Offensive Woes Question

[shadow force]

I know some of you have been watching basketball for a long time so I was curious for some opinions on what you guys see.

What, in your opinion, are some of the main reasons for the offensive problems so far?

Personnel/ability?- Does the team simply lack quality scorers or are they too limited offensively?

Lack of good passing/ball movement?

Limited offensive plays called? - Not enough or varied offensive plays being called?

Simple shooting woes?

Other?

 

[RMR65]

Confidence. I do not see any floor generals. I see 5 guys looking at each other and the bench for direction. Plenty of talent, that I think will bloom mid season into a top 10-15 team.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I know some of you have been watching basketball for a long time so I was curious for some opinions on what you guys see.

What, in your opinion, are some of the main reasons for the offensive problems so far?

We do not have interior player (s) to go get buckets. If you look at our successful run in the last handful or so of years, we've had Dieng/Behanan/Harrell/Onuaku as guys you can throw it to on the post, or they can go get it off the glass, and make dunks/layups/in close shots. A couple of those guys were great passers, and played on the same team. Those guys offset bad shooting from the perimeter.

This team simply does not have an offensive interior presence so there are not as many easy buckets.

As unfortunate as that is, it probably doesn't matter. With the length, and system on the defensive end, Rick might be holding another Top 5 defensive team.

Team looks like the standard 4/5 seed that won't be an easy out.

We've seen this movie before.

 

[LouisvilleKid79]

I have only watched two of their games (Wichita St and Baylor) here in KC, but agree about confidence and talent. Getting some easy baskets would help a ton. It seems like they have to work extra hard to get a bucket on most possessions. Overthinking instead of just playing ball.

Ball movement appears to be fine. Limited offensive sets may be contributing, but I think it's just poor shooting and some confidence. Substitutions and lineup tinkering may be contributing as well.

The offense and defense in basketball feed each other so much in general, but it really does in Pitino's system and his style of play.

When everything is clicking and firing (see Baylor 1st half) this team is a serious problem.

 

[KerryRhodes]

I'll add these

Adel hasnt stepped up.
An injured Mangok beat out Anas
Fatigue on leading scorers at the end of Baylor game ( coaches fault)
All offensive sets aren't in yet.
Hicks inactive.

 

[REDFISTFURY3]

Hate too say recruiting of players period .too many players being brought in with offesive deficiencies. yes some of the recruits are highly ranked however once signed Rick says they need to work on their shot. Alarm 1 he said it about Donavan, Vj and all the rest so it boils down to recruiting. Why can't we have a player that can contribute at a high level off the bat tired of this Rick's system is complicated no it's not ! He plainly recruits players that need a lot of development

 

[beasleythecard]

I know some of you have been watching basketball for a long time so I was curious for some opinions on what you guys see.

What, in your opinion, are some of the main reasons for the offensive problems so far?

Personnel/ability?- Does the team simply lack quality scorers or are they too limited offensively?

Lack of good passing/ball movement?

Limited offensive plays called? - Not enough or varied offensive plays being called?

Simple shooting woes?

Other?

for some reason King is on the bench. he is a quality scorer. would love to see him get more time.

 

[ShortCreek]

When you live and die by the perimeter shot you can only be so good. Our bigs are limited offensively and physically weak. Not a lot of easy buckets are in our future this season. Also, weak interior play causes no help "doubling down" from the guards. Therefore, our guards don't get as open of looks on inside out passes from the post.

 

[REDFISTFURY3]

We are offensively challanged

 

[LouisvilleKid79]

This team is going to be fine. The offense will get better and when it does watch out.

A lot of good things to take away from this game.

This team has the potential to be really good.

 

[tn00nan]

This team is going to be fine. The offense will get better and when it does watch out.

A lot of good things to take away from this game.

This team has the potential to be really good.

I agree. One big difference the last four games is that we are playing much better teams. We scored 88 and 91 the two games before these (or close to that). We have been playing much better teams since then and our team is pretty young.

Also, against Baylor we wore out towards the end. I was really glad to see Pitino put Hicks, McMahon and Levitch in as Mitchell and Snider are going to need long spells of rest. I hope Adel can learn to play the #2 some.

I'm not as negative on our big guys as many on here are. They aren't as good as Dieng or Onuaku, but they aren't bad, they play good defense and we are rebounding pretty damn good.

I think we'll be okay. Maybe top 10 by the end of the year. Almost certainly top 20.

Great to see Adel hit some outside shots, McMahon to hit two big 3s and generally play a good floor game. Also, Hicks was looking to pass, penetrate and dish. Very welcome to see that.

Finally, I don't think we got many breaks from the refs tonight. Lastly, Purdue is a pretty damn good team.

 

[earsky]

The basic understanding that the best shots come from passing the ball.Rushed shots hardly ever work,but guys think they've got a good look and chuck up the first one they see.Those bad looks lead to better looks at the other end,which lead to defeat.This team will go as far as the passing takes it.

If you watch,the clangers usually come from guys searching shots instead of getting shots from a pass.The game is not that hard.

 

[Cue Card]

It's a combination of things right now. #1 IMO is playing mechanical instead of flowing within the offensive scheme which means they're thinking about it instead of acting and reacting to the situations in front of them. What helps that? Game time experience and getting comfortable within the scope of the offense. They're all figuring out their respective roles on offense. Last night the second cutter off the screens was the guy open. They hit it a couple of times. Ball movement is crucial, and that all start with good crisp cuts off the screens. We saw it some last night before the heavy legs set in. Then it became a struggle to score because the off the ball movement slowed down.

This team plays so freaking hard of defense that it takes away the legs as the game goes on. They'll improve as their game shape continues to improve. The best thing I see right now is the defense is WAY ahead of the offense, and we're playing good competition while holding our own. The season is a marathon. Not a sprint. This team is going to be very good.

 

[CardinalDave]

Ball movement.
No one had more than 2 assists last night. Moving the ball better will get the ball to the open man instead of getting it to someone who has th create a shot.

 

[nccardfan]

Ball movement.
No one had more than 2 assists last night. Moving the ball better will get the ball to the open man instead of getting it to someone who has th create a shot.

This is not a Beasley rant but I think Q is too focused on "fixing" his shot instead of finding how to be a better facilitator. Once he does that I think his shot will come around. Team first.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Ast #'s are going to be down with a poor outside shooting team and the lack of beast on the interior.

One of the most underrated skills in college basketball is catching and dunking.

 

[Morgantown Card]

We do not have interior player (s) to go get buckets. If you look at our successful run in the last handful or so of years, we've had Dieng/Behanan/Harrell/Onuaku as guys you can throw it to on the post, or they can go get it off the glass, and make dunks/layups/in close shots. A couple of those guys were great passers, and played on the same team. Those guys offset bad shooting from the perimeter.

This team simply does not have an offensive interior presence so there are not as many easy buckets.

As unfortunate as that is, it probably doesn't matter. With the length, and system on the defensive end, Rick might be holding another Top 5 defensive team.

Team looks like the standard 4/5 seed that won't be an easy out.

We've seen this movie before.

This team shoots poorly like the 2012 FF team, but this team seems to move the ball a lot better. That 2012 team's offense was based off of picks at the top of the key, Peyton driving the lane and kicking it out for a shot, and put-backs off of (many - lol) missed shots. This team moves the ball very well, great passing even from our bigs. I would like to see Q or Hicks incorporate Peyton's drive in & kick it out play more - we have some great shooters like McMahon that could go all Luke Hancock-in-the-title-game on the opponent.

There was a lot to like in that first half! As Bilas said, we make some of those easy shots and we're up 20+ at the half. I like this team and it's going to develop nicely by March. Just be sure to expected a dumb loss or two, it always happens in January.

 

[nccardfan]

I have never seen a team before that looks like they're winning by 20 points (actually 22 against Baylor and 18 against Purdue) then miss a few shots and be up only 5 or 7 points? Purdue outscored us big in the 2nd half. We need to figure out how to have two good halves. Go Cards!

 

[REDFISTFURY3]

I have never seen a team before that looks like they're winning by 20 points (actually 22 against Baylor and 18 against Purdue) then miss a few shots and be up only 5 or 7 points? Purdue outscored us big in the 2nd half. We need to figure out how to have two good halves. Go Cards!

Man i was thinking the same thing while watching the game

 

[earsky]

I have never seen a team before that looks like they're winning by 20 points (actually 22 against Baylor and 18 against Purdue) then miss a few shots and be up only 5 or 7 points? Purdue outscored us big in the 2nd half. We need to figure out how to have two good halves. Go Cards!

I think bad shot selection is directly related to an easy basket at the other end.4 or 5 in a row and you get the picture.Once the whole team understands shot selection is important,the better we get.

Peyton got it.Took a while,but he got it.It takes someone like him to calm this team down with the lead and assure that the offense gets the best shot.Shot selection.Basketball 201

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I think bad shot selection is directly related to an easy basket at the other end.4 or 5 in a row and you get the picture.Once the whole team understands shot selection is important,the better we get.

Peyton got it.Took a while,but he got it.It takes someone like him to calm this team down with the lead and assure that the offense gets the best shot.Shot selection.Basketball 201

No doubt an experienced "pass first" PG can generate a more fluid offense. This team does not have that type of PG though. That said, I'm not concerned. This is a T5 defense, we will be fine leaning on that.

 

[nccardfan]

No doubt an experienced "pass first" PG can generate a more fluid offense. This team does not have that type of PG though. That said, I'm not concerned. This is a T5 defense, we will be fine leaning on that.

Well I think PS is a good example of what you can do with pass first PG and a Edgar Sosa is a good example of what you can expect with a shot hunting PG. Which would you prefer?

 

[Cue Card]

Well I think PS is a good example of what you can do with pass first PG and a Edgar Sosa is a good example of what you can expect with a shot hunting PG. Which would you prefer?

I'll take Siva's approach over Sosa's 100% of the time. I want a floor general who delegates and coordinates the offense. I only want the PG to take the open shot within the flow of the offense. I never want to see a PG pull up off the dribble and shoot without making a pass first but maybe I'm just too freaking old and the game has passed me by.

 

[nccardfan]

It just seems to me just like Sosa that if Q hasn't shot in more than two times down the court, he already has it in his mind that he's going to take the shot no matter how the offense plays out.

I'm not blaming Q but like PS finally realized, he can make the team better by thinking pass first. We just don't have a better option right now and he needs to learn that this year and not his senior year.

 

[Cue Card]

It just seems to me just like Sosa that if Q hasn't shot in more than two times down the court, he already has it in his mind that he's going to take the shot no matter how the offense plays out.

I'm not blaming Q but like PS finally realized, he can make the team better by thinking pass first. We just don't have a better option right now and he needs to learn that this year and not his senior year.

If Ryan continues to improve, then he may get his chance sooner than expected. I really like his basketball IQ. It's easy to see the kid understands how to play.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Well I think PS is a good example of what you can do with pass first PG and a Edgar Sosa is a good example of what you can expect with a shot hunting PG. Which would you prefer?

Snider is neither, he's somewhere in between. Hoping he leans closer to pass first as season progresses.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Keep in mind the 4/5 Snider is playing with is far more limited offensively than the 4/5 Siva played with.

And Siva is arguably the best PG the program has ever had, so the comparison is setting the bar high.

But yeah, run the O instead of forcing. Agreed.

 

[KerryRhodes]

Snider is neither, he's somewhere in between. Hoping he leans closer to pass first as season progresses.

Snider cant be pass first when none of the big men can consistently score.
This is supposed to be Adel/Donovan/one of the big men leading in scoring, even VJ.
Until the Purdue game Adel and one of the big men were MIA.

When everyone else steps up, then Snider can go back to pass first. Until then, Cards need his scoring. John Stockton was often the second/third leading scorer while leading the team and NBA in assist.

As far as top point guards in UofL's program, id take Milt, Dejuan, Reece, etc over Siva.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Probably would have been more accurate for me to say Siva was part of some of the best team's we've had. However you slice it, Snider is not playing with a talented group of offensive teammates.

 

[nccardfan]

I agree with that but it's his job to make them better or at least that's the PGs role. Snider is not a Damien Lee. He has an awkward shot, he's not quick and has difficulty getting his shot off against a bigger opponent. Can he make big shots, yes!
PS and Milt are two different types of guards. Milt was one of those big combo guards that Denny liked.

 

[shadow force]

I love Siva and will always respect what he did for UofL, but the fact remains that he struggled with shooting, especially from the outside. Now he definitely did have much better quality scorers in the front court so the option was there. But due to his lack of shooting ability he kind of had to be a pass first PG for things to work out as well as they did. Those teams couldn't consistently rely on Siva's shot and scoring so he went with his strengths- speed, good passing, tempo control, driving and kick to open shooters, being floor general, and great defense.