Games thread- MEN'S bball hosts Cal (Thurs., 2/2/23, 8:00 MT; Pac 12 Networks) and Stanford (Sunday, 5:00 PM MT, FS1)

[Buffnik]

Lovering does something every game that makes me think “there’s something there with this kid”. His second bucket tonight was an athletic move. He moves his feet well for his size and obviously is key on defense. I think Tad needs to make a concerted effort to get him more low post touches. The problem is his first instinct is to pass; he needs to be more willing to back his guy down. If he can develop a couple decent post moves this off season, that would be a massive lift for next year.

There was a sequence of him on 3 consecutive possessions that had me going nuts. On the 2 defensive possessions, he deflected a post entry pass which was picked up for a steal and on the other he boxed out weak side and tipped the rebound to a teammate. On offense, he tipped a couple misses until TDS snagged a rebound and finished. Lawson got nothing in the box score on that, but was primarily responsible for 2 stops and a score. Throughout the game, he was walling off defenders to give teammates easy shots in the paint and making other team plays. That's what makes him much more valuable than anyone who just looks at box scores realizes.

 

[Da Lama]

There was a sequence of him on 3 consecutive possessions that had me going nuts. On the 2 defensive possessions, he deflected a post entry pass which was picked up for a steal and on the other he boxed out weak side and tipped the rebound to a teammate. On offense, he tipped a couple misses until TDS snagged a rebound and finished. Lawson got nothing in the box score on that, but was primarily responsible for 2 stops and a score. Throughout the game, he was walling off defenders to give teammates easy shots in the paint and making other team plays. That's what makes him much more valuable than anyone who just looks at box scores realizes.

#TadBall

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I'm also baffled by the the difference in the way he moves of defense vs offense. It's like he's a different person. I think a huge factor in on success next year will be whether Tad brings in a specialty coach to coach him up on the offensive side.

Fly him out to Serbia in the off season and have him work with jokic.

 

[BuffsNYC]

Lovering does something every game that makes me think “there’s something there with this kid”. His second bucket tonight was an athletic move. He moves his feet well for his size and obviously is key on defense. I think Tad needs to make a concerted effort to get him more low post touches. The problem is his first instinct is to pass; he needs to be more willing to back his guy down. If he can develop a couple decent post moves this off season, that would be a massive lift for next year.

On every pick and roll, Lovering turns like he expects to get the ball. It's kind of sad, like when you pretend to throw the ball and the dog chases air.

That said, I'm laying a marker today that says he averages at least 6 points next season.

 

[torero]

Fly him out to Serbia in the off season and have him work with jokic.

Lawson sees the game in a similar way to Jokic. He doesn’t have super-processor decision making speed like Jok, but he sees some of that stuff. He also doesn’t have the best hands in the world, as deft as of a shooting touch, or supernatural body control like Jok, but we’re talking about a skinny kid from Wyoming versus the best player in the world.

 

[slider]

Tristan is basically following the exact career trajectory as his older brother Oscar did at Stanford.

 

[King_George_XXIV_Rules]

Lovering does something every game that makes me think “there’s something there with this kid”. His second bucket tonight was an athletic move. He moves his feet well for his size and obviously is key on defense. I think Tad needs to make a concerted effort to get him more low post touches. The problem is his first instinct is to pass; he needs to be more willing to back his guy down. If he can develop a couple decent post moves this off season, that would be a massive lift for next year.

People might not have noticed, but Lawson scored the first two points of the game for CU (points 1 and 2) and the last two points of the game for CU (points 83 and 84). His teammates scored the other 80 points in between. He was the book-end guy last night.

 

[Hunchback Quaker]

Javon Ruffin plays, we win, it's that simple. Don't check my math

 

[Hunchback Quaker]

In all seriousness, love what Gabbidon did yesterday. Thought he was a positive contributor on both ends and allowed CU to go a little faster than Hadley does. Interested to see if he and Wright just had one off good games or if CU can build on this to end the year

 

[JMBuffs]

Hopefully we've settled in on some consistent basketball

 

[MarkW]

After the Cal win on Thursday I figured the Stanford game would be close. In the Cal game, CU benefited from the Bears' turnovers to break open the game. It turns out that yesterday's game would very, very different. CU methodically opened up a double digit lead by playing in the half court very effectively. Get a stop, grab the rebound (CU won the boards 38-24), make a high percentage of treys (9-19) and free throws (17-18). I don't think CU had a dunk in the game. Also, they limited their turnovers to 13.

If you haven't seen TDS in person do so this season or next. He has a tremendous offensive repertoire. I can't remember the last time the Buffs had a player that could consistently hit treys, mid range shots, drive and score as well as hit jump hooks with either hand.

How about Ethan Wright getting to thee basket in the first half and Jalen Gabbidon doing so in the second.

 

[Tony G.]

There was a sequence of him on 3 consecutive possessions that had me going nuts. On the 2 defensive possessions, he deflected a post entry pass which was picked up for a steal and on the other he boxed out weak side and tipped the rebound to a teammate. On offense, he tipped a couple misses until TDS snagged a rebound and finished. Lawson got nothing in the box score on that, but was primarily responsible for 2 stops and a score. Throughout the game, he was walling off defenders to give teammates easy shots in the paint and making other team plays. That's what makes him much more valuable than anyone who just looks at box scores realizes.

That was a great sequence and I think his strength on the offensive side is clearing space for others on drives to the rim.
As frustrating as he is on offense he does a lot of things that don't show up in the box score. That being said, he needs to becomes a bigger piece of the offense. He has to be a threat to score from 10-15 feet out. He has to stop fumbling away entry passes.

 

[ZandiBuff]

Lovering does something every game that makes me think “there’s something there with this kid”. His second bucket tonight was an athletic move. He moves his feet well for his size and obviously is key on defense. I think Tad needs to make a concerted effort to get him more low post touches. The problem is his first instinct is to pass; he needs to be more willing to back his guy down. If he can develop a couple decent post moves this off season, that would be a massive lift for next year.

On every pick and roll, Lovering turns like he expects to get the ball. It's kind of sad, like when you pretend to throw the ball and the dog chases air.

That said, I'm laying a marker today that says he averages at least 6 points next season.

The pick and roll thing kills me. I can't remember a single game in which we've run it and actually hit him on the roll.

Sure, he takes the defender with him, but he's been SOOOO open on a ton of them and we've never even tried it.

The other advantage to it is the pass needs to be up high, which is where he can actually catch it, unlike at his ankles, where we seem to favor throwing him passes.

 

[Buffnik]

The pick and roll thing kills me. I can't remember a single game in which we've run it and actually hit him on the roll.

Sure, he takes the defender with him, but he's been SOOOO open on a ton of them and we've never even tried it.

The other advantage to it is the pass needs to be up high, which is where he can actually catch it, unlike at his ankles, where we seem to favor throwing him passes.

Our passing to the post is clearly something we don't do enough. Whether across the lane or entry to the block, it's rare that I see a big getting the ball in an ideal spot/angle.

 

[AztecBuff]

Media after yesterday's win:

Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/2/5/mens-basketball-buffs-vs-stanford.aspx

"
BOULDER — Colorado's Tristan da Silva scored 25 points, KJ Simpson added 21 and the Buffaloes used a strong second half Sunday to collect an 84-62 win over Stanford at the CU Events Center.

Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in Pac-12 play with their second straight win. The Cardinal saw its five-game win streak come to an end while falling to 10-13, 4-8.

After the two teams entered halftime tied at 39-39, the Buffs took control with a 16-0 run to open the second half. CU built its cushion to as much as 26 and Stanford never threatened again after the Buffs' opening haymaker to start the second half.

Da Silva tallied his fifth straight 20-plus point game, finishing 9-for-14 from the field. Simpson broke out of a recent scoring slump to hit the 20-point mark for the first time since late December and added seven rebounds and four assists. Lawson Lovering led Colorado on the glass with eight rebounds and had a stellar defensive night, picking up three steals and a pair of blocks, and Luke O'Brien chipped in nine points and five boards.

Brandon Angel led Stanford with 14 points.

After both teams shot well above 50 percent from the floor in the first half, Colorado's defense kicked in. CU held Stanford to just 9-for-31 shooting (29 percent) in the second half while the Buffs' offense maintained its pace, shooting 14-for-27.

Colorado also dominated the boards, 38-24, including 10 offensive rebounds that produced 14 second-chance points.

"What a great win for our program at this stage of the season," Boyle said. "We needed it right now. Stanford's been on a roll. Our offense in the first half was really good and our defense wasn't great. And then we just kind of flipped that switch."
...

TURNING POINT: No doubt about this one. Colorado broke a 39-39 halftime tie with a 16-0 run to start the second half and the Cardinal never pulled to within single digits again.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs moved into seventh place in the Pac-12 standings and are still well within range of a top-six finish. CU has three road games on the immediate horizon, but then finishes the regular season with three straight at home.

HADLEY OUT: CU junior J'Vonne Hadley suffered a broken finger in Thursday's win over Cal and will be out for the rest of the season.

KEY STATISTICS: CU held Stanford to just 9-for-31 shooting (29 percent) in the second half … The Buffs shot 14-for-27 after intermission … CU hit 17 of its 18 free throw tries … The Buffs dominated the boards, 38-24, including 10 offensive rebounds that produced 14 second-chance points.

NEXT UP: The Buffs play just once next week, an 8 p.m. game Saturday at Utah (FS1). They hit the road again the following week for a 6 p.m. game Feb. 16 at Arizona State and a Feb. 18 game at Arizona. CU then wraps up the regular season schedule with three straight games at home.
"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Box score - https://cubuffs.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2022-23/stanford/boxscore/16070

 

[Always BUFF]

The pick and roll thing kills me. I can't remember a single game in which we've run it and actually hit him on the roll.

Sure, he takes the defender with him, but he's been SOOOO open on a ton of them and we've never even tried it.

The other advantage to it is the pass needs to be up high, which is where he can actually catch it, unlike at his ankles, where we seem to favor throwing him passes.

He never takes the defender with him, he sets his screen and none of the guards can run off their defender because he isn't there.
I'm to the point where I have to ask should LL red shirt?
LL's D is marginal...offensively it's 4 on 5 every time down the court...the guards know he has hands of stone which is why we haven't seen one alley oop all season.

 

[Darth Snow]

He never takes the defender with him, he sets his screen and none of the guards can run off their defender because he isn't there.
I'm to the point where I have to ask should LL red shirt?
LL's D is marginal...offensively it's 4 on 5 every time down the court...the guards know he has hands of stone which is why we haven't seen one alley oop all season.

Stop while you are far behind

 

[Hunchback Quaker]

He never takes the defender with him, he sets his screen and none of the guards can run off their defender because he isn't there.
I'm to the point where I have to ask should LL red shirt?
LL's D is marginal...offensively it's 4 on 5 every time down the court...the guards know he has hands of stone which is why we haven't seen one alley oop all season.

If that's marginal defense, what does good big man defense look like?

 

[cu3x]

There was a sequence of him on 3 consecutive possessions that had me going nuts. On the 2 defensive possessions, he deflected a post entry pass which was picked up for a steal and on the other he boxed out weak side and tipped the rebound to a teammate. On offense, he tipped a couple misses until TDS snagged a rebound and finished. Lawson got nothing in the box score on that, but was primarily responsible for 2 stops and a score. Throughout the game, he was walling off defenders to give teammates easy shots in the paint and making other team plays. That's what makes him much more valuable than anyone who just looks at box scores realizes.

What bothers me with LL, is his tendency to bring the ball down to waist level, when he doesn't need to.

 

[Goose]

If that's marginal defense, what does good big man defense look like?

Bill Russell.

 

[torero]

Bill Russell.

That's giving a bad poster too much credit. He thinks the guy who has 3 monster swats into the third row (when the offense retains possession) is good defense, but ignores that same guy giving up 10 layups.

 

[Goose]

That's giving a bad poster too much credit. He thinks the guy who has 3 monster swats into the third row (when the offense retains possession) is good defense, but ignores that same guy giving up 10 layups.

Oh, so Birdman?

 

[torero]

Oh, so Birdman?

I did love the Birdman though. But I wasn't fooled into thinking he was a good defender.

 

[Goose]

I did love the Birdman though. But I wasn't fooled into thinking he was a good defender.

His 2009 year he was phenomenal.

Every other year...

 

[cu3x]

Wanting to stick this somewhere. I can't get past the Greeley Tribune pay-wall to read the story, but last night UNC Greeley (8-16), beat Weber State 12-12), 88-54, in a game that for some reason was on national TV. Tad has come a long way, re-locating 60 miles away.

"After chanting “Start the buses” and “Go home Weber,” the University of Northern Colorado student section got to do something it hasn’t done in five years: storm the court."

 

[Buffsbball]

Wanting to stick this somewhere. I can't get past the Greeley Tribune pay-wall to read the story, but last night UNC Greeley (8-16), beat Weber State 12-12), 88-54, in a game that for some reason was on national TV. Tad has come a long way, re-locating 60 miles away.

"After chanting “Start the buses” and “Go home Weber,” the University of Northern Colorado student section got to do something it hasn’t done in five years: storm the court."

Woof they've had a rough year after going 22-16 last year and returning Daylen and Matt Johnson their top 2 scorers from last year.

 

[cu3x]

Woof they've had a rough year after going 22-16 last year and returning Daylen and Matt Johnson their top 2 scorers from last year.

I always want UNC and CSU to do well -except when playing us. They have tons of Colorado natives, local kids.