It’s a hard decision but with 2 double digit possibly scorers out on Saturday, why I would start Nickel over Puff…

[IDUNK4HEELS]

Just cannot expect Love and Davis to carry the team with hopes that Washington can have a repeat game and that Black can maybe get 10 points as well but even if all of those things happen someone else needs to show and be willing to take some shots.

Yes I know Trimble and Johnson have been choices to start since Nance went down but let’s be fair and honest here neither one of them have looked to score. Yes they can definitely help the team with their defense but with 2 starters out which means 30 points a scorer who is not scared to shoot is more important than a defensive standout..:

McCoy can still come in for Washington, Johnson for Nickel and Styles can give Black a short rest. Dunn and Trimble can come in for Love and Davis when needed…

Nickel for the brief time he has been playing always has his head up and is ready to shoot. Yes like Washington he looks completely lost when trying to play defense but in this case I would take his possible offense to help relieve the scoring load on Davis and Love…

I realize expierence players normally are the first to come off the bench and that is why McKoy, Johnson, Dunn and Trimble come in especially now with the two bigs out first but in my eyes this may be a game that Nickel could and should stand out….

You may agree or disagree but sometimes a hunch just might be the right move. Washington proved that the other night against Virginia….

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I have no issue with starting either Puff or Nickel. I would probably lean toward Puff because he can play stretches of pretty solid D even though he is a foul a minute guy so far and neither have really scored all that well. I love Nickel's hustle and alpha dog mentality though and I expect him to break out at some point. I see both playing a significant amount if both bigs are indeed out and I like the proposed rotation you set out. Puff gets the nod from me for the experience and rebounding aspect, but Nickel wouldn't be a bad choice.

 

[DSouthr]

First, I am not really worried about guys like Puff, Dunn or Seth picking up fouls because they are not looking to be able to stay on the court 30+ minutes, I want them to play hard nosed defense and that gets some whistles. We have quality players to bring in for those guys so they don't really need to worry about foul trouble.

Start Nickel over Puff? I don't know about that, I would still start Puff but would not hesitate to call on Nickel for strong double digit minutes, especially if he hits a early jumper that gets his confidence rolling. There seems to be a special connection between NIckel and Caleb, Caleb loves to pass the ball to Tyler, has big time confidence in him, he is a guy Caleb will actively look for as an outlet when he drives, there is a comfort level there that Caleb does not seem to have with many others.

I think if we must move Leaky to the 4 with Bacot and Nance out then we need to go to a scorer to fill the 3 spot, I think that can be Puff or Nickel. Styles is odd man out because he is a undersized 4 that is not a real scorer, at least not for right now. Having to go this deep in to the bench to cover for the loss of our starting front court I am as well wondering about Beau Maye. I know, kid has had multiple knee surgery procedures but he is on the team. IT was not really a real game but the kid did show he can hit treys in our Blue/White game, can he give us a couple minutes as a stretch sniper? He is 6'8" & 225lbs, if those knees allow him to move I wonder if he could help us in limited spots?

Tell you right now what darn sure could help us over come the loss of our starting front court, go to a pressure defense. Pressure defense does 2 things, it does help you get the TOs that lead to easy scores as well as wearing down opposing guards but it as well amps the pace of the game up, we don't have to go in to as many half court sets against set defenses, helps us neutralize the loss of our interior size. We have the back court depth to do this and keep fresh legs and we have some excellent back court defenders to pull this off with. We can get away with using guys like Styles, McKoy, Leaky, Puff, Nickel if we are not facing half court offense every time down court.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I expect Bacot to play. No inside info, but I just got that feeling from Hubert's comments.

If not . . .

I expect Payne to throw waves of bigs at Washington. So either Washington will have a record for freshman blocks or he'll get worn down or be in foul trouble, or both.

I know a lot of folks will also suggest that we can't count on the refs to be fair, but even if they are fair, Louisville has 6 or 7 bigs to throw at Washington (they have 7 but 1 may not be available).

And if Armando is back but a little gimpy, that wave of bigs strategy could work against him, too. Most of them may not be ACC caliber players, but having virtually unlimited fouls to give is an advantage against a wounded front line. Especially if the refs are being friendly to the home team.

RJ and Caleb will play close to 40 minutes each. So I don't see much opportunity for pressure D. They could be running on fumes by the end of the game, and you don't want to hasten that fatigue. If H gives them more rest, then of course I like applying pressure while they are on the bench.

Louisville's PG, Ellis, seems pretty good. We could probably use Seth in the lineup as much as possible to harrass him. I imagine Seth will have something to prove after being bitch-slapped by Virginia. But that means RJ will have to guard someone even bigger. Not a good matchup.

OTOH, I expect both RJ and Caleb to pour in 20+ points. Plus 10 each from Washington and Leaky gives us 60 points. We can probably beat Louisville with 75 points, so who's going to step up?

I don't know whether to try Puff first or Nickel. Puff will need to hit some shots early. We can't afford to have 3 defensive players on the court at the same time unless a couple of them are also scoring at a decent clip.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Even if Armando could play, I'd hold him in reserve unless we actually need him to avoid losing.

We need him to be ~100% (and hopefully Nance, too) when we play NC State next Saturday. It's on our court so we should win, but apparently they are better than they look on paper.

 

[imajericho]

Give Nickel 30 minutes imo

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

At the half, Dunn has 13 min, Puff 9, and Styles 5. No sign of Nickel yet.

 

[UNC-75]

Puff had a good game today. Nice stroke and good court awareness.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Puff had a good game today. Nice stroke and good court awareness.

Clearly I should have given up on him sooner, because as soon I did, he got better. I should have given up on him before the UVa game.

That said, I hope he can keep it going this time.

 

[Archer2]

Love tried his damndest to lose the game for us again. He has no leash whatsoever, just does as he pleases. He’s the antithesis of Carolina basketball. And Hubert just allows it with no restraints. Very disappointing.

3-14 FG
0-7 3FG
1 assist
4 TO
5 steals

 

[gobblercalls]

Love tried his damndest to lose the game for us again. He has no leash whatsoever, just does as he pleases. He’s the antithesis of Carolina basketball. And Hubert just allows it with no restraints. Very disappointing.

3-14 FG
0-7 3FG
1 assist
4 TO
5 steals

and don't forget, zero rebounds in 33 minutes! No effort. Dunn had 5 in 25 minutes. That's what effort looks like.

 

[Archer2]

and don't forget, zero rebounds in 33 minutes! No effort. Dunn had 5 in 25 minutes. That's what effort looks like.

Yep. RJ, the shortest guy on the floor, had 4 boards.

 

[imajericho]

Announcers were saying RJ was yanked early in the game for failing to get a rebound.

Kinda amusing compared to Love.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

and don't forget, zero rebounds in 33 minutes! No effort. Dunn had 5 in 25 minutes. That's what effort looks like.

I'm liking Dunn more and more every time I see him.

He's become a dependable contributor. I wonder what his ceiling is.

Don't look now but Dunn has the highest TS% on the team at 64.9. Pete (63.0) and Armando (60.1) are next. The closest among back court players is RJ at a still-decent 57.0.

OTOH, Dunn has only taken 38 shots. As compared with 270 for Caleb, who is our most prolific shot-taker by a large margin (Armando is next with 186 attempts).

I probably want Caleb in there if we are losing, but I might give Dunn the start against BC and let's see how he does.

 

[gobblercalls]

I'm liking Dunn more and more every time I see him.

He's become a dependable contributor. I wonder what his ceiling is.

Don't look now but Dunn has the highest TS% on the team at 64.9. Pete (63.0) and Armando (60.1) are next. The closest among back court players is RJ at a still-decent 57.0.

OTOH, Dunn has only taken 38 shots. As compared with 270 for Caleb, who is our most prolific shot-taker by a large margin (Armando is next with 186 attempts).

I probably want Caleb in there if we are losing, but I might give Dunn the start against BC and let's see how he does.

If we're losing Love is probably largely responsible!!