Key Lineup for the Providence Game

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Providence has a very short bench and likes to roll with a lot of big fellas. The offense lives and dies with their all world PG, Bryce Cotton. Because of their short bench you can expect to see this lineup almost the entire game:

1) Cotton
2) Fortune
3) Henton
4) Harris
5) Batts

Cotton and Henton will play all 40 minutes barring injury or foul trouble. Desrosiers will supply between 20-22 minutes off the bench to spell the other three. We may see spot minutes from the likes of Bancroft and Kofane but they aren't much more than warm bodies. So if we are going to get the starting lineup for over half the game, how do we stop it?

This is the lineup, IMHO, that stands the best chance:

1) D Wilson (with a healthy dose of Dawson)
2) Mayo (Should play almost the whole game)
3) J Wilson (Should play all 40 minutes)
4) Taylor Jr. (Mix in some Anderson when we need defense and some Thomas when we need threes)
5) Gardner (Mix in some Otule for quick breathers, and maybe a little Oxtule when Desrosiers and Batts are on the floor at the same time)

Cotton is too good for me to trust Dawson with, but I still want him to play. Dawson should play ONLY when Fortune is in the game. Have Mayo guard Cotton and Dawson guard Fortune, the least dangerous of all their starters. Otherwise, stick D Wil on Cotton.

Thomas is only effective with Dawson or Mayo in the game. Unfortunately, with Henton being as good as he is, we need Jamil to play the three and won't be able to roll out three guard lineups very often.

Henton can slash, post up, and drain threes at a very impressive clips. You need someone with size and speed to guard him. Jamil Wilson needs to stick to him at all times. He and Anderson are the only two with the right combination of size and speed to stop him. Given that Juan has no confidence on offense....Jamil needs to be in all 40 minutes.

I still think Taylor is a liability on defense, but with Jamil busy with Henton, we need a large, strong, and quick forward to handle Harris. Harris is a very tall stretch 4 with 34 % 3P shooting and back to the basket skills, think Brian Oliver from Seton Hall. Taylor will play the least of the starters but is needed to handle Harris.

Gardner ate Batts alive last year in the Bradley Center. I'm hoping the same will continue. We may see some oxtule when Desrosiers comes in and Batts moves to the 4.

I think with our deep bench, we should be able to wear these guys down. I would like to see a lot of full court press and a lot of subs to keep us fresh while wearing their guys down.

[harigtad]

Why has everyone cooled on the burton love he's got a better combo of offensive and defensive spark than everyone else on our bench

[mu03eng]

Why has everyone cooled on the burton love he's got a better combo of offensive and defensive spark than everyone else on our bench

Not in the last four games, his offense has been of a black hole without the scoring punch and the defense is still not good.

[mu03eng]

1) D Wilson (with a healthy dose of Dawson)
2) Mayo (Should play almost the whole game)
3) J Wilson (Should play all 40 minutes)
4) Taylor Jr. (Mix in some Anderson when we need defense and some Thomas when we need threes)
5) Gardner (Mix in some Otule for quick breathers, and maybe a little Oxtule when Desrosiers and Batts are on the floor at the same time)

This is exactly the line-up we advocated in our podcast this morning....not just for Providence but in general.  Thomas should be 20 minutes or less this game and Dawson should be at 15 minutes or so if only to keep Derrick Wilson fresh on D and force Providence to guard all 5 positions at times(not let Cotton rest on D).

[jesmu84]

Why has everyone cooled on the burton love he's got a better combo of offensive and defensive spark than everyone else on our bench

defensive spark? what games have you been watching?

[NersEllenson]

defensive spark? what games have you been watching?

Deonte is still the team leader in steals (23) and Derrick the uber defender has 18 in twice as many minutes.  Deonte is also second on the team in blocks after Otule....Steals and blocks certainly have defensive value..pretty impressive considering how limited his minutes have been.

But yes, he does get lost at times in rotations...yet....he still has productive moments defensively and the threat he brings offensively is probably 2nd best on the team...after Gardner.

[jesmu84]

Deonte is still the team leader in steals (23) and Derrick the uber defender has 18 in twice as many minutes.  Deonte is also second on the team in blocks after Otule....Steals and blocks certainly have defensive value..pretty impressive considering how limited his minutes have been.

But yes, he does get lost at times in rotations...yet....he still has productive moments defensively and the threat he brings offensively is probably 2nd best on the team...after Gardner.

Agree on offense, when he's in control. Disagree on defense.