Three hours till tip off and I have being thinking about this for a couple of days now and I felt this might be a good subject to discuss.
Pittsburgh’s starters are not all that big which should be perfect for Carolina’s bigs but their 6’6 shooting stat not only leads the league in scoring but also leads the league in REBOUNDING. On paper the Heels in the paint should win the war but games are not paid on paper.
I am sure Coach Williams does not want to give up his teams greatest strength the inside game but the Panther present a difficult problem and that is who covers who. Coach Williams in his call in show last night said that Pittsburgh probably has the fastest player in the league in their point guard so Love and Davis who until recently have not shown much defense will have their hands full.
Pitt will start three guards and the 6’6 star can go inside and out so even if Black can hold him down who or which guard will Brooks, Bacot or Sharpe have to try and stay with.
If Love, Davis, Walton, Harris and Platek can collect some threes then the offense might roll because a undersize Panther will have to cover Bacot or Sharpe but the threes will HAVE TO FALL for that to happen.
If Pittsburgh hits some three point bombs then Carolina may be forced to go small with a lineup of: Harris, Davis, Bacot, Love and Black to counter the shooting and speed that Pittsburgh offers.
My gut feeling is that Carolina will still start two bigs and then make changes if needed by the flow of the game.
Pittsburgh’s starters are not all that big which should be perfect for Carolina’s bigs but their 6’6 shooting stat not only leads the league in scoring but also leads the league in REBOUNDING. On paper the Heels in the paint should win the war but games are not paid on paper.
I am sure Coach Williams does not want to give up his teams greatest strength the inside game but the Panther present a difficult problem and that is who covers who. Coach Williams in his call in show last night said that Pittsburgh probably has the fastest player in the league in their point guard so Love and Davis who until recently have not shown much defense will have their hands full.
Pitt will start three guards and the 6’6 star can go inside and out so even if Black can hold him down who or which guard will Brooks, Bacot or Sharpe have to try and stay with.
If Love, Davis, Walton, Harris and Platek can collect some threes then the offense might roll because a undersize Panther will have to cover Bacot or Sharpe but the threes will HAVE TO FALL for that to happen.
If Pittsburgh hits some three point bombs then Carolina may be forced to go small with a lineup of: Harris, Davis, Bacot, Love and Black to counter the shooting and speed that Pittsburgh offers.
My gut feeling is that Carolina will still start two bigs and then make changes if needed by the flow of the game.