(11-30-2015 11:36 AM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(11-30-2015 10:52 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  I wasn't at the game, and so only have the stat sheet and the highlight video to go on, but here are my thoughts on the end of the game as well as Cohn (as many seem to have issues with him on this and other threads).

I'll start with Cohn, as I think he's a prototypical point guard, something we haven't had in awhile. Looking at the stats from Howard he had 9 assists to only 2 turnovers, and he is often the one who gets a play rolling but does not get credit for the assist. He's very, very fast, which when you look at some of the fast breaks works out very well; as the PG he's often at the top of the key on defense so for a fast break can run up to receive a pass. In the Howard game he was 5-10, and 0-5 from 3pt, which means he did not miss from inside the 3pt line. Obviously you'd like him to make a 3pt shot or two, but he scores enough that the defender has to stay close to keep him honest, which when you have a true PG is good as it keeps someone from being able to sag and lend quick help. In the highlights, his passes looked crisp and fast, often allowing our shooter to get a shot up before the defender was able to close in enough. Sometimes his speed with the ball has caused a turnover, but that same speed when he moves without the ball on a fast break is a big positive. Turnovers will go down as the season wears on. I really like what he brings, and like the way that he's running the offense.

On the end of the game, I want to focus on the last two plays. The collapse to blow a 20 point lead or be outscores 9-0 in the final 30 seconds is just terrible. Looking past that at the last two plays, if you told me that we would be up one, and their "last shot" would be an off balance shot from well behind the 3pt line with time still on the clock, I would have taken that 10 times out of 10. I can't see the clock, but if we had 3 seconds left, that means there were probably 5-6 seconds we he decided to shoot the ball. Obviously he is the go to guy, and since we'd been killed by fouling him from deep on previous plays I get why Tarpey was playing off him. When he comes up the court you can see #15 in the corner waiting for a pass (almost the same way Dixon waited for the pass from Marcus against Hofstra), and you see #5 coming in to set a screen. With that much time left, taking the screen and driving for a closer shot, and maybe a foul is probably the smart move. Then we get the ball with 3 seconds left and don't call a time out. I think it was exactly the right call to run it. With 3 seconds you don't have time to get it up to half court and then call a time out, and if you call one then they have a chance to set up defense on you. If you can capitalize on half a second of team celebrating to get the ball in and get up court, do it. Malinowski gets the ball, and sees Cohn coming up and hits him. With that short of time, who else takes the shot? Omar inbounded the ball and was behind the play, when Malinowski was looking to pass there were three defenders between him and Tarpey and two between him and Sheldon. That leaves only Cohn to take that shot. The ending sucks, but the way things played out gave us as much of a chance to make a shot as any other option.

I didn't see the game but these late game situations seem to come up every year. I'm a big believer in calling timeout to set a play. I know Tony isn't but I think it's worth it even if it allows the defense to get set. Especially because our half court offense relies on a lot of movement and time to be effective so we may not know exactly what to do in a crunch. I'm sure we practice end of game plays but a brief refresher on what everyone should be doing can't hurt. And I trust Tony to outscheme most other coaches we play.

With a few more seconds, I'd agree, but with only 3 seconds it can be hard. Another thing I didn't think about is that only players on the court can call a time out. All it takes is the inbounder grabbing the ball and throwing it in and the clock is running.