MSU/ISU on Altitude Sunday

[Billings_Griz]

On again RIGHT NOW!

[mslacat]

On again RIGHT NOW!

Was it ever off!

[CelticCat]

Well to be fair, when the Cats started the game HOT, ISU was in a zone and their rotation to the open shooter was very slow. We were making the extra pass and had open looks all the way up to 27 points. Then ISU switched to a more aggressive man-to-man defense, and we struggled with it as we have all season. ISU must've watched tape of the Weber game, because we had a very hard time cracking the Weber zone early as they played the perimeter very well. ISU tried the same, but we were able to find the open shooter. But when they finally tightened, and it was inevitable that they would, we struggled mightily with it. That and Gilcrest is a speed demon and just took the ball coast to coast several times just blowing by our entire defense before they knew what hit them.

Overall I was satisfied with our defense. Our rebounding continues and will continue to be our weakness. But as someone else mentioned we can't keep having these dry spells. The saving grace is that we are capable of producing big runs ourselves, but we have to find a way to score when things aren't dropping. This is where we miss a Carlos Taylor type player who could take a game over. We've had different guys somewhat step up, but no real leader has emerged IMO.

[Billings_Griz]

On again RIGHT NOW!

Was it ever off!

Being the game was at 2 and I posted a little after 8, yes.

[4everacatfan]

Well to be fair, when the Cats started the game HOT, ISU was in a zone and their rotation to the open shooter was very slow. We were making the extra pass and had open looks all the way up to 27 points. Then ISU switched to a more aggressive man-to-man defense, and we struggled with it as we have all season. ISU must've watched tape of the Weber game, because we had a very hard time cracking the Weber zone early as they played the perimeter very well. ISU tried the same, but we were able to find the open shooter. But when they finally tightened, and it was inevitable that they would, we struggled mightily with it. That and Gilcrest is a speed demon and just took the ball coast to coast several times just blowing by our entire defense before they knew what hit them.

Overall I was satisfied with our defense. Our rebounding continues and will continue to be our weakness. But as someone else mentioned we can't keep having these dry spells. The saving grace is that we are capable of producing big runs ourselves, but we have to find a way to score when things aren't dropping. This is where we miss a Carlos Taylor type player who could take a game over. We've had different guys somewhat step up, but no real leader has emerged IMO.

The last thing we need is a one man show! Where he does everything and the other four guys stand around on the court. I like this team because they are unselfish and they rely on each other and are not affraid to give it to the open guy. Last night Rush drove in and he could have thrown up a marginal layup but he saw Bobby open underneath and dished and Howard could have tried to force up the post move but saw Bj open and hit him for the three. I have only seen a few games this year on the internet and yesterday on TV but five guys working as a unit are much tougher to guard then one guy who gets his thirty and the rest never touch the ball. Look back at those games when Carlos had his big points no one else scored and we rarely won. There are leaders on this team who lead on and off the court by actions. I really like the way we are playing 4 or 5 guys all averaging between 9 - 14 and all capable of big nites.


Keep it up CATS

[Helcat72]

Well to be fair, when the Cats started the game HOT, ISU was in a zone and their rotation to the open shooter was very slow. We were making the extra pass and had open looks all the way up to 27 points. Then ISU switched to a more aggressive man-to-man defense, and we struggled with it as we have all season. ISU must've watched tape of the Weber game, because we had a very hard time cracking the Weber zone early as they played the perimeter very well. ISU tried the same, but we were able to find the open shooter. But when they finally tightened, and it was inevitable that they would, we struggled mightily with it. That and Gilcrest is a speed demon and just took the ball coast to coast several times just blowing by our entire defense before they knew what hit them.

Overall I was satisfied with our defense. Our rebounding continues and will continue to be our weakness. But as someone else mentioned we can't keep having these dry spells. The saving grace is that we are capable of producing big runs ourselves, but we have to find a way to score when things aren't dropping. This is where we miss a Carlos Taylor type player who could take a game over. We've had different guys somewhat step up, but no real leader has emerged IMO.

The last thing we need is a one man show! Where he does everything and the other four guys stand around on the court. I like this team because they are unselfish and they rely on each other and are not affraid to give it to the open guy. Last night Rush drove in and he could have thrown up a marginal layup but he saw Bobby open underneath and dished and Howard could have tried to force up the post move but saw Bj open and hit him for the three. I have only seen a few games this year on the internet and yesterday on TV but five guys working as a unit are much tougher to guard then one guy who gets his thirty and the rest never touch the ball. Look back at those games when Carlos had his big points no one else scored and we rarely won. There are leaders on this team who lead on and off the court by actions. I really like the way we are playing 4 or 5 guys all averaging between 9 - 14 and all capable of big nites.


Keep it up CATS

[CelticCat]

I never said we need a one man show, just someone who can score when the team is ice cold. It doesn't have to be a pure scorer like Taylor. What about a guy like Mbunga? When it got rough at least we could feed it into him and he could either score or draw a foul. As it is we have no inside presence, no one who can catch and score in the paint. We also don't have anyone who can consistently create their own shot. Rush can create his own shot at will more or less, but he isn't a great jump shooter.

You guys can preach the team ball, spreading points around, working as a unit. But until we can stop the bleeding of these massive 22-4ish runs we give up in games, I'm of the opinion someone needs to step up and be the icebreaker.

Basically there is a reason the Suns don't win in the playoffs like they do in the regular season. Sure they are fun to watch, spreading the ball around, everyone can shoot. But when the shots don't fall, the Suns lose to guys with big, offensive centers. Or teams that can get to the paint.

[whitetrashgriz]

I never said we need a one man show, just someone who can score when the team is ice cold. It doesn't have to be a pure scorer like Taylor. What about a guy like Mbunga? When it got rough at least we could feed it into him and he could either score or draw a foul. As it is we have no inside presence, no one who can catch and score in the paint. We also don't have anyone who can consistently create their own shot. Rush can create his own shot at will more or less, but he isn't a great jump shooter.

You guys can preach the team ball, spreading points around, working as a unit. But until we can stop the bleeding of these massive 22-4ish runs we give up in games, I'm of the opinion someone needs to step up and be the icebreaker.

Basically there is a reason the Suns don't win in the playoffs like they do in the regular season. Sure they are fun to watch, spreading the ball around, everyone can shoot. But when the shots don't fall, the Suns lose to guys with big, offensive centers. Or teams that can get to the paint.

exactly! there's a huge difference between being a one man team, and being a team that has at least one guy who can score when we need it. rush i think could be that guy. when we were blessed with jason erickson, he was far from a one man show. but when we needed a big shot, steal, or just a defensive stop, he made the plays. that's what we need. one person who can take it upon himself to score when we haven't...or get a stop when the other team is scoring at will.

[TomCat88]

One of things that stood out to me was their ability to grind it out late in this game. I think Huse said the same thing afterwards. I don't know how many games I've watched where the better team finds itself trailing by a few points late, but is able to put the clamps down and scratch out the win.

Bobby Howard was fantastic in that late stretch. I think he scored five points and made a very good pass on Johnson's 3-ball.

I think the teams big strength is its ability to stay composed and not make mistakes. The obvious weakness is rebounding. It would nice if Anderson could work his way into playing 20-25 minutes a game.

[Weltercat]

One of things that stood out to me was their ability to grind it out late in this game. I think Huse said the same thing afterwards. I don't know how many games I've watched where the better team finds itself trailing by a few points late, but is able to put the clamps down and scratch out the win.

Bobby Howard was fantastic in that late stretch. I think he scored five points and made a very good pass on Johnson's 3-ball.

I think the teams big strength is its ability to stay composed and not make mistakes. The obvious weakness is rebounding. It would nice if Anderson could work his way into playing 20-25 minutes a game.

Very good point. I have heard Huse say that same thing after a couple of the games this year and it seems pretty apparent to me. They are mentally tough and play hard until the end. I have also heard the WSU and ISU coaches say the same thing about their teams which I think is also true. That will make up for a lot of shortcomings elsewhere.