Film Room Breakdown - Malachi Moreno Saves the Day at LSU

Sports are a very binary venture. You feel really good when you win and really bad when you lose. The journey to those wins and losses matters from a coaching standpoint, but ultimately you are judged by outcomes. Wednesday night in Baton Rouge was a perfect example of that. Malachi Moreno making that shot changed absolutely nothing about how Kentucky played for 39 minutes and 58.4 seconds. However, what would have been yet another nail in a disappointing season’s coffin became a lifelong memory. Moreno’s buzzer-beater not only gave the Wildcats a 75-74 win over the LSU Tigers but also saved the season to some extent. Kentucky’s margin for error, from a NCAA Tournament standpoint, remains very thin. Wednesday’s Quad 1 victory was vitally important to their resume.

LSU completely dominated the first half of the game. Kentucky was stuck in the mud offensively. Ball movement was slow or non-existent, cuts and screens were ineffective, and good shots were hard to come by let alone make. The Wildcats didn’t score their first field goal until the 15:32 mark and didn’t get their second until seven minutes later. They went into the halftime break, trailing 38-22, with ugly 8-30, 2-12, 4-8 shooting splits. However, the second half looked much different. The ‘Cats shot 17-26, 8-11, 11-14 in the second half to overcome an 18-point deficit. To LSU’s credit they continued to make some tough shots and get to the foul line, but Kentucky was just good enough offensively to complete the comeback.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest contest. The Wildcats simply were not executing once again offensively early in the game. LSU’s aggressiveness caught the ‘Cats a bit off guard, spacing was a major issue, and there was a failure to make the Tigers pay when opportunities did present themselves. Additionally, the Wildcats got nothing out of the short roll which was what LSU was willing to “give up” in their ballscreen coverage. However, halftime adjustments were made and Kentucky, once again, looked like a different team in the second half. Offense came easier as ball movement, spacing, and aggressiveness issues were solved. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at Kentucky’s 75-74 win over the LSU Tigers.

Execution Issues Pop Up Once Again

Kentucky had major issues executing offensively in their loss at home to Missouri. However, some of the details were fixed as the ‘Cats beat Mississippi State on Saturday. The execution issues reared their ugly head once again in Baton Rouge. LSU deserves credit for disrupting Kentucky’s offensive flow and making it hard to run their traditional Zoom Action-oriented offense. The Wildcats played right into the Tigers’ hands though by not screening, cutting, or passing with any purpose. It takes a myriad of failures to only score 22 points in a half against LSU. That is exactly what we saw through the first 20 minutes of basketball from the Wildcats at the Maravich Assembly Center.

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https://vimeo.com/1154813588?fl=tl&fe=ec

This early offensive possession set the tone for what Kentucky looked like in the first half against LSU. The ball never hardly got inside of the three-point line let alone touched the paint. There were no hard cuts, quick ball reversals, or physical screens. The only real scoring opportunity came via Malachi Moreno’s flash to the elbow followed by Otega Oweh’s backcut. However, that was quickly thwarted by a spacing issue as Kam Williams cut right into that same space. Eventually the ‘Cats got stuck on the left side of the floor and turned it over on a shot clock violation.

One of Kentucky’s biggest offensive failures currently comes from the inability to create any real advantage in transition. Here you see Otega Oweh leading the break with Andrija Jelavic running to the rim and Kam Williams streaking to the corner. If Oweh was going to hit Jelavic it needed to happen sooner. However, the easier play would be to slice the floor a bit and get Williams a three-point shot in the corner. Turning the ball over in transition simply can’t happen. Kentucky is a team that is struggling to generate easy points. Not being able to capitalize on transition opportunities makes scoring even harder.

LSU really does deserve a lot of credit for their defensive game plan. Their choice to “ICE” the ballscreens limited Kentucky’s ability to change sides of the floor while also cutting off dribble penetration. Additionally, being willing to switch a lot of the off-ball screens blew up many of the Wildcats’ half court set plays. Here the ‘Cats are trying to run a Flex action from a Horns alignment. However, the Tigers switch the Flex screen before it even gets set. Then, Collin Chandler comes off of the downscreen right next to Mo Dioubate. Spacing was a problem throughout this possession. Brandon Garrison’s right handed hook shot from the SEC logo was a low-percentage outcome to a completely wasted possession.

It isn’t easy for Kentucky to create high percentage looks offensively. Therefore, when they do come, the players need to take them. Collin Chandler came off of the floppy action, got his man to go up through, and was open for a three-point shot in the corner. However, the 38.9% three-point shooter turned it down. The result of this possession was ultimately an Otega Oweh missed layup. When your best shooter won’t shoot and your best player misses an open layup it really makes it hard on an already struggling offense.

Inability to Take What the Defense Gives You

Every defensive decision is calculated at the high-major level. There isn’t a catch-all defense that is going to take away everything. That at least is true when playing against good teams with talented players. If you play really soft, drop coverage against the ballscreens you can get picked apart in the mid-range. When you are more aggressive and hard-hedge the ballscreens you leave open the roll or pop options and put your defense in a backside rotation situation. Switching all of the ballscreens obviously leaves you susceptible to individual mismatches. LSU decided to “ICE” a lot of the ballscreens against Kentucky. That coverage forces the ball handler to reject the ballscreen and play down towards the baseline. However, what it leaves open in the short roll. The Wildcats simply failed to take advantage.

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LSU had no problem completely leaving Malachi Moreno on the perimeter. They were able to completely sellout on containing Kentucky’s dribble penetration without the threat of Moreno making them pay. Moreno did nothing with his first look on the short roll and then missed a pretty good look on the second. This isn’t the easiest shot for the 7-foot center, but when you haven’t scored over three minutes into the game is the type of shot you need to go in the basket.

This is where it would be nice to have a little more skill at the 5-spot. Denzel Aberdeen hits Malachi Moreno on the short roll here, but the freshman just isn’t ready yet to do much with it. Then, after the ball reversal, Otega Oweh force feeds it to Moreno on the roll which leads to a turnover. LSU was really packed into the paint on this possession.

It was over 11 minutes into Wednesday night’s game before Kentucky converted their second field goal. LSU was excellent defensively for much of that stretch, but the Wildcats also failed to convert on some opportunities. Malachi Moreno set a great, physical screen in this clip that got him open and Collin Chandler delivered him the ball. It is hard to ask for much more than your 7-foot center attacking the rim off of zero dribbles against a 6’5″ guard. However, #4 King was able to force a turnover for the Tigers. Kentucky’s inability to make LSU pay on the roll early in the game played a big role in their scoring woes.

Halftime Adjustments Led to Comeback Victory

Kentucky is no stranger to big second half comebacks under Coach Pope. Unfortunately, that also means they are no stranger to large first half deficits. The ‘Cats looked like a different team in the second half. Their ball movement was better, cuts were made with a purpose, and structural changes led to more advantageous scoring opportunities. Also, Kentucky’s best players simply became more aggressive. Kam Williams came off a floppy screen and nailed a three-point shot. Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh took over the game on the perimeter. Malachi Moreno obviously hit the game-winner, but he had a couple of other big plays as well down the stretch. Overall, the Wildcats’ offense executed at a much higher level which correlated with much more success.

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Brandon Garrison made two really good plays out of the post early in the second half that led directly to five points. He doesn’t get credit for the assist here, but it was his patience and poise in the post that led to Andrija Jelavic’s three-point shot. The early post feed simulated dribble penetration, which was harder to come by for the Wildcats, and drew the LSU double team. Great play by Garrison, great extra pass by Kam Williams, and great shot by Jelavic.

Earlier we highlighted a possession where Collin Chandler was open off of an early floppy action and turned down the corner three-point shot. This clip highlights Kentucky’s improved aggressiveness in the second half. Kam Williams came off the staggered double, was open on the wing, and let it fly. It isn’t easy for the ‘Cats to create open shots like this. When high percentage shooters are open they have to shoot the basketball.

Really good things happen when Otega Oweh can reject and play along the baseline. The quick back cut by Denzel Aberdeen and pass from Malachi Moreno was quick enough to keep LSU from getting in position to cut off the baseline drive. Oweh whipped his man in a straight line to the rim for a layup. This is a perfect example of how Kentucky put their best players in more advantageous situations in the second half.

Malachi Moreno struggled in the first half to make LSU pay on the short roll. However, he made an excellent play here keeping the handoff and completing the And-1. From OB Under Moreno faked the handoff to Collin Chandler first and then Denzel Aberdeen. Moreno’s man jumped out to switch onto Aberdeen which opened up a lane to the rim. The big man went up strong and finished through contact to cut the Wildcats’ deficit from seven to four.

We saw Kentucky struggle to convert in transition in the first half. Even in the second half they turned it over once with Collin Chandler trying to throw a lob to Otega Oweh. However, in the biggest moments, the Wildcats found a way to get the job done in transition. Oweh and Kam Williams ended up on the same side of the floor, but maintained good spacing. Denzel Aberdeen threw it ahead to Williams who hit Oweh in the corner for the catch-and-shoot three-point shot. LSU’s lead was down to just one point.

The adjustment to setting more high, flat ballscreens as opposed to side ballscreens on the wing kept LSU from being able to “ICE.” Denzel Aberdeen was able to get downhill at the point of the screen and Malachi Moreno had a lot more room to roll into than he did in the first half. Part of that spacing came by having Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler on the far side of the floor who were a combined 5-10 from deep at this point in the game. As shots start to fall it really opens up the offense. Kentucky was able to experience that in the second half as they came back to win 75-74.