Adjustments

[GatoLouco]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I agree with most everything you said

The main difference is that I haven't been as impressed with Berry's defense. But you're making me think I need to look more closely at this. I'm thinking Audige's defense is far above any guard we've seen so far. He's someone who can limit a top-flight B10 guard/wing. But I'll reconsider whether Berry can fill that. Simmons maybe also, but I think he's a half=season+ away from that.

As for Buie ... I'm a better defender than Boo.

Great points from both of you IMO. Frustrating thing is that CA does a lot well, except the shot selection and ball hogging. It's not just the poor shots, it's the holding the ball too much, which we know let's the defense adjust.

Even if there's still plenty of room for improvement, Buie has gotten better with that. I hope Audige does too. Take what the game gives you. And take bad shots at the end of the shot clock. Audige can probably get a better bad shot at the end of the clock than anyone in our offense.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Great points from both of you IMO. Frustrating thing is that CA does a lot well, except the shot selection and ball hogging. It's not just the poor shots, it's the holding the ball too much, which we know let's the defense adjust.

Even if there's still plenty of room for improvement, Buie has gotten better with that. I hope Audige does too. Take what the game gives you. And take bad shots at the end of the shot clock. Audige can probably get a better bad shot at the end of the clock than anyone in our offense.

What I like from this discussion is the acknowledgment that Audige might be most effective at the small forward spot. Defensively he is pretty solid when the guy is in front of him. He's also a pretty good rebounder.

Berry is a disruptive defender. His basketball instincts are quite good on defense. The offense will take longer, but he passes reasonably well. Audige is lacking in both of those areas. He is a good one-on-one player on both ends of the floor.

If we go Nance / Young / Simmons or Audige / Berry / Buie we could be pretty good.

 

[ricko6543211]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I agree with most everything you said

The main difference is that I haven't been as impressed with Berry's defense. But you're making me think I need to look more closely at this. I'm thinking Audige's defense is far above any guard we've seen so far. He's someone who can limit a top-flight B10 guard/wing. But I'll reconsider whether Berry can fill that. Simmons maybe also, but I think he's a half=season+ away from that.

As for Buie ... I'm a better defender than Boo.

I agree that Audige can guard players that Berry might struggle with because of the added height / length. Berry seems to be really good against shorter guards, but against taller guys will struggle to contest effectively - though he can still be a nuisance by taking away space from them and with good positioning. If it was primarily Boo + Berry + Chase +Greer (ie last year's roster, I guess we also had Kopp) then not having Audige would definitely be a big problem on the defensive side of the floor as I don't think Berry replaces Chase - I just think that Simmons and Roper have done a pretty solid job on defense to fill that Chase role in the interim.

And yeah sounds like same page re Boo on defense... I just find it strange that Collins slots him with the toughest G matchup on defense more often than not. It seems pretty obvious to me he's not a very good defender. Boo has a slow first step on defense so guys frequently get by him (I think this is at least partly attributable to being a bit lazy in terms of defensive positioning and movement), he then does a good job of recovering, but his lack of size also inhibits his ability to contest shots. He'd be much better off guarding someone who plays off ball and doesn't penetrate as much, he can then conserve energy and dig down to help others, plus he's quick enough to get back out and contest the 3 a good portion of the time.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

How many times have we had this roster in the 21/22 season? Answer: one and it's good enough to win 9 games in the hands for a competent coach.

Phew, good thing we got one!