Reflections from the Galen Center cheap seats.

by britishbruin on Jan 10, 2011 11:52 PM PST

[comment reposted per request]

~~Just got back~~ Recently returned from my first trip to the Galen Center. It was an eyeopening experience.

We are a very, very soft team, physically but particularly mentally. We were outmuscled on the ball, and outmuscled off the ball. $c was niggling all game and we could not deal with it. Every time a referee makes a bad call, we totally overreact in our play – particularly when we are called for questionable charges, we stop taking it to the hoop. Smith took a couple of cheap shots off the ball and responded by bundling into a guy clumsily for his 4th foul. An older gentleman from $c told me that Smith gave the fans the bird as he was walking off the court at the end of the game – if so, Howland shouldn’t take him on the Oregon trip. He was surely frustrated with the abuse he was taking and the cheap foul calls against him, but if he really did that I am disgusted.

Lane was terrible; not strong enough on defense, a black hole on offense. Stover seems totally confused on both ends and doesn’t have enough ability to compensate. Watching him trying to set a screen, and TH halfheartedly trying to use it, was depressing.

Zeke clearly wasn’t on his game (mitigating factor being his injury), but we need him to be a serious scorer and assertive with the ball to do well. Anderson had a decent game off the bench with the odd lapse.

Nelson is up and down, as ever. His post defense was more effective than Lane or Stover insofar as he is less easy to push around. His offense runs hot and cold and he seems to force shots when he should pass and force passes to guys not expecting them.

I think Tyler Lamb will be good, but he is too deferential right now and still playing like a freshman.

I never felt like Lee wasn't trying hard, and I think with home refs he might have got a few more calls trying to force the issue offensively; but insofar as people think he has an NBA game, I don’t know what he does well enough to warrant that.

And, Honeycutt… is totally underachieving, making terrible decisions and not playing to his strengths. He needs to shoot the open 3s, not take two dribbles into a double team; he needs to move off the ball into gaps from which he can shoot or pass, not put his head down and try to take a smaller player off the dribble. Our guards need to take initiative, and Smith needs to stay on the court long enough to be creative in the offense, and that will allow TH to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. No player on our team fluctuates between grace and clumsiness like TH, from silky smooth to jarringly inept. A lot is on him, some is on his teammates.

Watching all the little battles on the court, it was clear $c wanted it more. Very depressing.

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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Thanks BB

Just curious did people look tired? Nelson complained about being exhausted after the first half. Was it SUC wanted it more? Or a combination of both.

Also, what is your basis for thinking Tyler Lamb will be good? Not disagreeing just wondering.

by DCBruins on Jan 11, 2011 7:28 AM PST reply actions

welcome

My thought on Nelson was that he didn’t look like he was tired from running up and down the court, but that he took some heavy falls, and also got worn down bodying up on defense. The other thing with him, is that when he is on top of his game, he takes and makes very tough improvised shots near the basket – and when he tries those shots when running at less than 100% power, they look TERRIBLE. Someone missing a jumper due to tiredness tends not to look so bad.

In terms of wanting it more – by the end of the game, you could see that $c were still playing with intensity, setting hard screens, getting inside the jersey on defense (sometimes with borderline illegal behavior). We looked like we had lost the stomach for the fight relatively early. TH in particular looked like he was thinking “really, you want me to fight through ANOTHER screen chasing a little guy? C’mon man…”

Tyler Lamb: I think he shows flashes of having talent and good instincts, and an ability to adjust in mid motion (e.g. pump fake, drive, and elevate the shot over a help defender going for a block). He is incredibly deferential at the moment, only calling his own number when he is forced to, and looking to pass it off most of the time. I think this is a freshman thing he’ll grow out of – though I realize that recent stats analysis argues that your either an alpha dog or not right from your freshman year and that players don’t change in that aspect…

by britishbruin on Jan 11, 2011 9:32 AM PST up reply actions

Time will tell

if Lamb being deferential is simply his instinct, if it’s something he feels as a freshman, or if it’s something the coaching staff drills into him as a freshman. I’d guess some of the second but mostly the last, sadly.

Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.

by KSBruin on Jan 11, 2011 10:01 AM PST up reply actions

the thing is

when I watch him, he makes a few plays every game that look like really good basketball plays. Watching guys like DC or RW as freshmen, they would make a few plays every game that make you think, wow, that guy is FAST; Tyler Lamb doesn’t do anything that stands out athletically, but does things that make me think, oh, that guy is a baller.

by britishbruin on Jan 11, 2011 11:01 AM PST up reply actions

I see a lot of potential in Tyler Lamb.

I see some of that killer instinct our team seems to be lacking. But, he does look like he’s being handcuffed, whether by coache’s instructions or his own hesitation is the question.

The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Jan 11, 2011 1:15 PM PST up reply actions

"I always chose a player with skill and quickness." Coach John Wooden

This team lacks two things, and they are interrelated. The players lack intensity and quickness. Zeke is quick, but he competes against the quickest players. As a point guard, he lacks exceptional quickness. Zeke plays with intensity. Malcolm Lee has quickness and intensity, but he lacks [consistent] offensive skill. Joshua Smith lacks quickness. He is quick for a 325 lb. man, but he is not a quick center. Reeves Nelson can run, but he is a slow reactor and this hurts his quickness. Tyler Honeycutt lacks lateral quickness. He is extremely quick vertically, but is not quick side to side, either on the drive or defensively. The charge he picked up near the end of the game was classic. He was guarded by a quick defender who beat him to the spot. He is a quick thinker. He lacks intensity. Can you imagine Tyler slapping the floor daring his offensive opponent to bring it on. He prefers to be a cool customer, unruffled by anything going on. Its just his nature. Compare DC, RW, AA or LRMAM to TH on the intensity meter. Quickness can’t be fixed. Intensity can be.

The other thing the team lacks is attention to detail. They run the offense, but they run it to about 90% perfection. The screeners get to their spots late, and are moving, and the dribblers do not wait until the screens are set. The hedgers go just a bit to far toward the dribbler, and get called for the foul, instead of making the dribbler go around.

Now to why we lost. We lost because we can’t shoot. I know we took some awful shots during the second half. I particularly remember a running alley oop by Reeves that had about a 2% chance of going in. But we were within four points of the lead with 5 minutes to go. Here is the play by play from 10 minutes to go to 2 minutes to go. I count 11 misses and 1 make over this crucial time period, sometimes known as “the stretch.” No team can win shooting like this.

10:17 Tyler Honeycutt missed Two Point Jumper. 42-49
10:17 Lazeric Jones Offensive Rebound. 42-49
10:14 Lazeric Jones missed Two Point Jumper. 42-49
10:14 Tyler Honeycutt Offensive Rebound. 42-49
10:10 Tyler Honeycutt missed Two Point Jumper. 42-49
10:10 42-49 Bryce Jones Defensive Rebound.
10:03 42-49 Donte Smith Turnover.
10:03 Joshua Smith Steal. 42-49
10:03 42-49 Foul on Marcus Simmons
9:48 Reeves Nelson missed Two Point Layup. 42-49
9:48 42-49 Alex Stepheson Defensive Rebound.
9:22 42-49 Bryce Jones missed Two Point Jumper.
9:22 Reeves Nelson Defensive Rebound. 42-49
9:17 42-49 Foul on Jio Fontan
8:58 42-49 Foul on Donte Smith
8:53 Tyler Lamb missed Three Point Jumper. 42-49
8:51 42-49 Foul on Jio Fontan
8:51 Tyler Honeycutt made Free Throw. 43-49
8:51 Tyler Honeycutt made Free Throw. 44-49
8:35 Foul on Brendan Lane 44-49
8:35 44-49 Nikola Vucevic missed Free Throw.
8:35 44-50 Nikola Vucevic made Free Throw.
8:11 Reeves Nelson Turnover. 44-50
8:00 44-50 Maurice Jones Turnover.
7:59 Lazeric Jones Steal. 44-50
7:55 Official TV Timeout. 44-50
7:52 Reeves Nelson missed Two Point Jumper. 44-50
7:52 44-50 Alex Stepheson Defensive Rebound.
7:51 44-50 Alex Stepheson Turnover.
7:31 Joshua Smith missed Two Point Jumper. 44-50
7:31 Tyler Honeycutt Offensive Rebound. 44-50
7:27 Tyler Honeycutt missed Two Point Jumper. 44-50
7:27 44-50 Alex Stepheson Defensive Rebound.
7:13 44-50 Nikola Vucevic missed Two Point Jumper.
7:13 Reeves Nelson Defensive Rebound. 44-50
6:53 Reeves Nelson made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Malcolm Lee. 46-50
6:28 46-52 Nikola Vucevic made Two Point Jumper.
6:06 Joshua Smith made Two Point Layup. Assisted by Tyler Honeycutt. 48-52
6:04 UCLA 30 Second Timeout.
5:37 Foul on Jerime Anderson 48-52
5:37 48-53 Alex Stepheson made Free Throw.
5:37 48-54 Alex Stepheson made Free Throw.
5:18 Jerime Anderson missed Two Point Jumper. 48-54
5:18 48-54 Maurice Jones Defensive Rebound.
5:12 48-56 Bryce Jones made Two Point Layup. Assisted by Maurice Jones.
4:50 Joshua Smith made Two Point Layup. Assisted by Reeves Nelson. 50-56
4:24 50-56 Donte Smith missed Two Point Jumper.
4:24 50-56 Alex Stepheson Offensive Rebound.
4:22 50-58 Alex Stepheson made Two Point Dunk Shot.
4:05 Tyler Honeycutt missed Two Point Jumper. 50-58
4:05 Tyler Honeycutt Offensive Rebound. 50-58
4:03 Tyler Honeycutt missed Two Point Jumper. 50-58
4:03 Tyler Honeycutt Offensive Rebound. 50-58
4:01 Tyler Honeycutt made Two Point Tip Shot. 52-58
3:56 USC 30 Second Timeout.
3:31 52-58 Nikola Vucevic missed Three Point Jumper.
3:31 52-58 Alex Stepheson Offensive Rebound.
3:04 52-58 Nikola Vucevic missed Two Point Jumper.
3:04 Lazeric Jones Defensive Rebound. 52-58
2:46 Tyler Honeycutt Turnover. 52-58
2:45 52-58 Bryce Jones Steal.
2:17 52-60 Nikola Vucevic made Two Point Layup. Assisted by Donte Smith.
2:00 Brendan Lane Turnover. 52-60