OK, I've got my story done from the Western Carolina game and have sufficiently waded through the message board bloodlust and venom to get my finger on the pulse of what everybody else thinks, so here goes ...
Look, the positives from this 65-60 anti-masterpiece are, of course, that Purdue salvaged the win after a dreadful first half and that it at halftime could seemingly just flip whatever switch was turned off prior.
That's both encouraging and maddening that this team is capable of playing an atrocious half, then a great one.
But with that said, the 30 minutes of basketball played prior to Wednesday night's intermission - that being the final 10 at Xavier and first 20 vs. Western Carolina - were as ugly a stretch as we've seen from Purdue these past few years.
It was interesting to hear Painter talk after the game about how holding Robbie Hummel, Lewis Jackson and Terone Johnson out of practices is cutting into the Boilermakers' practice-floor continuity. You could see how that might be a problem, practicing frequently without three starter-caliber guys, including your best player and your point guard.
Maybe finals week - there are no games between Saturday's Eastern Michigan game and next Saturday's Butler game - will help in that sense, but whatever the cause, Purdue just wasn’t right Wednesday night.
And to begin with, it was clearly an effort issue, a hallmark of Purdue's identity. That deficiency Wednesday night was highlighted every time Western ran down an offensive rebound or simply jumped in front of a Boilermaker for one.
It was an intensity issue and the way Purdue has always operated under Painter, the pilot light for its intensity has always been lit on the practice floor.
If there's a shortage of available bodies, that's not only a chemistry issue - Purdue would be practicing in a form different than the one it'll be playing in - but also a competition issue. Few years ago, Purdue ran short on bodies a few times when Hummel was battling back problems, so Painter went out and recruited a bunch of walk-ons for the following year.
The same dynamics, by the sound of what Painter said after the Western Carolina game, may be watering down practice right now, which is not good.
But another positive from this otherwise-forgettable game was a modest one: Jacob Lawson stayed out of foul trouble. That meant he got to play 21 minutes, more than either of the other two centers.
Granted, it came against a team with no size to speak of, but remember what I've written about Purdue maybe closing games small this season? Well, that's what it did Wednesday and there was Lawson volleyball-swatting the last Catamount shot that really mattered, with Purdue up five with less than 10 seconds left.
There was Purdue looking for Lawson around the basket when he broke to the rim after screening. With Lawson, teammates are quick to make that pass, knowing the athletic rookie can finish it.
The problem right now with the freshman being out there at the end is his 30-percent foul shooting.
But he's not alone in that area.
Purdue is now shooting only 63 percent collectively and it seems worse than that.
Terone Johnson is just aiming the ball right now, as you can see every time he misses the first long and then the second way short.
Maybe that's a product of his knee issues because he's just sort of flicking the ball, I don't know.
It's going to be a real problem if it continues, because he'll have the ball in his hands a lot this season, including some at the end of games. As a scorer, his physicality with the ball in the lane is a big part of his game and he draws a lot of fouls and and-ones because of it.
You can miss free throws the way Purdue has been and still beat Western Carolina; you can't do it and beat Wisconsin, you wouldn't think.
The good news now is that time is on Purdue's side. After playing Eastern Michigan Saturday, it gets a week just to get its legs back as it goes through finals.
If it's practice time Painter covets, he's about to get it.
The team we saw for the first 20 minutes Wednesday certainly seemed to need it.
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