Whither Teske's touches?
The last few (ugly) games seem to show a clear departure from the early season game plan to dump it down to Teske on the first few possessions down the floor. He looked all Big Ten at that point. He was converting or dishing to cutters or spot-up threes. Now his touches seem far fewer, especially at the start of the game and in games where he seems to have a clear height and/or skill advantage.
Is this a conscious plan? If so, baffling. Have defenses figured this out and are denying the entry pass from X? He seems to have gotten a lot more of his passes deflected or outright blocked. Is Livers absence allowing 3s to sag and help because they don't fear Johns' shot? Probably some combination, but as the Roundtable noted, Teske is a really good passer. Would like to see JH utilize and help this big dude more and go back to putting more of the offense on/through him and continue the new double-team help for him on D.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:15 AM ^
It takes multiple moving parts to get the ball in the post. The big needs to get good positioning, the player with the ball has to get in a good spot to dump it down, and the defense has to be spaced out enough to free it up.
I'm thinking Livers being out definitely has something to do with it, but it also feels like the offense is moving more toward ball screens with Teske than it is using Teske in the post.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
Exactly this. Good post men and good 3-pt shooters completely open the floor for each other. You lose one, and the other becomes less effective. M is impacted in numerous ways by Livers absence.
This is turning in to an achilles groin.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:17 AM ^
The only thing about this is it hasn't been sustainable. He has been getting the ball slapped away, and hasn't made good decisions when the double team comes.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:20 AM ^
He's been posting too far from the basket. The shots he makes seem difficult. Too many 3's and too passive on defense. Definitely living up to his nickname lately.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:27 AM ^
Whither me timbers.
January 24th, 2020 at 5:52 PM ^
They be yon.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:39 AM ^
The offense has a PG who can't shoot and a Center who can't post up. The offense is offensively challenged.
January 24th, 2020 at 11:53 AM ^
You're not wrong. Teske can post up more effectively than Z can shoot. They are great senior leaders, but they are also really top notch role players. The fact that M's offense seems to have them as 1st and 2nd options really blows my mind.
January 24th, 2020 at 12:35 PM ^
This tells you what handcuffs this team.
When Livers was playing, teams has to pay attention to where he was at all times because he's deadly from anywhere on the court, contested 3 or definitely when not contested.
We have no such player right now, thus X having to hold onto the ball.
X could easily blow by his man but then what? Because he hasn't developed anything but a hook, you pretty much have to draw the big man away from the rim by having Teske go set a pick.
When Davis is in, they still have to do the same but Davis isn't an outside shooter so the big man can stay down.
One thing I noticed about Davis is he posts up the best and actually looks like he wants the ball to come to him and is ready to make his move.
The others post up because the play calls for it then hope a double comes. Then make a move without full confidence. Couple times of that and the defense doesn't respect them.
That's why we have scoring droughts. There's NO reason Teske should have less than 12 points in any game with how limited the shooting is without Livers.
As a Senior, That's on him.
January 24th, 2020 at 12:43 PM ^
We are not Minnesota personnel-wise, so running everything through Teske is counter to his limited skill set, and Simpson can't make you pay.
Unfortunately, without the shooting/driving threat of Livers we can't win with pick & roll sets either.
Pretty hard to post-up with the way teams are defending X, with the post defender staying put at top/middle of the lane daring Teske and/or Simpson to beat them from 3.
Penn St. made a mockery of Simpson, by dropping back, cutting off all passing lanes, turning him into a dribbling circus looking for the scoop hook.
We had plenty of open looks ....just shot 18%.
We won't win games shooting 25% or lower from outside, law of averages hopefully gets Franz and Brooks back to 30%+, if not more ouch.
January 24th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
Agree with most of this, but I think Teske's limited skill set can still work. He's got a nice baby hook with either hand and can hit wide open threes - uncommon for a 7-footer. But agree that his post repertoire is limited to just that baby hook. He should watch some Garza and Ethan Happ film for great post moves and footwork.
January 24th, 2020 at 4:05 PM ^
Agree. Consistently make 35-40% from good look 3s and we win every game like PSU. And if we make at that rate, teams will adjust, and then the X/Teske combo comes back to life.
It's a good offense, we just need to hit our open-look shots.
January 24th, 2020 at 2:56 PM ^
Read that as "Withered Testicle Touches"
January 24th, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^
There are no solutions to our offensive problems because we don't have any high level offensive players. Giving the arguably least worst one more touches isn't going to move the needle much.
January 24th, 2020 at 4:01 PM ^
Yes to all of the above