$C is the biggest Basketball game of the season
by DCBruins on Feb 14, 2010 10:21 AM PST
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PrintThis is the biggest game of the basketball season for UCLA Men's Hoops. For at least three reasons:
1. To attain CBH's stated goal of a 500 season we need to go 4-3 for the rest of the season and 1-1 in the PAC 10 Tourney. (Note this is a minimum). CBH has said you need to split road games and win home games. Winning home games should be easy as the Oregon Schools aren't that good (2 wins). Winning at WSU should not be hard as far as PAC-10 road games go. That game has the added bonus for this UCLA team as WSU is the team that ND has played best again. That means we still need one win against $C, UW, AZ, and ASU.
UW played really stupid last time (for example, they were content to shoot threes for most of the game) and Hec Ed. is a tough place to play. Their athletic guards and Pondexter should be trouble on the road. ASU is playing well right now and it will be tough for this team to sweep a season series. In addition the ASU game is a Saturday game after a Thursday game, historically tougher for CBH teams. That means we need to beat $C or AZ at a minimum to get to 500. Ironically it comes down to beating one of our rivals on the road. I say $C is more important for the obvious reasons below.
2. Good coaches teams improve during the season and win rematches of big games. Two examples from UCLA lore. The first is UCLA v. Houston on January 20, 1968 in the "Game of the Century" which was the first regular season game played in a place as big as the Astrodome and broadcast nationwide in prime time. Houston won 71-69. When we played them again in the Tourney semi-finals, we destroyed them 101-69.
A negative example happen in 1992. We beat Indiana in November of 1991 87-72 in a road win. It was a big deal for an early season game. However, the Bobby Knight team we played in the regional finals that year was a much improved team and destroyed us 106-79, despite UCLA being the 1 seed playing out west.
The point being better coaches improve their teams through the season and avenge bad losses. While losing to CSULB was terrible, there is nothing worse than losing to your rival at home. A win at $C tonight would be a great sign of improvement and is important to avenge a bad loss.
3. CBH seems to be his best after long breaks. He has had a long time to prepare for $C. He needs to deliver this game with eight days to prepare.
Again, I am not arguing the merits of going 500. I am saying that CBH needs to win this game for his goal. This is a big game for CBH for the other reasons above as well. Beat $C!
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Sorry
The biggest basketball game was last Sat. against Cal when we had to hold serve. We imploded after a good start.
The biggest basketball game was little more than a week ago against a demoralized Oregon team on the road, when we could have buried them. We relaxed and failed to pounce.
The biggest basketball game was more than two weeks ago against Stanford when we could have built on an emotional and lucky win against Cal. We didn’t show up.
The biggest basketball game was two weeks ago against Southern Cal when we had to hold serve at Pauley. We humiliated the four letters.
I don’t buy this big game garbage. The team hasn’t bought it all season long.
Maybe the headline should be CBH's biggest game of the season
Beating Oregon at McArthur Court has been hard for the best UCLA teams.
Winning is hard on the road.
Losing to $c at home was the worst moment of the season and a reason why we need to win this game.
The Cal game is a good argument. If we would have won that we would be legitimate contenders to win the conference. Cal is the best team in the conference.
But I don’t think this team can win the conference. I am would be CONTENT if we finish over 500 with a decent finish. Beating $C is key to both those goals which I THINK our CBH goals.
I have not given up on this season. At least not yet.
Thinking that it won't be that hard to win at WSU is only fooling yourself
We will only be favored, and only slightly at that, in the home games against the Oregons. The way the Bruins have defended home court at Pauley this year only makes that dicey as well. There is a part of me that wants this team, as much as I love them, to go down in flames now so that CBH can get on with playing for next year. Every win just delays the inevitable and keeps the false hopes alive of salvaging the season. There isn’t a team in the Pac 10 that has a prayer this year of any real accomplishment especially this current bunch of Bruins. While it would be wonderful to win 6 or 7 more games the chance of that happening is an extreme longshot. Hoping we finish .500? Disgusting.
That is a good point
There are many who are of the school that we should play for next year, which is a legitimate strategy. That would mean bench JK, ND, AND MR. I am not sold that BL or MM can every be more than role players.
I am of the belief that we should continue trying for the rest of this year and finishing over 500. I think it is more important for moral, for recruiting and for the future that we finish the season decently.
And yes every road game is tough. But I think we can beat WSU this year because they are in a transition between coaches and don’t have an identity.
I think a big question here is
if CBH does as many are suggesting and “plays for next year,” but because of that, fails to break .500, is that okay? From the minutes I’ve seen from JMM and BL, they’re completely lost on both sides of the ball, and that alone should be good for at least a couple losses should they suddenly come into some big minutes. For this team, who have no credible offensive threat, will removing the streaky but effective (while hot) ND and MR (who can only be described as clutch) with JMM and BL, result in anything other than utter blowouts? Personally, I doubt it. If we start playing for next season, it will only be so JMM and BL take their lumps now and come back next year with some experience. This is literally advocating the season-long equivalent of putting in the second and third-stringers in garbage time.
So is everyone here that is advocating for the “play for next year” strategy okay with paying for it with a losing season?
sadly
where once people were in a “have your cake and eat it too” situation, arguing simultaneously that losing seasons are unacceptable at UCLA and that we need to play the freshmen more (avoiding having to make a tradeoff between the two goals by arguing that the “bench Dragovic” solution solves both problems);
now we are in a “CBH is damned whatever he does” situation, where no feasible amount of winning the rest of the season would soothe people’s ire, and playing an exclusively freshman roster the rest of the way wouldn’t make up for the lack of playing time afforded to them earlier. If the freshmen play well in more minutes, it is an indictment on CBH for not having played them sooner; if they play badly, it is an indictment on CBH for not having played them sooner.
Personally I thought BL showed enough in the first half against $C to suggest that he could play some productive minutes the rest of the season – I thought he looked much less ‘lost’ in that game than in previous games, and even his rough second half was less about being lost and more about making mistakes under pressure. Based on that I would give him a few of ND’s minutes and/or JK’s minutes when healthy. Maybe even a few of MR’s minutes, by managing the rotations slightly differently. By keeping some of the other guys fresher, the drop-off in performance might not be so big.
by britishbruin on Feb 16, 2010 9:02 AM PST up reply actions
Answer to the Question
You play like the beginning of the year. Ideally, many teams play 10 or so deep at the beginning of the year and slowly pair back their rotation to 7-8 players. The 2-3 that saw time in early games (BL prime example) that now don’t play, start playing again.
This is not to say you have MM take the game winning shot for the experience over MR. But it is to say you play MM for 10 minutes a game in PAC 10 games on the road for the invaluable experience of a road crowd screaming at you.
This will cost you in obvious ways (the players weren’t good enough to be in the top 8) and less obvious ways (chemistry) but the tradeoff is for next year.
I think our chance at 500 is almost done now. But I for one would be soothed if we rally over 500 . I will not be happy if we finish under 500 and agree 100% with Nestor on that point.
Sorry Second Part of the Answer
On second thought, I did not answer very well. You’re both right. CBH is dammed whatever he does here for this season. His best hope in order:
1. Does well next year so everyone forgives this year. (So start playing for next year now.)
2. If he pulls out a winning season it will sooth some but not most.
3. If he wins PAC 10 Tourney most.
I think the odds of #3 are very small and 2 is slim. 1, is unknown.
Fair enough
I didn’t see BL in the $C game (or much of the game at all), so I was going off previous performances. If he’s starting to figure out his place on the court, that’s great— we’ll surely need it next year.
MM has been a virtual unknown for me all season. I see him for brief spurts that are always ended by freshman mistakes, but on the other hand, they’re freshman mistakes. You’re supposed to make them, and I can’t tell if he deserves PT from what I’ve seen since he gets such a quick hook.
I think this season is going to be a one-or-the-other decision between winning season and freshmen PT, unless BL, JMM, et al step it up like crazy. I’m just afraid that the PG “difficulties” don’t make it a choice between losing season playing freshmen and losing season playing seniors.
Lots of people (including CBH) like to pile on ND for jacking up shots, but the fact of the matter is he can’t create his own shot. He’s a solid role player who can knock down shots if you give him (enough) open looks, but not much more. Look at the games where he’s been most successful: I’ll wager that most of his success has come off of either a zone defense or shots created for him by others. There’s nothing really wrong with playing someone like that, but you can’t expect him to create his own shots. That’s where the PGs come in. Right now, neither of our PGs are consistent scoring threats, which I just don’t understand from ML. He has the skills. I’ve seen it. There’s no reason for a player like him to be averaging 12 ppg on 3.5 assists. I just don’t know why he looks so…off? sometimes.
On your points
1. I don’t know MM at all. BL is not a top 8 player in the current rotation which worries me going forward.
2. Disagree on ND, he shouldn’t be just jacking up shots. He is a scorer who can create when matched up against a PF (like against $C) or post a small forward. He too often settles for the 3 point bomb, which in part I blame CBH for.
3. On ML, he isn’t a better consistent scorer is he can’t do two things at once. Literally. He can either score or not turn the ball over but not both. Looking at PAC 10 games and cheating slightly and counting the Oregon OT loss as a win you will see ML averages 11.6 points a game and 5.2 TOs a game in losses but only 9 points but also only 2.7 TOs a game in wins. Thus ML can’t score and not turn the ball over. He can do one or the other and as Point we need him not to turn the ball over.
It is interesting in his 29 point game against Notre Dame he only had one TO but JA was point. But when we win it is not because ML scores but that he does not turn the ball over. Again counting the Oregon OT game as a win for this purpose, In our wins in PAC 10 he has never had more than 4 TOs and in our losses he has had less than 4 TOs only once, the first $C game.
I never really buy "biggest game of the season"
as for every ‘biggest game’ there are several before it that make this one so important, and there are several ahead that may be more important.
I do care about this game more than others because it is $C. Other than the rivalry, our most important upcoming game would seem to be the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.
For various reasons I am unable to watch the game tonight. Part of me fears this may be for the best. I’m expecting plenty of early fouls on our bigs and for the game to get out of hand early in the second half.
Good point BB
You are among my favorite posters here so I am bummed you are not going to be watching tonight.
And I agree with you somewhat that there never really is a “biggest game of the season.” Nestor made that point above and obviously the PAC 10 tourney will be very important.
But I wanted to be interesting and maybe if i did again I would redo the headline above to say "CBH’s biggest game so far of the season. ": To get to 500 and to truly turn things around, we need to win tonight I think. Beating $c is always important more so after they destroyed us at home.
I am not one who thinks this season is “over.” I could still be CONTENT if certain things happen the rest of year.
yeah no worries
I know where you’re coming from. Enjoy the game tonight.
by britishbruin on Feb 14, 2010 1:07 PM PST up reply actions
Failed on enjoying game
I think the season is done.
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