RE: UTEP Game thread
Actually, I'm not as worried about the defense as a was at the beginning of the season. The interior defense is actually pretty solid. The team's biggest weakness, even more than their three point shooting, was their perimeter defense. Can't help guys getting hot or losing a guy in transition every once in a while, but, frankly, it was messy. Didn't matter if it was zone or man. Opposing teams could feast on us at the three point line because of poor rotations, misdiagnosing the screen, over pursuing, etc. Guys had good looks at will, and, even worse, bad perimeter defense weakens the interior by way of easy dribble penetration.
A team that had good, not even great, guard play could wreck us.
Thankfully, they tightened down. It reminds me a lot of how bad the defense was last year then they just got tremendously better. It wasn't something implemented or anything like that. It was just fundamentals being emphasized. Help getting there quicker, faster lateral movement, winning effort plays, etc.
There are three big reasons I feel like we're okay:
Rule changes
The game changed. We're seeing more possessions and more fouls. Scoring has went up as a direct result so you end up with some box scores that make it seem like more of a shootout than it really was. It was kind of rocky at first (especially at Auburn), but this benefits us in both facets of the game. Aside from the occasional we're-just-gonna-do-threes-no-matter-what games, the shot selection has been pretty good and I feel like the guys do well in transition. Also, the free throw percentage is high enough to make these changes favor us. A con is that it's harder to slow the tempo of the game down, but I don't necessarily think we have to resort to that.
Individual play
Not saying that anyone was garbage or anything. It was just that some guys had a tendency to get exploited. Not enough to make them a complete liability or anything like that, but still. There has definitely been some improvements and that's all you can really ask for. Another key thing to mention here is the poise. They don't panic and/or tense up the same way they did last season. They played through slumps, and the chemistry is back in a big way.
Offensive production
Those dry spells on the other end probably hurt more than the weak perimeter defense. There's a more natural flow to the offense now. It's cliche and all that, but being at least decent on offense helps the defense a lot. Just limiting the turnovers alone is making a big difference.
UAB is in good form right now. The offense is trending up, coach is doing good work with the lineups, and I think the defense is as good as it was at the end of last season right now. Yes, good guards and big men that can knock down jump shots are kind of scary, but that's for everybody. Either way, no major concerns for me right now. If a gun was put to my head, I'd admit that I'd like to see more mismatches forced because of the composition of the team. Can't always get what you want, though.
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