Game 17, 2017-18: LaSalle (1/10)

[uz2b-len]

Wondering if McLean has earned the start over Anderson for tomorrow's game. Given 30+ minutes at Dayton, he seemed to really play within himself, not making mistakes, not shooting jumpers that he probably wouldn't make, using his athleticism wherever he could. This would mean Pipkins would log a lot of minutes at PG, but that certainly worked out well at Dayton.

[m626t]

Maybe doesn't start, but U certainly earned more playing time.

[natwam2547]

I'm willing to bet Anderson still starts, but sees his minutes decrease. Maybe he'll play with a bit of an edge knowing what this team is capable of when he's not out there.

[NilesGold]

Assuming Holloway isn't an option, generally speaking, I like a lineup of Pipkins, Pierre, McLean, Baldwin & Hines.

But against La Salle tomorrow, I might go with CJ over Baldwin because La Salle uses 1 big and really spreads the floor and I think CJ will do better defensively overall and 1 on 1 against La Salle's best player (BJ Johnson).

[mlaconte459]

^ agreed CJ is the type of size you need on the floor agaisnt LaSalle, very little team basketball and a whole lot of 1 on 1 play. Will be tricky to have both MH & CB on the floor at the same time in this one, however expect to see some of that zone again if they are.

[69MG]

I disagree. Johnson is their best rebounder at 6'7 (8.9 per game) and I don't think CJ can handle him. They also start 6'10 Washington, so they aren't that small. The other projected starters are Deas (6'6), Stukes (6'2) and Powell (6'0).

I like Niles' first thought of Hines, Baldwin, Pierre, McLean and LP. It's a reasonable match both in speed and size. Johnson and Powell combine for around 40 a game so we have our work cut out for us.

[mdogt12]

Matt Vautour
‏@MattVautourDHG
9m9 minutes ago
I'll have a story up in a little bit. No change in Holloway's status. He's not expected to play vs. La Salle. McCall isn't starting Anderson, which is less about him than it is about rewarding the five players who started in the win over Dayton

[mlaconte459]

https://twitter.com/mattvautourdhg/stat ... 9489875975

CJ not starting, more so that McCall wants to reward the players that started vs Dayton

[Floyd]

I'd go with Pip, Unique, Pierre, Malik, and CB. Quick, athletic lineup, take advantage of our size, and it's our best scoring lineup. Unique earned a start after the Dayton game, and I think CB is starting to impact games a little more with a bigger role.

[TheOFFSeason]

I disagree. Johnson is their best rebounder at 6'7 (8.9 per game) and I don't think CJ can handle him. They also start 6'10 Washington, so they aren't that small. The other projected starters are Deas (6'6), Stukes (6'2) and Powell (6'0).

I like Niles' first thought of Hines, Baldwin, Pierre, McLean and LP. It's a reasonable match both in speed and size. Johnson and Powell combine for around 40 a game so we have our work cut out for us.

There are a lot of ways to get rebounds but,if the past is any indication, Johnson is going to stay out on the perimeter and either shoot 3’s or drive to the hoop. He isn’t going to be posting and using size/strength to rebound. Keeping him off the offensive boards is going to take agility and speed more than size/strength in my opinion.

[69MG]

^ Johnson has taken 228 shots this year and only 69 were from 3. He makes around 32%. I wish he would stay outside and shoot 3's because he's athletic and he'll jump right over CJ for putbacks or rebounds. In any case, we'll have multiple people trying to guard him during the course of the game and I'm pretty sure we'll see a lot of zone.

[NilesGold]

^ Bit of an exaggeration with the "jump right over CJ", no? I believe Offseason correctly called out what Johnson is likely to do, he takes a lot of non 3's, but they come after he starts on the perimeter where you have to defend him. CJ is likely going to be our best defender on him. CJ isn't tiny, he should be able to box Johnson out adequately, I'm more worried about Baldwin having to defend Johnson out on the perimeter and not being able to say in front of him.

[Roadtrip]

Think these next two games will be an indicator of how the season will go. Win both and go into Rhody as a solid upper mid pack team at 3-2, or... well, I just don't want to ponder "or." Come on guys, you can do this!

[Berkman]

Looks like LaSalle is a 1.5 favorite. I won't watch tonight's game as a neighbor and I will be going to Davidson for the GW/Davidson game. The owner of the garage that services our cars is a Davidson Corporate Sponsor and has offered me his tickets to a couple of games so I took him up on the offer. So I will be pleasantly surprised when we win and not frustrated by watching a loss if we loose.

[LS71]

Sucks that UMass is an underdog at home against a team with record worse then theirs.

I thought I saw a line on this game yesterday that was LaSalle -10. This morning's Springfield paper had it as LaSalle -2.

At least, the number's moving in the right direction.