The new hue and cry when the D isn't looking so hot.
Release...The MORTON!!!!
- Thread starter Tommaker
- Start date
His defense was great yesterday, but my observation was that the offense was flowing very well yesterday when he was on the court, particularly in the second half. We hear a lot about playing 4 on 5 when Morton is in there, but he’s a very heady player and he moves the ball so well that he’s valuable on both ends of the court.
So now were apologizing for his lack of offense ability because he gets "hockey assists." He was a top 100 recruit for god sakes!
In the last 5 games Morton has scored 2 points has 1 rebound and 4 assists total. He's pretty good on defense but he is absolutely a liability on offense.
That surprised me. Hasn't been, & likely not the case always as it's like 5 on 4. But with 49 pts in H2, sure was not the case last night
I mean, they put up 49 points in the second half
Agree that he's limited offensively but moves the ball well enough that if he's surrounded by scorers the offense can still function at a high level.
... if you make judgements based only on the boxscore.
Painter obviously doesn't do that.
There is only one stat that is meaningful. The W ! Did we win? Yes. Case closed!
Usually. But not last night.
If you don’t think hockey assists are tracked and appreciated in high level hoops, you are sadly mistaken…
I don’t care how good he is offensively as much as I care how good Purdue is offensively when he is in the game and what the advanced stats indicate is that Purdue is pretty good offensively and very good defensively when he is in the game. I’m not arguing that he is starter worthy or anything, but he gives Painter good minutes and is an important role player in the rotation.
They might have lost last night without Morton. Christie looked like he was shooting in practice. Then he was just shut down. I wish Morton didn’t lose all his confidence in shooting and make a few shots. Then again he only played 12 minutes enough to destroy Christie so anyone replacing Morton could guard him once his mojo was taken.
If you don’t guard him, that just gives him more space and time to find a passing angle for an easy bucket.
While I'm sure he takes a more holistic view of things, I'm sure Painter recognizes the impact Morton has on the offense. It's probably why Morton only plays 13 minutes a game and some of those minutes are when Painter is substituting defense for offense.
Just to be clear, I'm fine with Morton being the first guard off the bench but in my view the primary reason we are better this year than last is that we have a better option starting at the 3.
Agree on Lance Jones. He has had a huge impact on this team. I can point to several reasons why I believe Purdue is much better this year, but the addition of Jones is at the top of my list (along with improved shooting and the emergence of Smith).
Here’s a great analysis of that 15 point run in the second half. Good 15 minute defensive analysis of my boy Morton.
Perfect for us bored on a no Purdue basketball Saturday…..
Came here to share Ant Wright's film session. Great analysis of how, without adding to the stat sheet, Ethan blew up Minny's offense at a critical point in the 2nd half. Too many people looking at stat sheets to argue who should/shouldn't play more.
15 minutes? Morton is such a force he changes the games even when not in the floor, as the box score has him for 12 minutes total for both halves 😎
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And some of those minutes were in the first half when Purdue was down.
That's really not true. You can go back and read my posts. Even going back to last year. I've consistently said that we needed more from the three position. I hoped it would be from Newman last year but he wasn't the answer. Unfortunately, we found out too late in the season neither was Morton.
We're getting what we need from Jones. Since the turn of the new year, I've consistently said that I'm fairly indifferent on who gets the 10-12 minutes in the backup minutes at the 1, 2 or 3. I actually do think Morton is currently the best option for those minutes primarily because Heide and Colvin aren't contributing much offensively anyway and Morton is superior to either of them defensively, so it makes sense.
Bottom line, I don't think it matters who gets those minutes because in most games we just need someone who "will do no harm" while the starters get a break. Morton is probably the best option at this point.
The only time I say something that may be perceived as negative about Morton is when someone makes claims that just don't lineup with the facts. If someone makes the case that Morton's defense played a role in the win against Minnesota, I can go along with that but when someone says Morton is why we won, I think that's up for challenge when guys like Edey, Smith and Gillis played larger roles.
Fantastic analysis!
Ant Wright was asking for an advanced stat that captures the things that he was pointing out that Morton does that don’t show up in the stat sheet. I would say that the stat that attempts to do that best is Adjusted Team Defensive Efficiency which can be found on Evan Miya. It takes a statistical approach to capture individual player’s contributions to overall team defensive performance. Several Purdue players do very well by that measure, led by Edey, Gillis, and Morton who are all top 14 in the Big Ten.
It’s ok to give Edey, Smith, Gillis, and Morton all credit for Purdue winning. I would include Lance Jones as well.
His breakdown of the Purdue vs. Northwestern game had me howling in laughter. He was straight cracking up at NW's antics against Edey. "What are we doing here?" and then laughing maniacally.
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