A friend pointed out to me that Paint is 5-15 in conference, as far as point differential in 2nd halves of games. This seems concerning, and I like CMP; glad he is ours. But this suggests the opponents are consistently outsmarting us and taking our (sometimes large) leads away. We all know in College BB today, no lead is safe. So why are we getting trounced in 2nd halves?
HalfTime Adjustments
- Thread starter rwenger
- Start date
So I was thinking about this recently, and it seems like no matter who the teams or coaches, the team down at the end of the first half has a major advantage in the second half.
This is because the losing team will make adjustments at halftime, and the winning team is less likely to (why change what is working?).
So losing team makes adjustments and if they work then they are in a better position. But for the winning team to respond to those adjustments they either need to make their own adjustments in game during the second half, or anticipate what adjustments the losing team will make in the second half in order to counter them, both of which are not easy.
All that to say, I think part of this is attributable to the fact that we are ending the first half of most games with a lead.
This is because the losing team will make adjustments at halftime, and the winning team is less likely to (why change what is working?).
So losing team makes adjustments and if they work then they are in a better position. But for the winning team to respond to those adjustments they either need to make their own adjustments in game during the second half, or anticipate what adjustments the losing team will make in the second half in order to counter them, both of which are not easy.
All that to say, I think part of this is attributable to the fact that we are ending the first half of most games with a lead.
This is an interesting stat. Rutgers and the game in Bloomington were the only two Purdue losses that the eventual winner led at halftime too.
These would be my initial thoughts:
1. After a couple of series of the other team collapsing 3 onto Zach, make it a point not to wait for the triple team to get to him. Pass quickly back out and either let someone else score or wear out their D from collapsing and recovering. The corollary to to this is to hit Zach as he's already moving toward the basket or for him to go up immediately, again not letting collapse to get to him. It seemed like the first half of yesterday's game, the ball was moving much better than it had been recently. Sometimes we get into the habit of doing the same thing over and over....pass to Zach, wait for the collapse, then figure out what to do. This appears to work well until the D starts to collapse 3 or the D begins the hack a shaq methodology.
2. Painter is often complimented about his out-of-bounds play calling. Have 3-5 set plays for each game as a fail safe to help get the team settled down if things start to go awry. I get the motion O is to take what the D gives you, but sometimes it seems that having an alternative, especially when the D starts jumping the passing lanes or collapsing aggressively, like having a couple of go-to old school plays could have a positive impact and keep the opposing D on their heels.
3. Keep the rotation long. We haven't gotten to the BTT or NCAA and already have played 31 games. Legs get tired....especially the younger players. In the teeth of our losing streak, It seemed like a lot of the misses were coming up just a little bit short.
Seems like I had more to say, but perhaps not (lucky for you guys).
our win vs Maryland at home was similar to yesterday. They turned up the D after half. Ill hit some outside shots whereas Terps shot woefully.
Having coached AAU for 22 years... half time is a bitch. Although younger players are far less mature and tend to be ego-centric. One thing that CMP has avoided. In AAU, I did try to change things up for the second half as I was sure the other coach was addressing what they needed to do against what we had been doing. But in those years, we could throw stuff out that we had only practiced a few times. Catch the other guys by suprise and force a time out ... in which I would tend to change some things. I wasn't coaching against B1G supreme coaches with awesome athletes. Just trying to explain that half times are tough time. Motivate them to PLAY HARD... GET THE DAMNED LOOSE BALLS ... but the style of play ... yikes
OR (and I believe this to be the case) Painter isn't tipping all of his adjustments right now. Why give teams more to prepare for in the tournament? Do enough to get the win without tipping your hand...Additionally, use the time to work through various line ups, tweaks, etc. without sacrificing the win.
Honestly, I doubt Painter is thinking that strategy. Win today's game. Future Dance opponents will request tapes from our opponents but will only have 48 hours to evaluate and implement a strategy.
Probably a little more than that since some coaches will scout possible opponents for next game ahead of time. Plus between every 2 games you would have about 5 days right?
Similar threads
