I'm happy we beat on of our bitter rivals, Maryland. But we did a lot of the same against them as we have the past several weeks that have led to a few loses. We haven't been a good defensive team for most of the year. But lately teams seem to have figured out that they can get in the lane any time they want. Maryland did it pretty much all game. But they started missing shots in the second half that they were making in the first.
Lately, we seem to have just as many offensive problems as defensive ones. Though against Maryland, we finally started to run the offense through Mason Plumlee and he played great. We are going to need to do this every game because the other thing teams have started to do is not let our guards get open 3 point shots. And when they do, we aren't shooting as well as we were earlier in the season. Seth Curry, in particular, has not been shooting the ball nearly as well as he had been. Many people are quick to point out that Austin Rivers doesn't take great shots. But he is shooting .1% higher on all FGs from the field and .16% higher from 3 than Curry is, despite taking few open shots.
Curry has tried to adjust to his lack of open looks by trying to get into the lane more often. When he does he usually makes a good decision or takes a decent shot. But what made our offense so good for most of this season was his great 3 point shooting along with that of Dawkins and Kelly. Dawkins and Kelly are still shooting very well, as is Rivers of late. But Curry is the one that is struggling, which is why the team has been struggling. As I said, going through Mason should help. I'd also like Quinn Cook to get more playing time since he can get into the lane and create shots.
If this team wants to challenge Carolina in the ACC and make a deep run in the tournament Seth Curry has to score more. It would also help if he and the rest of the guards and pseudo-small forwards could keep people out of the lane. But the only solution to that problem is switching to a zone every once in a while. And I'm not going to hold my breath waiting on Coach K to do that.
Lately, we seem to have just as many offensive problems as defensive ones. Though against Maryland, we finally started to run the offense through Mason Plumlee and he played great. We are going to need to do this every game because the other thing teams have started to do is not let our guards get open 3 point shots. And when they do, we aren't shooting as well as we were earlier in the season. Seth Curry, in particular, has not been shooting the ball nearly as well as he had been. Many people are quick to point out that Austin Rivers doesn't take great shots. But he is shooting .1% higher on all FGs from the field and .16% higher from 3 than Curry is, despite taking few open shots.
Curry has tried to adjust to his lack of open looks by trying to get into the lane more often. When he does he usually makes a good decision or takes a decent shot. But what made our offense so good for most of this season was his great 3 point shooting along with that of Dawkins and Kelly. Dawkins and Kelly are still shooting very well, as is Rivers of late. But Curry is the one that is struggling, which is why the team has been struggling. As I said, going through Mason should help. I'd also like Quinn Cook to get more playing time since he can get into the lane and create shots.
If this team wants to challenge Carolina in the ACC and make a deep run in the tournament Seth Curry has to score more. It would also help if he and the rest of the guards and pseudo-small forwards could keep people out of the lane. But the only solution to that problem is switching to a zone every once in a while. And I'm not going to hold my breath waiting on Coach K to do that.
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