New lineup:

[Sean Miller Fan]

PG: Robinson 33 Wilson 7
SG: Artis 32 Smith 8
SF: Jeter 28 Johnson 12
PF: Young 32 Luther 8
C: Maia 20 ANO 12 Luther 8

Smith and Jones are giving us nothing. If Smith isnt going to shoot, he cant play. And Jones tries hard but just isnt very good.

 

[Trapper15323]

That would work for me

 

[DT_PITT]

PG: Robinson 33 Wilson 7
SG: Artis 32 Smith 8
SF: Jeter 28 Johnson 12
PF: Young 32 Luther 8
C: Maia 20 ANO 12 Luther 8

Smith and Jones are giving us nothing. If Smith isnt going to shoot, he cant play. And Jones tries hard but just isnt very good.

Of course that will never happen., but we need to get something our of the two guard.

Still, Sheldon Jeter was terrible today. And as has become quite clear, when Sheldon's offense isn't there, usually the Pitt offense isn't there either.

 

[PittPoker]

Of course that will never happen., but we need to get something our of the two guard.

Still, Sheldon Jeter was terrible today. And as has become quite clear, when Sheldon's offense isn't there, usually the Pitt offense isn't there either.

There is no offense with him anymore. He doesn't even try to shoot the ball anymore really. Why was he brought here if he won't even attempt to shoot?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

There is no offense with him anymore. He doesn't even try to shoot the ball anymore really. Why was he brought here if he won't even attempt to shoot?

Yea, if Smith isnt getting up 4-5 3s a game, he needs benched. Id rather have Artis at the 2 with more PT for Jeter. At least Jeter tries to score. We dont need our 2G to be a "swing" guy. He needs to SHOOT!!!!! or sit!

 

[PittPoker]

Yea, if Smith isnt getting up 4-5 3s a game, he needs benched. Id rather have Artis at the 2 with more PT for Jeter. At least Jeter tries to score. We dont need our 2G to be a "swing" guy. He needs to SHOOT!!!!! or sit!

And silly me, I was thinking he'd be another Ramon for us.

 

[gary2]

Of course that will never happen., but we need to get something our of the two guard.

Still, Sheldon Jeter was terrible today. And as has become quite clear, when Sheldon's offense isn't there, usually the Pitt offense isn't there either.

I thought the team played best with the starting lineup of Maia-Young-Artis-Smith-Robinson with Jeter and Jones as the top subs. Young, Artis and Robinson are our stars and need to be the primary scorers. Maia and Smith can be complementary players. That is and has been our best lineup. With that being said, Smith does need to look for his shot more.

 

[PittPoker]

I thought the team played best with the starting lineup of Maia-Young-Artis-Smith-Robinson with Jeter and Jones as the top subs. Young, Artis and Robinson are our stars and need to be the primary scorers. Maia and Smith can be complementary players. That is and has been our best lineup. With that being said, Smith does need to look for his shot more.

Robinson is not a star. Not even close.

 

[Scruffy the Panther]

There is no offense with him anymore. He doesn't even try to shoot the ball anymore really. Why was he brought here if he won't even attempt to shoot?

He shot 8 times?

 

[Zaratoughda]

PG: Robinson 33 Wilson 7
SG: Artis 32 Smith 8
SF: Jeter 28 Johnson 12
PF: Young 32 Luther 8
C: Maia 20 ANO 12 Luther 8

Smith and Jones are giving us nothing. If Smith isnt going to shoot, he cant play. And Jones tries hard but just isnt very good.

I would say....

PG: Robinson 30, Smith 10
SG: Jones 25, Johnson 15
SF: Artis 30, Jeter 10
PF: Young 30, Jeter 10
C: Like you say

Smith is giving us next to nothing but Jones showed he is the better defender. Starting two small and sluggish guards is not going to cut it. Dixon has stated he needs another guard that can defend and it seems that Jones is the best choice. Maverick Rowan was taking Smith to the hoop so Dixon replaced him with Jones and Jones got the better of Rowan. He also looked good covering, I think, Cat Barber taking it to the hoop. I would say it is MOST LIKELY Dixon will replace Smith in the starting lineup with Jones come the FSU game. As far as the other stuff... don't hold your breath... Dixon is stubborn (and self-indulgent) as a mule.

 

[gary2]

I would say....

PG: Robinson 30, Smith 10
SG: Jones 25, Johnson 15
SF: Artis 30, Jeter 10
PF: Young 30, Jeter 10
C: Like you say

Smith is giving us next to nothing but Jones showed he is the better defender. Starting two small and sluggish guards is not going to cut it. Dixon has stated he needs another guard that can defend and it seems that Jones is the best choice. Maverick Rowan was taking Smith to the hoop so Dixon replaced him with Jones and Jones got the better of Rowan. He also looked good covering, I think, Cat Barber taking it to the hoop. I would say it is MOST LIKELY Dixon will replace Smith in the starting lineup with Jones come the FSU game. As far as the other stuff... don't hold your breath... Dixon is stubborn (and self-indulgent) as a mule.

My take:

Robinson 32 Wilson 8
Smith 28 Jones 12
Artis 32 Jones 8
Young 32 Jeter 8
Maia 28 Jeter 12

 

[Piranha]

PG: Robinson 33 Wilson 7
SG: Artis 32 Smith 8
SF: Jeter 28 Johnson 12
PF: Young 32 Luther 8
C: Maia 20 ANO 12 Luther 8

Smith and Jones are giving us nothing. If Smith isnt going to shoot, he cant play. And Jones tries hard but just isnt very good.

Worth a try - run a 2-3 zone

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Maverick Rowan was taking Smith to the hoop so Dixon replaced him with Jones and Jones got the better of Rowan.

Rowan made three threes in the first half. Chris Jones was guarding him for all three. He got all three on open looks that he got because he ran Jones off a couple screens and Jones somehow couldn't manage to keep up. On the other hand, Rowan took Smith to the hoop exactly once all game, in the second half, long after the game had been decided.

I'm sure that after you watch the game on replay another 20 times you will notice this.

 

[Piranha]

Rowan made three threes in the first half. Chris Jones was guarding him for all three. He got all three on open looks that he got because he ran Jones off a couple screens and Jones somehow couldn't manage to keep up. On the other hand, Rowan took Smith to the hoop exactly once all game, in the second half, long after the game had been decided.

I'm sure that after you watch the game on replay another 20 times you will notice this.

The one 3 came off an out of bounds play called for him in which he came off a double screen. Wilson was the one initially guarding him.

 

[whirlybird optio]

Rowan made three threes in the first half. Chris Jones was guarding him for all three. He got all three on open looks that he got because he ran Jones off a couple screens and Jones somehow couldn't manage to keep up. On the other hand, Rowan took Smith to the hoop exactly once all game, in the second half, long after the game had been decided.

I'm sure that after you watch the game on replay another 20 times you will notice this.

Brandin looked like he was going to seriously kill Chris Jones. He got right into Jones's face in a time out, and then after the TO Jones got like two steals on Rowan. So clearly, the effort was not there for Jones when he was first guarding Rowan, because he can clearly guard better than he was. Jones is so frustrating, when the effort is there he actually can guard people. I don't know if it is mental, physical...but he is very inconsistent on D.

 

[Chaos]

Brandin looked like he was going to seriously kill Chris Jones. He got right into Jones's face in a time out, and then after the TO Jones got like two steals on Rowan. So clearly, the effort was not there for Jones when he was first guarding Rowan, because he can clearly guard better than he was. Jones is so frustrating, when the effort is there he actually can guard people. I don't know if it is mental, physical...but he is very inconsistent on D.

He always looks like he's in slow motion to me, and not in a good way. I wouldn't mind not seeing him in the games at all-at least Smith rebounds.

 

[33pitt99]

Rowan made three threes in the first half. Chris Jones was guarding him for all three. He got all three on open looks that he got because he ran Jones off a couple screens and Jones somehow couldn't manage to keep up. On the other hand, Rowan took Smith to the hoop exactly once all game, in the second half, long after the game had been decided.

I'm sure that after you watch the game on replay another 20 times you will notice this.

You are wrong on Rowan's drives - maybe you need to watch the replay another 20 times. Rowan took Smith to the hoop twice early in the second half. The first time he made a layup and the second time he dished it for an easy dunk and Maia fouled. Smith should be absolutely embarrassed to allow Rowan to get past him that easily. My guess is that he was guarding closely expecting a three and never expected a drive. Still, it was inexcusable, he was completely flat footed. He was taken out right after the second drive, with 17:37 left in the half. Maybe the game was decided at that point, but that isn't how I would view it.

Also, the third Rowan three was on a break after a missed FT - not sure how that happens unless the team is simply not paying attention - and Robinson was the closest defender. There's no question that Smith did a better job on him in the first half and I couldn't figure out why Jones was left in, but the third three wasn't on him. At least Jones was trying to make something happen with some drives (although ill-advised as he was called for a couple of charges) and Smith just keeps passing up shots.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

On the play that Rowan drove the ball on Smith for the basket Smith overplayed the pass and tried to steal or tip the pass. When he didn't get it he was out of position, which is why the drive was wide open.

 

[The Sisco Kid]

Worth a try - run a 2-3 zone

Agree alias Smith and Jones need to play less, the only way Wilson and Johnson get better, and a lesser extent Jeter is to play. You can get by with Artis at the 2 in a zone as his best asset right now is shooting.

 

[gary2]

Agree alias Smith and Jones need to play less, the only way Wilson and Johnson get better, and a lesser extent Jeter is to play. You can get by with Artis at the 2 in a zone as his best asset right now is shooting.

I do not think you can play Artis as your 2G on offense or in any defense

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I do not think you can play Artis as your 2G on offense or in any defense

Yea but Smith/Jones arent good defenders either. It gives you more minutes for Jeter who seems to need consistent minutes to get going. It also gives you a bigger lineup for rebounding.

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

Jones has been banged up with a shoulder, and doesn't possess the body control needed to drive the lane... see the charging calls for evidence. He's an effort guy, but still makes a ton of mental mistakes. It's almost a given at this point:
Jones misses a shot badly, that he should not have taken
Jones commits a dumb foul, which usually leads to points for the opponents
Jones goes to the bench because Jamie can't have people making double-errors out there.

same story with Jones as it was last year, and the year before that.

He's a decent role player for a few mins who will work hard and can occasionally make an open 3, that's it.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Brandin looked like he was going to seriously kill Chris Jones. He got right into Jones's face in a time out, and then after the TO Jones got like two steals on Rowan. So clearly, the effort was not there for Jones when he was first guarding Rowan, because he can clearly guard better than he was. Jones is so frustrating, when the effort is there he actually can guard people. I don't know if it is mental, physical...but he is very inconsistent on D.

I watched the replay on this and about the time Jones came into the game NCS took Rowan out of the game. Then when he came back they ran a double screen of sorts and Jones did not get any help and Rowan nailed the 3 ball. The next one there was another screen and no help and again Rowan got an iota of time and nailed another 3 ball. On the third 3 ball, it was after an Artis FT miss and maybe Jones and Robinson got mixed up as to what side of the court they should be on but in any case Robinson ended up covering Rowan and he nailed a 3 ball right over him.

When Smith was covering Rowan they were not running screens for him and it was an easy task for Smith.

Also, Jones forced Rowan into turning the ball over.

Then there was the matter of Rowan taking Smith to the hoop in the second half. If Rowan can take you to the hoop you can't defend anybody from doing that.

Jones did the much better job on Rowan.

 

[Zaratoughda]

You are wrong on Rowan's drives - maybe you need to watch the replay another 20 times. Rowan took Smith to the hoop twice early in the second half. The first time he made a layup and the second time he dished it for an easy dunk and Maia fouled. Smith should be absolutely embarrassed to allow Rowan to get past him that easily. My guess is that he was guarding closely expecting a three and never expected a drive. Still, it was inexcusable, he was completely flat footed. He was taken out right after the second drive, with 17:37 left in the half. Maybe the game was decided at that point, but that isn't how I would view it.

Also, the third Rowan three was on a break after a missed FT - not sure how that happens unless the team is simply not paying attention - and Robinson was the closest defender. There's no question that Smith did a better job on him in the first half and I couldn't figure out why Jones was left in, but the third three wasn't on him. At least Jones was trying to make something happen with some drives (although ill-advised as he was called for a couple of charges) and Smith just keeps passing up shots.

As far as Smith and Jones covering Rowan.... when they started and Rowan was in the game... they were NOT running screens for him... and THAT is why it looked like Smith was doing a good job on Rowan. But, when they brought Rowan back in.... THAT is when they started running screens for him and Rowan only needs an iota of time to get a shot off and Jones was not getting any temporary help... our bigs were playing with their eyes closed apparently.. and Rowan nailed the two 3 balls.

Why Robinson and Jones ended up on the wrong side of the court after Artis missed that FT... I have no idea. Possibly Robinson was supposed to cover Rowan on that play I don't know. Otherwise, they BOTH screwed up.

As far as Joe is concerned... he makes these assertions that do not stand the light of day and you can go to the replay and IN YOUR FACE. I have him on ignore and would (thankfully) not have even seen his post except there were responses to ignored content so I displayed 'ignored content'.

 

[Zaratoughda]

PG: Robinson 33 Wilson 7
SG: Artis 32 Smith 8
SF: Jeter 28 Johnson 12
PF: Young 32 Luther 8
C: Maia 20 ANO 12 Luther 8

Smith and Jones are giving us nothing. If Smith isnt going to shoot, he cant play. And Jones tries hard but just isnt very good.

As another poster noted... you cannot play Artis at SG because he is not quick enough to keep up with opposing guards on the defensive end. They would take him to the hoop and get him into foul trouble.

GT had a PG that was a non-scorer and in that game Dixon had Artis covering him and had the other two players, who were both scorers, being covered by Robinson and Smith. In short, Dixon gives Artis the easiest defensive assignment.

When Artis is covering a guard... which sometimes happens... he plays it conscientiously but if they can shoot 3 balls they just let them loose right over Artis... which is not good D.

"Smith and Jones are giving us nothing." YES

"If Smith isnt going to shoot, he cant play." YES... and it is strange him becoming 'reluctant to shoot' when you have Robinson putting up brick after brick.

"And Jones tries hard but just isnt very good." WELL.. he just isn't very CONSISTENT.

Dixon has stated multiple times he needs 'another guard that can defend'... and the problem with Smith is he is just undersized and with that isn't gonna make it. Jones is at least trying and doesn't have a problem with his size. After the NCS debacle... I can't believe Dixon will take the court against FSU with the same lineup... so the guess here is he will replace Smith in the starting lineup with Jones.... essentially giving Jones a chance.

 

[pittbb80]

I like the idea of giving slim more time at the two.........at the very least he presents a taller defender to shoot over and I think his upside on offense is far greater than Smith or CJ. SLim did a pretty good job on Rowan in the second half............fought through screens and really limited his touches.

 

[Pittx9]

Jones also did well against Barber late in the second half. I thought he did next to nothing before that, so I wondered why he wasn't put in to guard him earlier. Instead he was brought in and just basically threw away a few possessions. Robinson looked to me like he was struggling mightily on defense, and his offense was near a career worst. I don't think people give J-Rob enough credit, but Tuesday was about as bad of a game I've ever seen a starting PG play.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I like the idea of giving slim more time at the two.........at the very least he presents a taller defender to shoot over and I think his upside on offense is far greater than Smith or CJ. SLim did a pretty good job on Rowan in the second half............fought through screens and really limited his touches.

Cam is 3rd on the team in points per 40 minutes and is shooting a good percentage. How bad can his defense be?

 

[Atch]

Rowan made three threes in the first half. Chris Jones was guarding him for all three. He got all three on open looks that he got because he ran Jones off a couple screens and Jones somehow couldn't manage to keep up. On the other hand, Rowan took Smith to the hoop exactly once all game, in the second half, long after the game had been decided.

I'm sure that after you watch the game on replay another 20 times you will notice this.

I can't watch it again. I got sick once, too old to get sick twice. OOPS forgot, it was on "THIS" TV. Couldn't watch it again if I wanted to get sick.

 

[33pitt99]

I can't watch it again. I got sick once, too old to get sick twice. OOPS forgot, it was on "THIS" TV. Couldn't watch it again if I wanted to get sick.

You can catch it again on WatchESPN - not that you would want to, but in case you change you mind and decide you want to get sick again, you definitely can!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

As far as Joe is concerned... he makes these assertions that do not stand the light of day and you can go to the replay and IN YOUR FACE. I have him on ignore and would (thankfully) not have even seen his post except there were responses to ignored content so I displayed 'ignored content'.

The best part about this is that I said that it was Jones who was guarding him when he made three of his threes, and then you go back and watch the replay and see that on the first two Jones was guarding him and on the third one Jones screwed up and wasn't guarding the person he was supposed to, and from that you somehow determine that I was wrong.

You are thankful to not see my posts because when you post stupid stuff I have a tendency to point it out and you don't like that. And you certainly do give people a lot of chances to point out that you posted something stupid.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Jones also did well against Barber late in the second half.

That's the maddening thing with Jones' defense. It obvious that he CAN play good defense. We've seen him do it before, sometime for long stretches of a game. It's just as obvious that more often that not he doesn't play well defensively. It's got to drive the coaches nuts even more than it does the fans.