Central Michigan game thread for 12/1/21

[skyhops]

Not picking on Zach at all he just looked out of shaped and gassed and that is due to the injury. We struggled when he was in the lineup today, but luckily we have Nunge and Hunter until he gets up to speed. I still get nervous when AK, Odom, and Miles are on the floor together. Johnson is the difference maker with us being another average team or a tourney team since Scruggs has looked awful the last three games.

[skyhops]

Maybe AH or Expert can give Miles some FT lessons because he won't see the floor and the end of games in the BE unless he improves.

[Anti-Homer]

Ugh! Lots of talent on this team but in some ways, that depth is also a weakness. Seems like everyone on this team has the greenlight and they all take advantage of it.

Not much of a game mostly because the Chippewas pretty much suck. But I don't think this team will fare well in B.E. play if we don't make much better decisions around shot selection + turnovers and if we don't rebound better on the offensive glass. We shoot early in the clock, often a three, if we miss without second shot attempts, we have to get back on defense. If we don't improve, that decision making will bite us in the butt.

It sure will. Nice to see Hunter didn't let his 10% 3-point clip dissuade him from taking four threes. I just hope he isn't shy from taking that critical three which used to be reserved for Tre in tight games. Smooth as Q was. Johnson continues to show why he should be option one along with Nunge in the post (NOT IN THREE POINT LAND) when X needs a bucket. X was lousy from the line and had a putrid 15 T.O.s against a horrible team, but they still won by 33. In years past, that would have been a four-point win, so I say to all of you negative nellies, cut them some slack.

Hopefully, Free can work his way up to 15 minutes on Sunday, assuming he is productive, because Nunge is the best post player on this team overall, and that won't change no matter how well Free does. It's not a knock on him, but more a commentary on how much of a positive impact Nunge has on both sides of the ball (other than threes).

This team can play. OK ST offers another chance for X to improve their resume, which got even prettier after yesterday's OSU win.

[muskieman]

Free got a few minutes with Miles and Jack and one moment was when, with Jack, Zach was at the elbow and made a nice pocket pass to Jack for two points. You could see his rust on his patented shot which if I remember correctly he has started other seasons off slowly. If you look at the rebounding you would be miffed that CM out rebounded X but it was the foul line's 11 missed shots that contributed to that misleading stat. Miles will continue to be Shaqed until he makes himself a better free throw threat. Miles could be a real asset to the team because he is good at defending the rim with 2 blocks again last night in 15 minutes and with Jack 3 blocks in 22 minutes I think X has found the solution to what was missing the last year couple of years.

Because CM was such a bad team it is hard to gauge much about the Muskies but it did give them a chance to get a good feeling about themselves before their test on Sunday at 5pm. Also, X stopped the best scorer on CM. OSU is coming off a loss to Wichita State for the second loss. (Their first loss was to Oakland.)

[skyhops]

We can’t win against OK State if we co to us to turnover the ball, not rebound well, and miss FT’S.

[longliveskip]

We can’t win against OK State if we co to us to turnover the ball, not rebound well, and miss FT’S.

agreed on turnovers but that was the only real glaring concern. take away Miles and FT's aren't a huge concern as the misses were literally ONE person so it wasn't as agregrious as the percentage may indicate.

we have literally outrebounded EVERY opponent up until last night so i'm not sure where your concern over rebounding is coming from - only looking at a one game sample.

take care of the ball better. FT's will fall. rebounding will be fine.

[skyhops]

Turnovers and rebounds were pointed out by Steele, so I guess he and I finally agree on a few things. I doubt Miles will be in at key moments in games due to his tendency to foul as well as being offensively challenged.

[Sonoma Muskie]

These early season warm-up games serve their intended purpose to get the players working together for a common goal while revealing where improvements are needed. There is the potential for a very good season if all strive to get running on all cylinders with perfect synchronization. It will be fun!

[Anti-Homer]

Free got a few minutes with Miles and Jack and one moment was when, with Jack, Zach was at the elbow and made a nice pocket pass to Jack for two points. You could see his rust on his patented shot which if I remember correctly he has started other seasons off slowly. If you look at the rebounding you would be miffed that CM out rebounded X but it was the foul line's 11 missed shots that contributed to that misleading stat. Miles will continue to be Shaqed until he makes himself a better free throw threat. Miles could be a real asset to the team because he is good at defending the rim with 2 blocks again last night in 15 minutes and with Jack 3 blocks in 22 minutes I think X has found the solution to what was missing the last year couple of years.

Because CM was such a bad team it is hard to gauge much about the Muskies but it did give them a chance to get a good feeling about themselves before their test on Sunday at 5pm. Also, X stopped the best scorer on CM. OSU is coming off a loss to Wichita State for the second loss. (Their first loss was to Oakland.)

Miles has been a nice surprise defensively, but he is usually good for two obviously fouls sticking his body or knee out on a high hedge to free a Muskie on the move. Free will be just fine, but I see him as a 20-25 min a game guy. Late in games, i can see a sub for offense-defense with him and Hunter or Miles.

It was really odd that Steele didn't play Stanley or Tandy until the last three minutes. They both contributed quality minutes ag Va Tech (Tandy more than Standy), and if nothing else, if the flu or Covid bug hits players, it would be nice to have guys who are used to be on the court for more than 3 minutes a game, especially since the outcome was decided even before the first time out. Also, both Free and Nunge are coming off of major injuries, so it would have been devastating if either exacerbated their injuries. I guess Steele had a live bet in the 2nd half going. KIDDING!

[Anti-Homer]

We can’t win against OK State if we co to us to turnover the ball, not rebound well, and miss FT’S.

OK St appears to be more paper tiger than juggernaut. Glad that Iowa St will turn out to be a very good non-conf game, if they continue playing as they are. Ok St. seems very Providence-esque. Still could turn out to be a quality road win.