THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
WHEN I'M RIGHT, I'M RIGHT........WHEN I'M WRONG......IT'S YOUR FAULT (LIFE JUST GETS EASIER THAT WAY)
......apologies.......I was watching the History Channel last night.... what happened in the game?......yes- I of course am KIDDING..........what-a-game!........to quote Pietro Maximoff......"you didn't see that coming?" (Age of Ultron......2015........ come on guys- you gotta keep up....) ........ this was without a doubt the most complete 40 minute game against a quality opponent we have seen this year............and yes, it helps when our dynamic duo guards play almost lights out.........but everyone- I mean everyone- did their fair share contributing to this great......and I mean great- storm the court win (more later).........and it was also just a great and fun basketball game to watch from start to finish..........the pace never slowed down.......both teams just went back and forth.........but still- to be honest- it's way more fun to win one of these than not......yes, me and Captain Obvious were probably twins separated by birth, time zones and generations..........but wait- as I sometimes forget.....unlike me- you all have a life ........so let me stop wasting your time and get to it.........but first
Happy Valentine's Day.........to one and all......may Cupid's arrow hit you and the ones you love where the Sun don't shine (wait- isn't that where Cupid usually aims his arrow?............. he may need to get his eyes checked) ...........
storm tracker- okay.........TLR is not generally a fan of storming the court............not because we should be "above it all" or because "we're better than that"...... but more about 2 things........first, player and fan safety and second, the "when" you do it........... is the game and opponent of the level when it makes sense......for example storming the court against Colgate (no offense 'Gate) probably isn't up to the level of "time to storm the court".......but when you upset a top 10 team- a storied franchise- who is also in your conference- yeah.......that works......especially when...........
storm tracker, take two- let's face it, both the players and fans- and probably the coaches- really needed a moment like this...........a moment.....after all the turmoil and problems of the last few weeks, when as a team your guys play great, play together for a full 40 minutes and beat a team that everyone thinks is a final four team......this was the kind of "mental health" win........that we all needed at this point in our season...........will it last?...........more later
doubling up- and what fantastic guard play we saw last night............Judah, playing under control, scoring 25 points (8-11 FG wise) with 4 assists and 3 steals.............and JJ, playing confident as all H E double toothpicks (or hockey sticks or whatever Radar says, I keep forgetting) ....... scoring 23 points (9-15 FG wise and 3-6 from 3-point territory ........including one bankable, with compounded interest, 3) ........and they both played great and smart D too.........and speaking of the "D" word..........
the night of the living zone- and just when you thought it was safe to go back to man to man......Coach Red went back to the past and pulled out from our bag of tricks the 2-3 zone..........my not so learned guess is this has to do more with his thinning bench....and he has not abandoned his man to man, giddyup and down the court philosophy......... he has to try and minimize his foul trouble on key players (such as Maliq) as well as keep them a bit fresher than if they played the aggressive man to man which he prefers.......
a twofer- and Maliq who had 14 points......was 2 for 2 from trey land..........so cool......
the others- Quadir had 8 points to go along with some great defense (and he also did double duty as a "reporter" by "crashing" Autry's post-game presser and even asked a question- about his own defense- could never imagine anyone daring to do that with Boeheim- and Red did take it in stride, at least publicly- smiling and saying- "see what I have to put up with?").... and Chris Bell had 13 points (memo to Chris- please keep your whining to the refs to a minimum)
it looks so easy- when you put the ball in the basket.......okay......to use the old JAB man line- the game is easier when the ball goes in the basket.......we shot 62.5% in this one........about time that WE shot 60% plus in a game......and not the other guys..........and maybe helped by......
motion capture- this was the first game I think we've seen where there was almost no "hero ball, I alone can score" and more move the ball around and play for the best shot kind of offense........for a full 40 minutes..........now that- was fun to see......hold that thought guys.........
who's got next? - we will be ambling down the road to play the rambling wreck from Georgia Tech this Saturday.......a 5:30 PM game......
final word- in the immortal words of President Jordan Lyman.....let's sum it up shall we.....we are currently 16-9 and 7-7 in the ACC with 6 games to go...........and I hope there was no misunderstanding about TLR's previous commentary- I never gave up on these guys.......I just lowered my expectations and wanted them to play harder and together for a full 40 minutes......and we'll see what happens...........to go all Captain Obvious on you, as we all know, there are times that a win can bring a team together, and times that a loss can tear them apart.......these guys and the coaches have had- both on and off the court- a lot more drama than expected....... but this game was a template as to what they can do if they play a full 40 minutes- as a team- will this lesson stick?.......stay tuned......but also- let's go Orange!!.....blogout!....whatsayu??
1 comment:
I also love a good court storm and am fine with a low bar for it. It's all good vibes for the people participating as long as no one gets hurt, so what's the harm. The 'act like you've been there before' argument is synonymous with 'I've done this so many times I am now somewhat dead inside.' I've also had pizza a million times and it's (usually) always hitting the spot and I will say so by God.
Judah aside, Qaudir Copeland for MVP. He closed out that game for us almost single-handedly with his defense, stole like 3-4 crunch-time possessions from UNC. Crazy hand speed to knock balls away without fouling.
The only downside to all this is our shooting percentage was totally unsustainable over multiple games so who knows what this would look like on a normal night. Our defense was good, so there's a takeaway, but if the main lesson otherwise is "shoot 60%" it might be harder to build on.
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