So according to Livers it’s something he has been feeling for a while. Howard must have known. I know it’s always easy to say things after the fact, but should he have been playing all this time?
Wonder if Livers is going to stay in the bubble? I’m sure he’d want to be there for the team but that would suck. And if he leaves is there a way to come back in if he heals up?
They said he first got hurt during the Illinois game.
Do injured players have to leave the bubble? He’s still part of the team.
I understand Juwan’s confidence in his guys, but I’m not sure drawing up a deep step-back for a guy who has gone 1-10 in the game should be the “shot we want.”
Would you want to live in a hotel for two or three weeks. assuming you won’t heal by the end of the tourney?
He didn’t draw up a step back. He drew up a high ball screen. Got a switch, so mike attacked the mismatch. And considering Mikes shooting vs. finishing I would say a step back was likely a similar shot to him going at the rim as far as percentages go. If we had done it 5 or 6 seconds earlier we still have a chance
I wouldn’t love it, but I’d still want to be with my teammates. He still can be useful on the bench as a leading voice.
I’m really just referencing what Howard said (I know he didn’t tell Mike specifically to take a step-back, but that’s what it ended up being). I believe the exact words were “I’ll take that shot any day.”
As for the high ball screen and getting the switch (which is what Juwan said he wanted), that’s also not something I’m a fan of. Smith had struggled a few times earlier in the game going one-on-one against Liddell, who is bigger and more athletic. If you’re trying to get the switch so that you can throw it into Dickinson, then that’s fine and you set the ball screen a bit earlier. If you’re getting the switch so that Smith can try to work Liddell, that’s not optimal, especially since he had been shooting poorly.
Not really arguing that he should’ve gone to the rim against Liddell, I much rather see a shot. But I think we definitely could’ve gotten a better look.
Does anyone have a link to Alex Wong’s presser?
I assume this is tongue in cheek but there was no Alex Wong presser.
It was. Dang, I thought it was pretty funny.
What Juwan Howard says about a player in a press conference is going to be a little different than what he says in private.
Publically you praise the kid and his decision making.
In private you might wonder if you can draw up a better look.
Tom Izzo would have said that Mike Smith did exactly what he told him not to do.
How would you not want to be with your team?
Some possible reasons:
- safer from COVID at home
- probably easier to rehab
- could end up living in a hotel for a month while taking classes via zoom and walking around in a boot
I’m sure he wants to be there with his teammates but even NBA players were getting depressed in the bubble last year.
I’m not sure you’re safer from infection outside the bubble. Everyone in the bubble has an incentive not to get Covid, whereas outside that’s not necessarily true.
Living in a hotel might be a bummer but he’d be with his teammates. If he’s at home, he’s free to move around, but can’t spend time with them. I imagine a lot of the guys on the team are close. In the NBA that might not always be true.
Didn’t think of it that way! Hope that’s the case.