That is a pretty small lineup. Maybe in certain situations.
I just watched a replay and I must say, I am so impressed and quite happy with our two PG rotation. Z was so solid defensively, lock down really, and his offense was very good, layups off the steal, the āThree Oāclockā in the lane, hitting the first three of the OT, very impressive. And Eli, to hit those two FTs to send it to OT! And then again GREAT defense by Z on the other end with a knock away and, with Isaiah, forcing a very difficult shot at the end of regulation. Some pretty nifty coaching there by Coach B, too. Letās hope they can continue this level of play but I think, at least if yesterday was any indication, we have a pretty darn good PG tandem going forward.
There isnāt a Michigan article on MLive that Sparty losers donāt try to take over.
Not one.
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Iāve been a big z supporter from the jump. Glad to see him playing well. I actually thought he played good against Ohio st too. I donāt think he was the reason the offevse bogged down. In fact he was one of the only guys showing any fight in my opinion
That said eli does provide the better spacing. Iām quite happy with the pg situation going forward. Also I think zaviers offense is better than given credit for. He can get in the lane easily and is nice on the break. Good vision too. I like our prospects moving forward.
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I like Z, but I agree with Coach Beilein that the offense seems to flow better with Brooks. Z tends to over dribble and passes up too many open threes. Defenses can sag off of him and clog the lane. I am kind of liking the two PG approach and the playing time that Brooks gets will help him develope. I still expect him to break out with a 15-20 point game.
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I agree with the idea that the offense flows better with Brooks and that Simpson is the better defender. I do think itās interesting that Brooks starts the games and Simpson plays so much more in the 2nd half. That seems like an interesting concept that we want the offense to have a good flow right out of the gate, but then we want stops down the stretch. That approach definitely worked in the UCLA comeback but man when things got bad against OSU, they stayed bad.
Then again if Simpson keeps shooting 50% on open threes and has some timely finishes at the rim, I suspect his role will only increase going forward
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Not a PGā¦ but Charles has been the guy in the PNR this year. Impressive numbers early on.
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97 points without Moe Wagner and the point guards combined for 0. Thatās kind of incredible
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Alabama A&M
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I meant itās incredible in a bad way that our point guards didnāt score
Iām shocked the point guards didnāt score against a team like that. Thatās not a good thing.
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I thought the pgs played fine.
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It would sure improve our B1G outlook if Eli could start shooting the ball as advertised.
His numbers are just brutal right now:
17-52 .327 from the field
10-36 .278 from 3 pt land
Worst 3 pt % on whole team.
If our PGs continue to be a nonexistent scoring threat going forward, I donāt see how DeJulius doesnāt get major minutes next year.
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The people predicting 12-6 for this team in the Big Ten are deluding themselves. Weāre just not going to win very many of the close, tough games with such sub-par point guard play, on top of shaky FT shooting and only average 3 point shooting.
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Iām thinking 7-2 to open BIG slate, which includes current 1-1 start in BIG
My hunch is that those who are calling for 12-6 are making that call based upon the subpar play of the rest of the Big Ten, and not solely on the merits of free throw shooting, PG play, or three point %. And considering the inconsistencies of the conference outside or MSU and Purdue, Iām not sure how anyone could argue that 12-6 isnāt a real possibility.
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Are people āpredictingā 12-6? Weāre favored in 11 more Big Ten games. Whatās the over/under on final big ten win totals, 10.5? It doesnāt seem outrageous to me to say something like 11 wins is a good target and 12 is pretty doable.
And, to be fair, you said something similar about people who thought the team had a decent shot to win @Tex. Anyway, we should have a lot more data in the next ten days or so.
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Yes, people are predicting 12-6. Read the threads. To get to 12 wins from an expectation of 10.5 means things have to break our way in more close games than not. Thatās not going to happen with shaky FT shooting, average 3 point shooting and below average PG play. It just isnāt.
And, to be fair, we ended up playing Texas without their only decent offensive player. If he had been in, we very probably lose.
Glass half full or glass half empty? PG has not provided much scoring, but it has been better defensively than itās been in years. FT & 3pt shooting hasnāt been great, but offensive efficiency has still been strong (and arguably guys like Wagner & Robinson should āimprove to the meanā with their 3pt percentages). So I guess itās what side of the spectrum do you choose to believe? Are the worst attributes of this team going to remain weaknesses and the best attributes wilt in B1G play? Or will the strengths remain and the weaknesses slowly improve over time?
I think this is most likely an 11-7 B1G team, but I can see 12-6 more likely than 10-8 (13-5 or 9-9 I think are both highly unlikely). Much of that belief is based on the state of the B1G and the growth Livers & Poole showed through December (yesterdayās game withstanding).
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Nice post. People are, imo, underestimating how much better this team is at defense than we have been in past years.
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