guarding the ball, they need to get their hands in the passing lanes. This isn't a matter of waving your hands around more and playing a little closer to your guy. This needs to be practiced, repetitively. Every backcourt defender has to want to play defense like this all the time. Right now, they don't. It has to be an absolute goal to keep their man in front of them when they have the ball, and to keep the ball out of their hands when they don't. Basically, MU's backcourt should be embarrassed by their poor defensive play. Slide your feet, and hustle back to the basket when you get beat. Anything less than total effort on defense is unacceptable. As for the frontcourt, in regards to applying pressure: Learn to front your man, and if you know how, then do it more often. If you're on the side of the floor opposite the ball, sag to help. Pretty simple, keep the ball out of the post, and when it gets their, stay between your man and the bucket, keep your hands up, and don't foul. Repeat: don't foul. The zone: at times, MU's 2-3 zone has been effective. At times. The problems they have with it aren't really much different in principal than the problems they have running man. To some degree, there just isn't enough effort, and there definitely isn't enough pressure. Let's get this out of the way. When they're in a zone, they need to have their hands up. This might sound like something you'd hear at a grade school practice, but maybe none of the guys on the team had very good coaches in grade school. It seems like the high-post is a rest stop in Mizzou's zone. Opposing players just pull in, park, and wait for the ball to come. Most of the time, it does, and suddenly there are lanes everywhere. The object of a 2-3 zone is to keep the ball out of the middle, but limit the outside shots at the same time. Sometimes I wonder if they meant to switch to a 3-2 (which focuses on the perimeter). To beat a zone (Quin, McKinney, take notes for offensive purposes), you have to do one of two things: (1) shoot lights-out from downtown, or (2) find holes in the zone. Let's assume that the Tigers switch to a 2-3 zone because they're playing solid interior D, but they're getting killed from outside (sound familiar?). Their goal should be to continue to play solid interior D, but limit more outside shots. But instead, they seem to focus more on the outside shots, and they let teams get inside the zone. Instead of proactively defending the perimeter, they need to proactively deny the entry pass, and then react when the ball is moved around the arc. They're athletic enough to sag until the ball hits one of the perimeter shooters, then quickly move out to get a hand in someone's face. It's just my opinion, but if they want to play a zone and extend it outside the 3-point arc, they need to try a 3-2 or 1-3-1. But regardless, playing any defense, zone or man, takes hustle and commitment, neither of which have been abundant. Needless to say, Mizzou has not been a great team thus far. Great teams show up to play In the four games outlined (and for the entire season), the Tigers have been horrible after the opening tip. Q: Is it uncommon to see a top 10 team, or any good team, get off to a slow start in a game? A: No. Q: Does 25 minutes constitute a slow start? A: Well, you might as well ask me if Freddy Got Fingered was a good flick. Because that's the worst movie ever, but it gets going quicker than Mizzou's basketball team. I don't understand, and maybe I never will, how a freshman on a senior-heavy team puts forth the most effort, game-in and game-out. Travon is the only senior with any kind of spark, it seems. Here's an idea: when the game starts, play tough defense, bust some gut, and see what happens. It's easier to get the ball rolling when there's a lot of energy on the defensive end. But I forgot, the team doesn't like to play D. The season's over in 3 months flat if the effort-level isn't raised. I hustle more during games, from my couch to the fridge, than most of the guys on the team do. Needless to say, Mizzou has not been a great team thus far. On the right path? According to Andy Katz (that's like saying, "According to the Onion"), Quin stripped everyone's names, and everything that says Missouri, from the locker room. They've had two-a-days recently. Quin's trying to find an identity for the team. Why this didn't happen before the season started, I have no idea. At least they're not playing wiffleball; I guess it's a start. I'm not down on Mizzou Yes I am, but not too much. They've been a disappointment. But the games have all been close, so at least they're not getting blown out. But at the same time, they're not blowing anyone out. The largest margin of victory was a mere 9 points (Coppin State), and out of 4 losses, only the Zags beat them by more than 4. Better first half play would have won all of the games that they lost (except, perhaps, Gonzaga). I'm sure I could write another 2000 words pointing out flaws in the team, but I'm getting tired of hitting rewind. Hopefully, in a few weeks, some things will change and I'll get to write, "Finally, Mizzou is starting to look like a great team." You can reach George by sending an email to georgetb@horklezorp.com. |
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