The Dancing Bear's Recital: Michigan State 88, Oakland 57
by KJ@theonlycolors on Dec 10, 2009 9:47 PM CST
in Michigan State Spartans Basketball
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PrintIf you're like me (and, admit it, you're at least a little bit like me), this is the kind of game that makes you want to go straight to the four-factors graph:
When this team wins the turnover battle and shoots 62.8% from 2-point range, it's generally going to win the game pretty comfortably. MSU ran out to a 30-7 lead over the first 14 minutes of the game and coasted to a 31-point victory. The Grizzlies looked like a team that wasn't functioning very smoothly coming into this game, and MSU made sure they never had a chance to find any kind of comfort level tonight.
If I were going to find a downside to this game, I'd point to these things:
- Neither Chris Allen nor Raymar Morgan could get things going offensively.
- A lot of the OU turnovers seemed like a function of their inability to make competent ball-handling moves more so than MSU's defense. (12 steals for MSU.)
- Ultimately, the MSU big men couldn't contain Keith Benson: 21 points on 7-15 FG shooting and 11 rebounds. (He made some pretty good moves in the second half, though.)
Those are all fairly nitpicky issues, though. Overall, this was a very efficient performance by the Spartans on both ends of the court (71 possessions), with Lucas and Green leading the way and a lot of guys making contributions off the bench. Another small step toward this team gelling into a more cohesive unit.
Player bullets (official box score is here):
- Draymond Green put on a show: 19 points on 9-11 FG shooting and 12 rebounds. Good to have another mid-range scoring option when Morgan isn't hitting.
- Kalin Lucas with another very efficient scoring game: 19 points on 11 FG attempts. Up-to-the-minute shooting line for the season: .557/.429/.756.
- Solid game for Delvon Roe: 11 points on 5-7 FG shooting and 6 rebounds.
- Korie Lucious got the start and played well for the most part: 7 points, 4 assists, 2 TOs. A few sloppy moments in the second half.
- Only 4 points for Raymar Morgan. Jumpshot has gone completely missing. Frustrated by Benson's shot-blocking. Chipped in 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
- Chris Allen only hit 1 of 5 three-point attempts, but made plays elsewhere: 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.
- Durrell Summers looked pretty good. Didn't force things: 6 points and 3 rebounds.
- Austin Thornton got some real PT tonight, entering the game with the first batch of subs: 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 10 minutes. Both his jumpshots were ugly looking, though.
- Garrick Sherman was good at moments and bad at others during his 10 minutes on the floor. Nothing on the stat sheet to write home about.
- Derrick Nix: Made a free throw! Missed two others, though. Free throw percentage stands at a whopping 8.7%. Nice game all around: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block in 12 minutes. Played good defense when he was matched up against Benson.
- The Kebler/Dahlman/Crandall/Herzog playing group finished the game off with style, outscoring the Grizzlies 9-7 in the final few minutes (with an OU 3-point play in the final seconds). (Herzog's first-half appearance, on the other hand, was pretty miserable. Picked up a foul and a turnover in one minute of play.)
Next up: It's the annual week-long basketball break for final exams. The Spartans play next 9 days from now. Noon on Saturday the 19th vs. IPFW. At home. Big Ten Network.
Gives us some time to focus on that big bowl game match-up. And analyze legal charges. You know, football talk.
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Nix
had a nice poke check steal that led to an uncontested Draymond Green dunk. Just a play that stood out in my mind.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Nix Quote
"I used to do that in high school because I couldn’t stay in front of nobody," said Nix, a Detroit Pershing alum. "And it still works, because they don’t expect it from a big man.
"I had to make up for it by doing that. If a guard wasn’t paying attention, I’d just let him go past me and get on their outside hip and just tap the ball from behind. I knew if I wouldn’t have got that (Thursday night), I would have got in trouble, because I was already late getting back on defense. I was thinking, ‘What can I do.’ I just saw it and tapped it to (Kalin Lucas). That was the guard’s fault. He should have switched it to the other hand."
http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2009/12/spartans_derrick_nix_cheered_a.html
Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Dec 11, 2009 7:34 AM CST up reply actions
Lucious
I still cringe every time he’s running the offense. Tries too often to make spectacular plays, leading to awful turnovers (I have a hard time believing he had only two TOs, considering I remember a five-minute stretch with him responsible for three – maybe some of them were passes that his intended target couldn’t handle).
I have to respectfully disagree.
I think Lucious is developing nicely as a ballhandler and playmaker. Sure, it’s not always perfect but he’s a true sophomore. The Lucas/Lucious backcourt may end up being as effective as any combination with Allen or Summers despite the height disadvantage.
by intrpdtrvlr on Dec 11, 2009 10:34 PM CST up reply actions
I agree with your respectful disagreement
The only thing I notice with Lucious that worries me a bit is that he has a tendency to over-dribble, hanging onto the ball too long in our sets and not initiating the offense as crisply and purposefully as Lucas. But as you point out, that is mostly what one might expect of a sophomore point guard growing comfortable with the keys to a complicated offense. I have been pleasantly surprised by how effective the KL and KL2 backcourt has been.
by RobbingGormanThomas on Dec 12, 2009 9:59 AM CST up reply actions
He's improving, to be sure
It’s nowhere near as bad as last year. But I still expect terrible things whenever I see him running the point; I’m just pleasantly surprised a bit more often.
Herzog
The first half was a prime example of why Herzog doesn’t get any minutes. He came in and got beat on a decent move to the basket, and then tried to recover but fouled the shooter instead, leading to a 3 point play. Then on the other end he couldn’t handle a good pass under the basket. You have to feel sorry for the kid, but he can’t seem to get things right.
lineups
What did everyone think the insertion of Green and Lucious into the starting lineup? On some level it is inevitable given Green’s performance. But it does seem like it takes Morgan out of the offense a bit. Early on, it seemed like all the shots were going to Green and Lucas, and Morgan and Roe were left with transition points and put backs. On the other hand, Morgan just has to play harder, and out himself in situations where he can succeed offensively. What struck me about Green is that he never forced a shot, even though he was shooting on something like every possession when he was on the court.
Team
I believe last night was a good look into the identity of this team. Lucas is the engine and Green is the heart. Green is the motivator and the disciplinarian on the court, and he can back it up because he plays hard and smart every game.
The speed of the lineup created some problems, but still it was a muddy start. I was glad to see contributions from Nix and Thornton, and Summers, while a bit subdued, did play intelligently. I am still waiting for Allen to break out of that two year shooting slump.
If Green can infect some of his teammates with the passion and savvy he has, we could really begin to gel.
This was the first game I completely missed
After going through numerous conventional and semi-legal gyrations to catch all of the others. And it was apparently their best effort of the season. Am I allowed to watch any more?
I'm still worried about our perimeter
Summer’s shot has gone completely missing. He’s hitting less than 25% on his threes and he’s not exactly lighting it up inside the arc either. I couldn’t see last night’s game (my cable company – RCN – doesn’t carry the Big Ten Network) but I am glad to hear Summers didn’t force things as that has been a problem in the past – as attested to by his 7 assists vs. 22 turnovers so far this year. On the plus side he is a tenacious rebounder, blocks shots, and gets more steals than our other guards. I don’t mean to be too hard on the guy but he really needs to start translating his prodigious athleticism into efficient scoring.
I think Thornton saw early action last night because Izzo is trying to find someone other than Lucas who can consistently knock down perimeter shots. Allen’s stats on the year look OK, but he’s either hot or ice cold from 3 point land (although he is scoring efficiently on his twos), and you can’t depend on him being hot in big games. Lucas is shooting very well from 3, which is probably why Lucious started at PG – Lucas is the only “off guard” who’s hitting from the perimeter consistently.
Basically, we’re getting a lot less than we thought we would from the off guard position offensively.
Summers
Missed both 3s, but hit a couple 2s from the 15-18 foot range.
Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Dec 11, 2009 9:25 AM CST up reply actions
It's the assist-to-turnover ratio
That prompted my diatribe. I know we’re looking for him to score but 7 assists against 22 turnovers is not a ratio you expect to see from a guard of any sort.
by TheCrestedHelm on Dec 11, 2009 1:46 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah
Summers’ offensive value is going to come from scoring, not passing. But he has to limit the turnovers.
Was just trying to fill in what the shooting stats meant, since you mentioned not seeing the game.
Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Dec 11, 2009 4:04 PM CST up reply actions
Definitely the "feel good" game of the year thus far
Dahlman gets two dunks, and nearly caves in a teammate’s sternums with his enthusiastic chest-bumps….Nix hits a free-throw; crowd and bench erupts; he smiles sheepishly….we finally have a dominant first half….Summers looks a little less lost after a few MIAs…..the Izzone chanting “Dray-mond Green!”….I particularly loved the shot of Green right in Nix’s ear as soon as he got fouled, coaching him; or later getting in Roe’s face about some missed assignment during a timeout.
Hard to know the constitutional make-up of this team, but I think I sort of like the shifting lineups, as a way to reward consistent effort in practice and games, and to give opposing coaches little clue about what version of MSU they will be seeing out of the gate. As this season unwinds, I think our versatility and ability to play at various speeds will be key as we gear up for the tourney. There may be some “identity” issues perhaps, but starting can become a reward for playing “hard and smart” (as donaldo put it above).
by RobbingGormanThomas on Dec 11, 2009 9:11 AM CST reply actions
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