Why always call for 3 pointers down 1 or 2?
March 31st, 2021 at 12:29 AM ^
Howard did not call for a three pointer at the end of the OSU game. Please go look up Ant Wright's explanation of the play.
Tonight, I can't give you an explanation. I thought Smith's shot on the full-court play after Juzang's missed FT was a good shot. But, the shot for Franz on the previous possession was puzzling to say the least.
Edit: Re-watched the possession that led to a shot for Franz, it was just a PnR where the UCLA guard went under the screen. Franz correctly read the defender's move and decided to take the open look. He just short armed it.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:36 AM ^
I was absolutely fine with Smith’s 3. Open look but just didn’t fall. I just don’t get why Franz is shooting the threes. Would rather have had Chaundee shoot. He was 2 of 3 tonight.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:47 AM ^
I don’t think Juwan said in the huddle: “Franz, hoist a 3.” The sequence just worked out that way when they went under the screen and left him wide open. He usually makes that when open, so he took it. Unfortunately tonight he couldn’t hit anything.
And credit UCLA's coaching decision on playing that PnR - they dared Franz to shoot the three by dropping under the screen and their gamble paid off.
Don’t think Juwan has ever been on record using the word “hoist”.
Shooting a basketball is not a memoryless statistical phenomenon. Out of context, Smith's shot and Wagner's shot were both decent looks. In context, Smith was 1-6 when he took the second to last shot, and Wagner was 1-8 then 1-9 when he took the third to last shot and then the final shot. Why go to those guys? As you say, Chaundee was 2-3. He was 2-2 from 3 in the FSU game and 3-6 from 3 in the LSU game. He was definitely the hottest hand. Brooks would have been the second best option. Wagner and Smith should have been the last options.
Smith and Wagner can create their own shot. That’s why the ball was frequently in their hands in late-clock situations. Brown can’t. He needs someone to set him up.
That's why you run a play to set him up... apparently running a play to give your hot shooters a decent look, instead of relying on your cold shooters to jack up contested heaves, is a radical concept for both Juwan Howard and Mgobloggers alike.
You do realize UCLA knew who was shooting well and could actually make an effort to prevent Brown from being the one to get a look right?
That concept didn’t appear to cross the minds of Michigan defenders or the staff as Juzang lit them up for 28 on a wide range of him in iso (what a concept!), & running off screens (who knew you could get your best shooter open off screens without the ball that don’t have just one move everyone knows?)
They got the ball to their best player and Michigan had 4 players trying to stuff the ball to a one dimensional player who will be very good once he can shoot beyond 5 feet and use his right hand.
This.. not to knock Hunter, he was great as a freshman. But we went to him too much and he needs to learn not to force that lefty shot when they are camping on that shoulder.
That may have worked with the time left when Franz shot.
For Smith's, Michigan had to go the length of the floor in 6 seconds. In that situation, putting the ball in the hands of your super fast PG is the right play. It just is.
At that point, Smith had 3 choices, and 2 were super high-risk:
1. Find a wide-open shooter, hope the pass is clean, the catch is clean and the shooter hits the shot - before the buzzer. Super high risk.
2. Drive as far as you can, watching the clock to make sure you get a shot off in time. Smith is tiny, and UCLA would have had a couple of guys attempting to swat him. Super high risk.
3. Drive until you're close enough for a clean look. That's what he did. His guy backed down - he was open. This was the right move.
I haven't liked Howard's/Michigan's end of game execution - and IMO Franz's shot was awful. But getting Smith a clean shot right at the 3-pt line in 6 seconds is excellent execution. He just missed, dammit.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
I don’t think he was supposed to shoot the 3 there. The guy guarding him went under the screen and he was so wide open he took it im pretty sure
March 31st, 2021 at 12:44 AM ^
i'm sure that's why he took it. and it's the right thing normally. but down 1 on last possession of the game, you drive to the hoop hoping to get fouled or find HD for a dunk if his man doubles; like he's done many times this season.
I liked all the shots.
Franz had a wide open 3 for a 2pt lead. On a miss we’re crashing the boards with a considerable size advantage for a put back. He just happened to airball it so that messed things up. Still, a wide open normal motion shot is the best you could hope for.
Drive to the goal and make it and UCLA gets the last shot only down 1.
Drive and get fouled and it’s pressure Free throws just to hopefully go up 1... And UCLA gets the last shot.
Mike Smith is the fastest ball handler who could get to a normal shot the quickest. He just missed a shot he could have easily made from a good look.
UCLA chose to let that dude shoot a corner 3 to seal the game prior to all this. Same concept, but theirs was worse other than because he missed. They could’ve literally done anything.
Side Note**FWIW I liked the D.Walton 3pointer a few years ago as well.
I don't like shots coming from cold shooters. Mike Smith and Franz Wagner were cold. Also I'm not 100% sure what Derrick Walton shot you're referring to, but if it was the final one form the Oregon game, that was a two not a three.
My bad, maybe Walton’s toenail was on the line. Point was he took a wide open deep jumpshot he usually makes, rather than driving and hoping for a foul.
Players would’ve made 100% of the shots they didn’t take. Had transfer Chaundee missed the last shot, Franz should’ve taken it. Had transfer Mike Smith made that 3, it would’ve been the best and most logical decision to make.
Freshman Poole was 1-3 from Three in the Houston game prior to the memorable shot. Mo was 2-4. D-Rob was 3-7. Rahk was 0-6....Guess Mo should’ve taken shot over another sagging big man despite the fact that Poole practices that shot so it’s normal to him.
Blu-ray, that's an excellent point about UCLA. Their last shot was awful, and a 91% FT shooter missed.
Good to remember these are kids under enormous pressure. Crazy stuff happens.
Edit: Accidentally gave myself an upvote, so DV myself to make up. I missed too, it seems.
Short armed it? Nah, man... He t-rex'd that mo fo
I hope Franz returns bc that shot, while open, was not a good one. It was from near NBA range and essentially bailed out the defense.
With his length and driving ability he needs to go to the hoop there. Put pressure on the D and also the refs by drawing contact.
Hopefully he stays and works on going to his left and getting consistent with his shot. I don't see much of a mid range game but a drive and pull up jumper or some fadeaways would be good considering his length.
I'd hate to see him leave early because he's not ready to take on nba small forwards imho. His one move seems to be driving to the right for a floating layup and the nba will game plan that away in an instant.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:30 AM ^
Mike Smith is clearly our closer (for what reason I have no idea)
March 31st, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
We don’t have a lot of guys that can create their own shot, so he ends up filling that role by default.
There's better ways to close out a game than a Mike Smith jumper with this group.
All of a sudden this team has no talent and an undersized Ivy League player should be our go to guy in the clutch.
Gutsy move, criticizing the short, gritty point guard on Mgoblog.
Saying that we don’t have a lot of shot creators =/= saying we have no talent.
Chaundee Brown is a good player, but he’s not going to break down his man off the dribble. That’s just not his game.
Smith is our point guard and fastest player, so he’s going to bring up the ball every time in that situation. From there, if you have an open look you pretty much have to take it. The worst thing that can happen is not getting a shot off.
This jmblue. You have to put the ball in Smith's hands in that situation.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:30 AM ^
Down by one let’s airball a 3, down by two let’s rush a 3, still down by two let’s launch a 3. W T F?!?! Wagner’s biggest asset is his length. Drive to the fucking basket!!!
Wagner didn't shoot well at all last night. But his defense was pretty crucial. Last night was when LIvers absence was felt the most. Bummer, but we'll be back.
He did a lot of good things, he always does. He was a crucial part of this team’s success this year. But you could tell from the first couple shots that his shot was not there. I know shooters shoot to get back into rhythm but unfortunately we didn’t have the luxury of time for him to get any kind of rhythm going. My heart aches for the guy, you know he’s taking it harder than anyone.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:31 AM ^
Probably because refs tend to swallow their whistles at the end of close games, so players are probably going to get hacked in the lane with no call.
Michigan is such a good shooting team (normally), that a good look at a three to end the game is worth taking.
I don't know this to be true. At end of games the offensive player will get the call especially if they're hacked.
Plus Ucla wouldn't want to give up a 3 point play so I don't see them playing aggressive D. Which is why I think Smith could have gone to the hole
March 31st, 2021 at 12:32 AM ^
Howard is a phenomenal coach but his last second play calls need a lot of work.
They were open shots by high percentage shooters. Should he have had Brandon John’s take the shot?
Franz was 1-8 when he took the first 3. I'd rather have Brown or Brooks take an outside shot or go inside to Hunter and get a good shot in the paint.
There was 0.5 seconds left on the clock when the ball was inbounded. You want to throw the ball inside to Hunter to try to execute a post play with 0.5 seconds left on the clock? That sounds brilliant.
From what I could tell Chaundee got the first look on the inbounds, but he was clearly being denied the ball by Jaquez. Wagner was the only one who was open.
I'm talking about 20 secs left.
Well Brandon Johns was 4-5, so yes, actually that would have been a better option. Have you ever played basketball before? Sometimes you can't miss, and sometimes you can't hit the broad side of a barn. I mean sure Smith and Wagner were decent shooters over the course of the season, but it's not like they have a 100% pure Columbian, Clay Thompson-esque stroke to begin with. And if I was a coach I wouldn't let MJ himself take the final shot if he was 1-9 from the field up to that point.
Johns’ shots were layups or dunks. He hasn’t made an outside shot in a while. I don’t think he’s the guy you go to with the season on the line.
Michigan got a reasonably good shot off with half a second on the clock. You can't really expect any better than that.
I've watched dozens of games at all levels with last instant shots - that's about as good a look as you'll see.
Two that I remember working were Steph's miracle heave from almost half court ("Bang! Bang!") and Kawhi's miracle against the sixers. Both were memorable because the shots were almost impossible. Franz had a pretty decent look.
So run a play where Johns comes off a screen and gets a layup or dunk. The defense isn’t looking for the 4th or 5th option when the game is on the line.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:41 AM ^
Take a deep breath. Have you ever considered that the inbounds play had a progression of reads, similar to a QB dropping back in the pocket? I would venture to guess that the first read was a pass in the lane for a quick shot or tip in. Note, though, that UCLA employed a 2-3 zone defense on the last play, so that immediately mucked up the lane. Wagner may have been the 2nd or 3rd option on the designed play.
It's a tough ask to get a clean look with 0.5 seconds on the clock. But I'm sure it's an easy task for an irate fanbase swilling beer on their couch or easy chair.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:33 AM ^
We got two good looks. Too bad those two were a combined 2-17 today
March 31st, 2021 at 12:33 AM ^
Smiths shot was the best look you could hope for in that situation. It’s that or a highly contested shot at the rim.
Franz play was a PnR situation and he chose to take the 3 when they dropped both.
Both were wide open looks, and if you tie the game, you’re leaving your fate in someone else’s hands because they will for sure have the last shot.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:35 AM ^
Honestly the looks weren’t that bad. I think the theory is that they are going to pack the paint cause they figured you were going for 2. I could see it either way though, and I don’t think the plays should have gone to Franz and Smith who were having off nights. I would have gone to Eli and Chaundee
Those two do not create their looks, they shoot when they are open and get a pass in their spots. Those aren’t last shot guys. Also, Eli missed a putback
March 31st, 2021 at 12:36 AM ^
just cuz
March 31st, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
wrong 5 down the stretch, FIN
March 31st, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
I don’t think that the Wagner shot (airball) was supposed to be the play that was drawn up. Wagner just found himself incredibly open so he pulled the trigger. It’s a shot he’s very capable of making and don’t hate that he took it.
On the other hand, I don’t like Smith’s pull up. Drive the lane and make a shot or get fouled. If UCLA collapses the D, kick it out to an open Brown, Wagner or Brooks.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:50 AM ^
That play started with 6 seconds left and we had to go 94 feet. Did he have time to drive? I’m not sure. He got an open look at any rate. I thought it was going in.