Providence game thread

[X-lucidity]

Could not agree with you more Hops. I guess my only other observation is, after watching the game again, out of those 7 three's Locke took, would you not agree that 5 of them had a very high degree of difficulty. meaning on another night he may only have made 4 of 7 or 3 of 7. The dude was incredible. But the most incredible - as I am sure we all can agree, was Bynum's bank-shot 3 from deep. Crazy. That shot cost me my Under bet of 154 damnit.
Fabulous to win that 1st game without Free. Each game the staff and team will adjust better and better. here's hoping Zach cam make a full recovery in time for the madness

[Alpalpa]

Only FIVE turnovers. Offset the poor free throw shooting. Helped save that game.

[pdxmuskie]

The absence of turnovers was certainly key.

I'll have to pay closer attention to whether AK is guilty of giving up more open jumpers than Boum. The reason I believe Boum is a worse defender is because his man is attacking the rim far more often. It could be that AK tends to guard shooters while Boum is guarding slashers but Boum is trailing his guy going to the rim on a regular basis throughout the game.

Despite the bad defense he has been key to a lot of wins. His FT shooting has been amazing, especially late in games. I have however noticed his shot selection is worsening. The last 3 or 4 games, he has taken at least 2 shots per game that should not have been taken. He was not doing that earlier in the year. He is a very good shooter so I understand the temptation but his shooting % is declining because of it. The 9 assists and 1 turnover was spectacular.

[bluegrass]

5 turnovers in 45 minutes has to be a record. If we could get anything out of KyKy and Cesar it would be a plus.Last night they were basically just space fillers.

[gundun]

We didn't need to take that last timeout. It would have been our ball. However, I doubt if we had time to discuss it during out last timeout. I love watching Sean explain things in the huddle. But then I go back to the early 60s and our coaching then

[gym from delhi]

But Gundun, didn't you love the 63-64 team just try to outscore everyone?

[gundun]

With our 3-digit scoreboard. Bob Knight thought we were a potential Sweet 16 team if only we had some discipline. Bryan could have made us a great team if he just showed every night. He also thought we should have tried to play a little D. He said we just let them shoot so we could get the ball back. All this with a one-eyed point guard.
Am off to take my wife to the Cancer Center

[kyzrex]

I don't believe that Boum struggles on defense because of lack of quickness, but because of his lack of bulk more than anything. Along with possibly a lack of experience in that regard. I think in the past, with the teams he was on, that he wasn't expected to play defense as much and didn't have to guard people with the abilities of those he is facing in the BE. The BE style of ball is also more physical than many other leagues. His lack of strength and bulk is obvious when he is trying to fight through screens. That said, on the whole he has been a major plus for the team. I wouldn't want 5 players that were all offense and little defense, but his offensive abilities have been a major reason for the success of this year's squad. I don't see how anyone could deny that. I watch him and it's not for lack of effort on the defensive side of the ball, he is playing hard. He just can't get through the screens and doesn't have the natural awareness to be a good help defensive player or to out "think" the opponents and beat them to the spot on a regular basis. His efforts alone make up for some of those deficiencies, but not all. But I'm still glad that he is a part of this team.

[Timeless]

Good win. The Guys played tough. Win the next two and then get tough on the road. Zach was really missed but like someone said maybe this will give time for some others to become productive and work out in the end. Miles should be working on his rebounding because as a shot blocker, he doesn't get rebounds...much like Edwards

[Kevin Reilly]

I disagree with Skyhops on Kunkels being our worst defender. Locke played 39 minutes and had 22 points on 6-7 three point shots. Kunkel played 29 minutes. Part of the problem is that the Bigs give little if any help when the guards drive off a screen. They ( Bigs ) seem to not call out the screens. Kunkel battles his ass off on the defensive end. He's getting his hands on the ball for deflections all the time. I think he keeps his man in front of him more than anybody except Jones and Claude. Early in games most of the time our guards go under the screen and give the other team a wide open shot. Seems like the opposing guards gain a lot of confidence when they start the game making a couple wide open threes. Boum has very quick feet and yet he lets his man go by him on almost every possessions which causes a break down of the entire defense. Boum shows little to no interest in defense .Tandy can't play any defense either. Slow feet. All players on every team have pluses and minus's. Kunkel is by far our best passer and the ball moves quickly when he is in the game. He has to start.