Especially in the first half - showed some creativity with lineup combos, staggering McCullar/Adams, big lineups followed by small/fast lineups, and liked the jumbo lineup to close out the first half. It allowed the team to play at different speeds and styles that made sense at the time and kept our opponent off balance.
Granted, NC Central was awful and TBD when we face better competition. But when you lack natural shooters it’s imperative that you “manufacture” better outside shooting through higher shot quality and we did well with this as evidence by our shooting percentage. Additionally, this team still has the chance to be elite in transition even with a shortened bench.
It’s the area of coaching that Self has made huge strides the last 3-5 years and very encouraging to see the R&D on the court and the willingness to play lineups that 8-10 years ago I’m not certainly he would’ve entertained. Will play dividends down the road if it keeps HD’s mileage down and reduces the risk of offense being contingent upon Kevin and him especially into March.
Granted, NC Central was awful and TBD when we face better competition. But when you lack natural shooters it’s imperative that you “manufacture” better outside shooting through higher shot quality and we did well with this as evidence by our shooting percentage. Additionally, this team still has the chance to be elite in transition even with a shortened bench.
It’s the area of coaching that Self has made huge strides the last 3-5 years and very encouraging to see the R&D on the court and the willingness to play lineups that 8-10 years ago I’m not certainly he would’ve entertained. Will play dividends down the road if it keeps HD’s mileage down and reduces the risk of offense being contingent upon Kevin and him especially into March.
