It's very hard to get the ball inside against a zone. You can say "Why didn't they throw the ball inside?", but that is what a zone defense is designed to do. It makes you shoot from the outside. And they did try to run an alley oop to Bass with about 2 minutes to go. Bass got a great screen from Hudson and was open but the point man in the zone was in the ball handler's face (can't remember who) so they held it down. But chances are you didn't see that because you were too busy yelling at them to run the offense.
I apologize to TE. I never saw that thread. He's wrong about the "stall" letting Alabama back in the game though. From about a minute before half time until we got the back to back 3s inside 3 minutes, the teams were never more than 2 or 3 points apart. Once the lead got to 7, the slowdown began for reasons I stated in another post. Also, he twice mentions the team was "gassed". If that's the case, then why would the coach want to utilize a run and gun? The team won. That renders any arguments about Brady's strategy moot. Critique Gottfried. He must have screwed something up. As to the shot at me about a reed blowing in the wind, I assume he's referring to an earlier post where I stated I felt it may be time for a change. At the time, I felt that this team had too much talent to be as non-competitive as they appeared to be up to and including the Kentucky game. I have been proven right (about the talent) and wrong (questioning whether we need a new coach). I have steadfastly defended Brady here for over 2 years. If that one comment makes me wishy washy on the subject, so be it.
Thank you for telling me that zone defense is designed to stop a team from passing the ball inside. Since we're passing tips of the obvious, here's one for you: Voting machines are designed to collect votes for counting. :dis: Somehow "duh" just doesn't quite fit the appropriate response. They gave up on trying to work the ball inside and in doing so, passed up who knows how many wide open shots. That's why you keep running the offense. There is more to it than the obvious. By your rationale, if Les Miles sees that his offense is facing a nickle defense and the Tigers are down by a TD with less than a minute remaining, they should run the ball because the defense is designed to stop the pass. Try again and this time leave out the condenscending remarks and tone...
Your analogy is flawed. LSU was up by 3 scores (7 points) so for your exemplar to be valid, Miles/LSU would be up by 17.
In which case, running the ball would be a proper course of action. The clock was LSU's ally at the end of the game, each second they had the ball was one second less for Alabama to come back. You want to take as much time off as possible while still getting a decent shot. The team actually provided a very good example of what happens at the end of a shot clock when trying to kill the clock, but still get a good shot. In example one with 2:00 on the clock, they worked the ball to the wing to big man Brandon Bass, as you were likely screaming for them to do. Bass struggled with a double team, passed to Hudson who then gave the ball back to Bass who then threw up an off balance shot that was an airball, leaving LSU with no chance of an offensive rebound. Now for example two with 1:00 on the clock. Tack Minor runs the clock down and makes his move with 5 on the shot clock, using a screen to get a good look at a 3 a few feet behind the line (definitely within his range). It's a good looking shot that's online but comes up a little short. Alabama blocks out well on Bass, allowing Hudson to streak in and get an offensive rebound and then get fouled. He makes 1 of 2. Now I ask, would you rather have a fallaway 20 foot airball or a use a ball screen for a 25 foot miss?
The score has everything to do with it. If you're ahead, you work the clock patiently looking for a good shot. If behind, you push taking the first open look. Strategy changes in basketball as you near the end of the game.
