[Paint Touches] Does this team have a switch?

[PaintTouches]

JB said it best on Twitter, but poorly as may MU play, I have an eerie sense of confidence about the results this season, for the first time since 2012. 

https://painttouches.com/2019/02/21/does-this-marquette-team-have-a-switch/

[Bob "Big Daddy" Wild]

Good article - I haven't seen that +/- before - cool metric to use for this.  Shows it is not just recency bias making us think this way (I have been saying the same thing).

[Sponge Ruiner!]

Paint Touches needs to do something about the advertising content on their site.

Kinda ruined my lunch...

[wojoswarrior]

Good article - I haven't seen that +/- before - cool metric to use for this.  Shows it is not just recency bias making us think this way (I have been saying the same thing).

Is this "the" Big Daddy who hasn't posted for several months?

[Silkk the Shaka]

I think a lot/almost all of it has to do with defense (as you noted). Being able to string together stops means you can go through longish cold spells on offense and still be within striking distance when the buckets start falling on your own end. Buzz's emphasis on "turkeys" (3 stops in a row) was akin to a switch being flipped.

The fact that this team's offense is more 3-point oriented than the '11/'12/'13 teams exacerbates the effect. Go cold for a bit from the arc and you can dig a small hole... but string together some stops then the threes start dropping, and a 2-3 possession deficit is now a 2-3 possession lead in a matter of minutes.

Last two years' teams couldn't stop anyone, so they didn't have the ability to "flip a switch" even though they were lethal on offense.

[goldeneagle91114]

Is this "the" Big Daddy who hasn't posted for several months?

Nope. if you click on his name and then click "view posts" you can see what he's written. No the same guy.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Paint Touches needs to do something about the advertising content on their site.

Kinda ruined my lunch...

Be ready.

[Benny B]

God's honest truth, this is the actual (albeit paraphrased and abridged) conversation from the bedroom last night:

Mrs. Benny:  How are they doing?
Benny: Halftime, down 1.  Exactly where they want to be.
Mrs. Benny:  Awesome.  Go lock the door.

(several minutes later....)

Mrs. Benny: They winning?*
Benny:  By 10.  Under five to go.
[Sacar hits a three]
Mrs. Benny:  Yep.  Game's over.  What are the plans for the tournament this year?


* I know when my wife is asking a question, and this wasn't a question; however, for purposes of a happy marriage, I have to treat all statements from my wife in interrogatory form as an actual question, even when they're not.  Hence, question mark.

[MU82]

God's honest truth, this is the actual (albeit paraphrased and abridged) conversation from the bedroom last night:

Mrs. Benny:  How are they doing?
Benny: Halftime, down 1.  Exactly where they want to be.
Mrs. Benny:  Awesome.  Go lock the door.

(several minutes later....)

Mrs. Benny: They winning?*
Benny:  By 10.  Under five to go.
[Sacar hits a three]
Mrs. Benny:  Yep.  Game's over.  What are the plans for the tournament this year?


* I know when my wife is asking a question, and this wasn't a question; however, for purposes of a happy marriage, I have to treat all statements from my wife in interrogatory form as an actual question, even when they're not.  Hence, question mark.

Well, Benny, it looks like you really are a baller. And so is Mrs. Benny!

[THRILLHO]

God's honest truth, this is the actual (albeit paraphrased and abridged) conversation from the bedroom last night:

Mrs. Benny:  How are they doing?
Benny: Halftime, down 1.  Exactly where they want to be.
Mrs. Benny:  Awesome.  Go lock the door.

(several minutes later....)

Mrs. Benny: They winning?*
Benny:  By 10.  Under five to go.

By my math that's about 30 minutes in the locked bedroom.

Congrats on putting together that puzzle so quickly!

[MU82]

I think a lot/almost all of it has to do with defense (as you noted). Being able to string together stops means you can go through longish cold spells on offense and still be within striking distance when the buckets start falling on your own end. Buzz's emphasis on "turkeys" (3 stops in a row) was akin to a switch being flipped.

The fact that this team's offense is more 3-point oriented than the '11/'12/'13 teams exacerbates the effect. Go cold for a bit from the arc and you can dig a small hole... but string together some stops then the threes start dropping, and a 2-3 possession deficit is now a 2-3 possession lead in a matter of minutes.

Last two years' teams couldn't stop anyone, so they didn't have the ability to "flip a switch" even though they were lethal on offense.

While Mrs. 82 and I watched last night, she was disappointed in the offense in the first half. I said, "But look, despite it all, we're only down 3. That's because we can beat our opponents on defense now. Last year, if we went 3 straight possessions without scoring, we'd be a minus-6 or a minus-8 during that span. Now we can survive that. It's comforting."

[mu03eng]

By my math that's about 30 minutes in the locked bedroom.

Congrats on putting together that puzzle so quickly!

Congrats on the spit take

[Silkk the Shaka]

While Mrs. 82 and I watched last night, she was disappointed in the offense in the first half. I said, "But look, despite it all, we're only down 3. That's because we can beat our opponents on defense now. Last year, if we went 3 straight possessions without scoring, we'd be a minus-6 or a minus-8 during that span. Now we can survive that. It's comforting."

Yep, it's a weird feeling after the past few years!