Hey James haters...

[MUSF]

Did you notice how much our offense sucked without James today. When he went out we lost our freakin minds. Wild shots, turnovers, it was ridiculous. McNeal/Acker/Cubillan simply can't control the offense like Dominic.

James makes our offense go. So please, stop hating.

[patso]

To go anywhere in this tourney we will need some big play from James. He is a bit out of sync at the moment but I think he goes off against Stanford 18pts 4R 7A 3 Steals

[muwarrior87]

I have to agree mostly with this post. Acker simply does not have as much control over this teams as james does when he is running it.  it seemed like most of the runs UK had were when james was on the bench.

[Daniel]

It's true - we do not get good ball movement with James out - we get a lot of off-blanaced shots, rushed shots etc.  He definitley runs the floor the best

[MUSF]

To go anywhere in this tourney we will need some big play from James. He is a bit out of sync at the moment but I think he goes off against Stanford 18pts 4R 7A 3 Steals

This, to me, is the major misconception people have with James. I don't think James needs to "go off" statistically for us to be successful. Just his ability to manage the offense and play solid D makes us better. When he tries too hard to "go off," our offense sputters. When he gets in foul trouble and is on the bench, our offense plays like hyper-active 11 year olds who forgot their ridlin.

[RawdogDX]

Yeah I feel like we pounded them when James was on the floor and would give up ground when he was out.  Remeber twice I said 'of course they are making a run now james is out."  I don't know if that had more to do with the offence or defence without him though.

[muwarrior87]

Yeah I feel like we pounded them when James was on the floor and would give up ground when he was out.  Remeber twice I said 'of course they are making a run now james is out."  I don't know if that had more to do with the offence or defence without him though.

most likely a little of each.  When he controls the pace and offense, 'Zar and Jerel are able to take over on the offensive end.  I'd gladly take 10 pts, 6+ assists, and only 1 or 2 turnovers out of James and say it's a good game for him.

[79Warrior]

To go anywhere in this tourney we will need some big play from James. He is a bit out of sync at the moment but I think he goes off against Stanford 18pts 4R 7A 3 Steals

his late second half three was huge!!!

[NYWarrior]

his late second half three was huge!!!

yes it was......that was the key sequence in the game.  That three off the ORB followed by the aggressive move by Bradley for the layup.....a 3 point lead becomes 8.

DJ -- 29 mins, zero turnovers, 15 points, 3 assists.  Great performance

[Markusquette]

There is no doubt that James gets our offense going.  His quickness and ability to find open guys really helps us get some good looks.  He had a few nice drives today.  I wish he would cut his number of jumpers in half and start driving more. 

[mcnealfan1]

mcneal and acker can run the offense just as well as james, seems like to me when mcneal goes to the bench the offense staggers

[NYWarrior]

mcneal and acker can run the offense just as well as james, seems like to me when mcneal goes to the bench the offense staggers

Right, the offense staggers when the 2G who turns the ball over more than any player at his position in the Big East leaves the floor.

(sarcasm off)

James.......15 points, three assists, zero turnovers in an NCAA game going against the first-team All-SEC point guard.  Let's give the guy some credit.

[NateDoggMarq]

To go anywhere in this tourney we will need some big play from James. He is a bit out of sync at the moment but I think he goes off against Stanford 18pts 4R 7A 3 Steals

This, to me, is the major misconception people have with James. I don't think James needs to "go off" statistically for us to be successful. Just his ability to manage the offense and play solid D makes us better. When he tries too hard to "go off," our offense sputters. When he gets in foul trouble and is on the bench, our offense plays like hyper-active 11 year olds who forgot their ridlin.

I couldnt have said it better myself

[MUSF]

mcneal and acker can run the offense just as well as james, seems like to me when mcneal goes to the bench the offense staggers

You watched a completely different game than I did yesterday.

[romey]

mcneal and acker can run the offense just as well as james, seems like to me when mcneal goes to the bench the offense staggers

You watched a completely different game than I did yesterday.

Acker did nothing yesterday to warrant saying he can run the offense just as well as James.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Offensively, the last two games have been two of the worst performances James has had all season.

The good news is we won and I expect he'll play a lot better Saturday (and next week).

Don't forget PR Nightmare has been predicting a Sweet 16 since before the pairings even came out. I have faith that we're going to play well Saturday...and I don't think we played particularly well yesterday.

[MUSF]

Offensively, the last two games have been two of the worst performances James has had all season.

The good news is we won and I expect he'll play a lot better Saturday (and next week).

Don't forget PR Nightmare has been predicting a Sweet 16 since before the pairings even came out. I have faith that we're going to play well Saturday...and I don't think we played particularly well yesterday.

Again, I don't understand why you think this was one of James worst offensive games. I think his contribution offensively has little to do with his ppg and everything to do with his ability to run the offense, get penetration, and distribute the ball. He did those three things well yesterday and we won.

[NYWarrior]

Again, I don't understand why you think this was one of James worst offensive games. I think his contribution offensively has little to do with his ppg and everything to do with his ability to run the offense, get penetration, and distribute the ball. He did those three things well yesterday and we won.

true....and played 29 mins without a turnover, and in the game's key sequence had 5 straight points.

[MUSF]

Again, I don't understand why you think this was one of James worst offensive games. I think his contribution offensively has little to do with his ppg and everything to do with his ability to run the offense, get penetration, and distribute the ball. He did those three things well yesterday and we won.

true....and played 29 mins without a turnover, and in the game's key sequence had 5 straight points.

Yeah, and we are just talking about his offense. His defense was phenomenal yesterday. James is one of the best on ball defenders I have ever seen at MU. McNeal might be a slightly better all around defender but James is right there.

[ecompt]

the only thing DJ did wrong yesterday was trying for the interception late in the game, leaving his guy wide open for a three that cut the lead in half,. Other than that, he was very solid at both ends.

[Pakuni]

NBA box scores this year have started carrying an NHL-like +/- stat for players, gauging how many more or less points each player's team scored than their opponents while he was on the court.
I can't say this for a fact without re-watching yesterday's game play-by-play and taking notes, but I'd venture to guess DJ was more than a +8 against Kentucky.

[MUSF]

the only thing DJ did wrong yesterday was trying for the interception late in the game, leaving his guy wide open for a three that cut the lead in half,. Other than that, he was very solid at both ends.

He did take one three early in a posession in the second half and I thought, "oh s**t, here we go again," but he went right back to game management mode. I'm almost glad he missed that three, so he wasn't encouraged to keep jacking them up with 20 seconds left on the shot clock.

[Marquette06]

The team has been talking about playing with a sense of urgency to start the game.  I didn't feel like I saw that from James in the beginning of the game.  I think he played a great overall game but I liked the 2nd half from him better than the first.  I love when James penetrates the defense and somehow gets a pass off to an open man. 
As for that open 3 he let his guy have....at least he didn't foul him.

[RawdogDX]

Yeah I feel like we pounded them when James was on the floor and would give up ground when he was out.  Remeber twice I said 'of course they are making a run now james is out."  I don't know if that had more to do with the offence or defence without him though.

most likely a little of each.  When he controls the pace and offense, 'Zar and Jerel are able to take over on the offensive end.  I'd gladly take 10 pts, 6+ assists, and only 1 or 2 turnovers out of James and say it's a good game for him.

Yeah that would be perfect if you just add -9 shots, 3+ rb and 2+ stls. 

[lab_warrior]

I think his D is also missed when he's out.  Have to agree, when he is in the game, we're a better team on O and D.  I think he was in a bit of foul trouble in the first half, and then we were up, so we tried to steal a few minutes without him in the second half.  It would help if the McNeal/Cubes/Acker trio could shoot a bit better.