[Cracked Sidewalks] A Faster Pace and the link between Offense and Defense

[Murffieus]

There are other variables-----was Pearl a better coach than those opposing coaches he upset/ was he a better motivator------was he a better defensive coach?

BTW------UWM that year (2004-05) was a very good half court offensive team----they ran of TOs and some real long rebounds, but I don't recall them playing race horse BB or pushing the ball at every opportunity. Also they worked the ball off the half court offense-----they went pretty deep into the possession clock.

As I recall against Alabama and BC, the best part of their game was 3 point shooting off the half court offense.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Really, really interesting analysis Sugar.

I think we all watch the game with emotion and often apply our own sports lessons and cliches to form our opinions. It's interesting to see if our "gut reactions" match what the statistics are telling you.

I don't have a specific opinion on what style of play is better, but I will say this:

In a specific situation where you are the smaller and faster team, it would probably be beneficial to speed the game up.

Look at it this way:

The knock on a lot of big men is lack of stamina. If you speed the game up and make that big man get up and down the floor and defend, you can neutralize that player's specific advantage due to fatigue (can lead to poor play or personal fouls) and additional rest needed on the bench.   

I'm not saying it's always this simple or easy, but it is a situation where slowing the game down would be a mistake as it would allow that big man the ability to set up and operate both offensively and defensively.

Anyways, back to the regularly scheduled debates.

[Marquette84]

Really, really interesting analysis Sugar.

I think we all watch the game with emotion and often apply our own sports lessons and cliches to form our opinions. It's interesting to see if our "gut reactions" match what the statistics are telling you.

I think the other filter which too many people adopt with almost religious faith is that teams should focus on improving weaknesses rather than exploiting their own strengths.

This whole discussion started when some expressed great dismay that Buzz might try a 5 guard lineup this season.   Yet we know perimiter/open court/fast pace play is going to be our strenght this year, and we know inside/half-court play is going to be our weakness.   

Knowing that, we still get comments that indicate that the limited practice time  should focus on improving our inside/half-court game. 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I think the other filter which too many people adopt with almost religious faith is that teams should focus on improving weaknesses rather than exploiting their own strengths.

This whole discussion started when some expressed great dismay that Buzz might try a 5 guard lineup this season.   Yet we know perimiter/open court/fast pace play is going to be our strenght this year, and we know inside/half-court play is going to be our weakness.   

Knowing that, we still get comments that indicate that the limited practice time  should focus on improving our inside/half-court game. 

Very good point. Even I fall prey to that one sometimes.

I don't know if I can make a broad statement that MU will be better off running all of the time this year (I want to see the new players and see how the old players play together in the pre-season).

However, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that UW* has the market cornered on dopey looking white dudes who can shoot, while MU has a lot of talented athletic guards.

UW* should probably slow the game down while MU should probably speed the game up.

*Please note: this is not a UW vs MU post, I'm just using them for a stark contrast of playing style.