I'm posting this as an invitation for our more wonky,
stat-urated LV fans to weigh in on what they see and have measured.
Regarding opponents' fatigue factor...
We've had several conference games in which teams with short benches, behind on the scoreboard, have played the 4th quarter with energy equal to their 1st quarter--at least, based on my eye gauge (which is due for another re-calibration, according to the people who sell frames
).
How are teams with much shorter benches "keeping up" with us for four quarters this late in the season?
Are they in superior aerobic shape? Are all the foul calls and monitor checks providing sufficient rest breaks? Have S&C coaches come up with an optimal substitution schedule for games against the Lady Vols?
Or (for several correlated reasons) are these Lady Vols still not operating the system near to its potential?
Is our increased points-in-the-paint a reflection of shifting the offensive strategy toward traditional
"-and one" 3-point plays, to make up for our poor 3-point shot production? Are fewer 3 attempts resulting in fewer long offensive rebounds? Are diminished shooting percentages yielding fewer press opportunities, and thus, fewer turnovers--and thus, a lower disparity in offensive possessions?
We've all noticed how our PGs are making penetration into the top of the lane, but then not finding an open 3-point shooter for the kick out and quickly getting tied up or stripped by the D.
Part of that seems to be timing by the players on the perimeter, not anticipating and moving to an open passing lane quick enough... but also, I notice perimeter defenders do not play as if they fear a back-cut from our perimeter shooters.
Again, timing. When 2 or 3 defenders collapse on the penetrating guard, that back-cut passing lane is only open for a second.
Zeigler is more successful with that dribble penetration for the men's team, but he also has a third, vertical option of a lob pass for a dunk.
If we are seeing delayed development of intuitive timing between LV players, it could be blamed on the platooned substitutions... except all these girls have played together for months in practice. So I'm wondering if our perimeter shooters are slow getting into an open kick-out passing lane because they're also "leaning in" toward the basket, watching to see if the penetrator is going to shoot and they need to crash the boards.
I'm sure there are numbers to prove that I'm totally off in this post, making me guilty of diverting millions of innocent electrons from their life's destiny to ride the open road in a Tesla. But I usually come here hoping to get smarter, so...
y'all critique and stat-away.
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Addendum: Also in regards to timing, our dribblers are too often (at this point in the season) out of synch with our screeners. They either go too soon and force the screener to stop short of the mark to avoid a moving screen violation, or they don't drive close enough to the screener to rub off their defender and force the switch. It's another example where poor execution of timing is keeping us from breaking down the defense.
Okay. I'll shut up on this now.
Hope everyone in Tennessee is enjoying this beautiful harbinger of Spring today!
. Hopefully by the time they sprint back to defend we'll be on defense. That's gets in players heads running from foul line to foul line just to get back again. We just can't let Spearman get in early foul trouble.
