Stretch 4

[KYSouthpaw]

I came to realize the value of Andrew Carr when watching last night's game. He was able to draw his defender away from the basket as a 3-point shooting threat, which opened up driving lanes for Otega. I think that's why the offense was able to execute more backdoor cuts and had better overall movement last season. I'm not sure that MD is the type of player who can hit enough 3-pointers to unclog the lane.

We need a shooter at the 4 for this offense to run more efficiently.

What say you?

 

[megablue]

I came to realize the value of Andrew Carr when watching last night's game. He was able to draw his defender away from the basket as a 3-point shooting threat, which opened up driving lanes for Otega. I think that's why the offense was able to execute more backdoor cuts and had better overall movement last season. I'm not sure that MD is the type of player who can hit enough 3-pointers to unclog the lane.

We need a shooter at the 4 for this offense to run more efficiently.

What say you?

Maybe Jelavic can evolve into that guy ???

 

[bnewt]

Maybe Jelavic can evolve into that guy ???

thought he played well last night.......much better than Mo D
Carr wasn't the most athletic, but he was a basketball player. He knew how to play the game

 

[ukfan042]

Jelly needs to play more and BG less! I believe that if you play Jelly at the 4, it can definitely open things up

 

[KYSouthpaw]

thought he played well last night.......much better than Mo D
Carr wasn't the most athletic, but he was a basketball player. He knew how to play the game

I love Mo D but maybe he and Otega should play at different times? Or maybe play Mo D at the 5 on offense and Jelavic at the 4? Not sure how we protect the rim with that lineup though.

 

[chasingwildcat]

I love Mo D but maybe he and Otega should play at different times? Or maybe play Mo D at the 5 on offense and Jelavic at the 4? Not sure how we protect the rim with that lineup though.

I would like to sit Garrison

Moreno/Kam
Mo/Jelavic

These four as frontcourt guys, to ensure space and rebounding at same time

Rim protection can not be improved because none of our current frontcourt guys can blcok shots except for JQ

But yes probably Garrison will still be starter...

 

[CrimsonCats_rivals]

It’s a valid observation. Teams can play us differently than they did last year if we have a non-shooter at the 4, and for all the good things he brings, Mo definitely doesn’t have a shot that defenses have to respect. Unfortunately, I’m not sure Jelavic is that guy either despite the reputation of European players. He hovered around 30% from 3 in Europe and has started 1/9 here if you count the exhibition stats.

We may honestly have to totally retool our offensive approach this year, because I don’t think Garrison and Moreno are anywhere near the passers or decision makers from the 5 that Amari and Khalifa were in the past couple of versions of Pope’s offense either. We have enough talent that we should be able to find a gameplan that works, but I’m not sure we’re quite there yet.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

Probably easier to play Jelavich if/when JQ returns. He's elite defensively around the rim. Williams seemed capable of defending the rim, at least from a secondary defender spot. He might be suited to play some small ball 4 as well.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

Carr was so underrated by this fanbase. He was a perpetual mismatch on O, a good defender, and great rebounder.

He was an arguably elite talent. Better than anyone we have this season.

 

[wkycatfan7]

I love Mo D but maybe he and Otega should play at different times?

This is a good idea imo.

 

[Reggie Noble]

Probably easier to play Jelavich if/when JQ returns. He's elite defensively around the rim. Williams seemed capable of defending the rim, at least from a secondary defender spot. He might be suited to play some small ball 4 as well.

I would like to see Kam at the 4 with Moreno, Garrison should be playing about 10 minutes per game and Moreno 30 and Garrison should be a cigar guy when JQ returns.

 

[JPFisher]

I came to realize the value of Andrew Carr when watching last night's game. He was able to draw his defender away from the basket as a 3-point shooting threat, which opened up driving lanes for Otega. I think that's why the offense was able to execute more backdoor cuts and had better overall movement last season. I'm not sure that MD is the type of player who can hit enough 3-pointers to unclog the lane.

We need a shooter at the 4 for this offense to run more efficiently.

What say you?

I want to see Jelavic and Kam at the 4 more. They both open up lanes.

MoD needs to start making the most of his open shots. He has missed way too many and I trust him to shoot it from 3 about as much as Garrison... Which is more than I trusted Amari, but not by much.

 

[K_TIME]

We lost the game on defensive end....not more offense was the issue.

Until we can play above average defense...I'm not worrried much about adding more offense to the game.

 

[chasingwildcat]

I want to see Jelavic and Kam at the 4 more. They both open up lanes.

MoD needs to start making the most of his open shots. He has missed way too many and I trust him to shoot it from 3 about as much as Garrison... Which is more than I trusted Amari, but not by much.

I want Jevaic to play starting four with Moreno as starting fuce

And Mo playing 5 for bench

 

[JPFisher]

I want Jevaic to play starting four with Moreno as starting fuce

And Mo playing 5 for bench

I feel like we'd lose the benefits of having Mo on the court if we matched him up with opponents' centers, honestly, but it's worth a shot while we're playing OOC cupcakes.

 

[jedwar]

Carr was so underrated by this fanbase. He was a perpetual mismatch on O, a good defender, and great rebounder.

He was an arguably elite talent. Better than anyone we have this season.

And with a bad back if i recall correctly.

 

[KYSouthpaw]

We lost the game on defensive end....not more offense was the issue.

Until we can play above average defense...I'm not worrried much about adding more offense to the game.

I agree, but I can also see that the offense is less fluid than it was last year. I can also see that Otega is having to force his game if the lane is clogged up by Mo D's defender. To be our best, our offense needs to flow better than it has thus far.

I feel like we'd lose the benefits of having Mo on the court if we matched him up with opponents' centers, honestly, but it's worth a shot while we're playing OOC cupcakes.

I love Mo's hustle, toughness, and work ethic. I'm just not sure how to use him in a way that benefits this year's team the most. Tough decision for Pope no doubt.

 

[BlueSince92]

Unless Jelavic randomly shoots far worse from outside here than he did in Croatia there should be practically no difference between him and Carr from three. Last season their perimeter numbers were about as similar as they could possibly be:

Carr—.324 on 71 attempts
Jelavic—.321 on 78 attempts

What will be harder for Jelavic to replace that Carr had was Carr's crafty skinny strength. He used that to dance around beefier guys in the paint and still be able to lift up and throw it down occasionally even when contested. The result was that, compared to Jelavic last year, Carr shot the rock 4% better inside on almost thirty more attempts. And he turned in all those numbers working with a late-stage-Larry-Bird back all year. Andrew Carr is a special guy, a niche guy but a special guy and we didn't even get to see all he could really do.

But compared to what he really did, Jelavic should be able to do well enough.

And if he falls short it's unlikely to be because of his perimeter shooting.

 

[storm1507]

Don't forget that MoD shot 46.2% last year from 3 with a little under 1 attempt/game. This year so far he's shot 2.0 attempts/game. He just needs to pick his shots better....he'll be fine.

 

[KYSouthpaw]

Don't forget that MoD shot 46.2% last year from 3 with a little under 1 attempt/game. This year so far he's shot 2.0 attempts/game. He just needs to pick his shots better....he'll be fine.

I hope you're right! The form on his shot makes me question his accuracy, but numbers don't lie.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

Don't forget that MoD shot 46.2% last year from 3 with a little under 1 attempt/game. This year so far he's shot 2.0 attempts/game. He just needs to pick his shots better....he'll be fine.

Mo shooting more 3's is the last thing we need.

 

[storm1507]

Mo shooting more 3's is the last thing we need.

That's kind of what I meant by picking his shots better. 1 per game is plenty and not in the heat of the moment...just enough to keep the D honest.

 

[CrimsonCats_rivals]

I love Mo's hustle, toughness, and work ethic. I'm just not sure how to use him in a way that benefits this year's team the most. Tough decision for Pope no doubt.

As someone who watched almost every game he played at Alabama the past couple of years, that’s always been the conundrum with him, and Oats struggled with it as well. He would be a force in the paint if he was a few inches taller, but as is, having him in at the right times for his hustle and toughness to affect the game without his weaknesses getting exploited too much is a pretty tough needle to thread sometimes.

One of the alleged reasons he transferred was to get a bigger role, so I’m hoping Pope can figure it out. I’m honestly not so sure that the 15-20 mpg energy guy that he was for most of last year isn’t his best role instead of a centerpiece starter though.

 

[chasingwildcat]

And with a bad back if i recall correctly.

Yes, after he hurting his back, he was never himself even he "recovered"...

I remember he was our no.1 option in offense in clutch time against Duke/Zaga and helped us win big games

He was never the same later

 

[KYSouthpaw]

We have our answer...sort of. The offense was much more fluid tonight with more shooters on the floor and Otega IMMEDIATELY found driving lanes for scores early. I understand that the opponent wasn't the highest quality, nevertheless with shooters at the 4, we looked more like last year's team.

 

[ZaytovenCat]

We have our answer...sort of. The offense was much more fluid tonight with more shooters on the floor and Otega IMMEDIATELY found driving lanes for scores early. I understand that the opponent wasn't the highest quality, nevertheless with shooters at the 4, we looked more like last year's team.

We just absolutely can’t start 3 guys who can’t shoot. Team looks much better having Kam starting at PF over Mo.

 

[LadyCaytIL]

Those of us who lived through the 90's have always maintained and fight tooth and nail that the best teams have at least a good shooting 4. And 1996 was one of the best teams ever by having a good outside shooting 5 in big ole Walter to go along with a stretch 4 in Walker

 

[theBlues]

Don't forget that MoD shot 46.2% last year from 3 with a little under 1 attempt/game. This year so far he's shot 2.0 attempts/game. He just needs to pick his shots better....he'll be fine.

I think most people just look at his form and think that percentage had to be a fluke and I agree; nobody can shoot well with that form. But if he only averaged one three a game and mostly from the corners I'm sure he'd hit at over 33%(good enough for his type player)

 

[Kjuk24]

Those of us who lived through the 90's have always maintained and fight tooth and nail that the best teams have at least a good shooting 4. And 1996 was one of the best teams ever by having a good outside shooting 5 in big ole Walter to go along with a stretch 4 in Walker

Antoine Walker was and is everything you ask for in a power forward.

 

[megablue]

Antoine Walker was and is everything you ask for in a power forward.

Yes ... it was so enjoyable to watch how adept Anthony Epps was at feeding Walker down on the low block !!

 

[Kjuk24]

Terrence Jones was a great stretch 4 as well

 

[kuhlkat]

I came to realize the value of Andrew Carr when watching last night's game. He was able to draw his defender away from the basket as a 3-point shooting threat, which opened up driving lanes for Otega. I think that's why the offense was able to execute more backdoor cuts and had better overall movement last season. I'm not sure that MD is the type of player who can hit enough 3-pointers to unclog the lane.

We need a shooter at the 4 for this offense to run more efficiently.

What say you?

Totally agree

 

[Possum]

Hot take; bring Mo and Aberdeen (if Lowe comes back) off the bench. They both thrived there last year at their respective teams.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan73]

I love Mo D but maybe he and Otega should play at different times? Or maybe play Mo D at the 5 on offense and Jelavic at the 4? Not sure how we protect the rim with that lineup though.

Rim protection can’t be any worse than what it is now

 

[AllBall]

Other than PG or facilitating center, it's hard to argue that a stretch 4 isn't the most valuable position in Pope's offense. Heck, maybe even throughout college basketball given the adapting style of play.