I think this thread severely misses the target.
We are limited athletically and that in turn limits our ability to win games by simply overpowering the opponent. Today we needed a A) main game plan B) a pivot plan in case our main plan was ineffective. Plan B should also be somewhat modifiable (as should A) based on what was actually transpiring in the game.
From the get-go our Plan A was wildly ineffective (whatever the **** it was) and that was magnified by: Kunc continuing a 2 week trend of being atrocious and nobody shooting the ball particularly well (though this was largely influenced by horrendous shot selection). Potentially the game was salvageable provided we pivoted and actually utilized what was happening in the game to dictate our strategy and rotations.
For reasons nobody can surmise we didn't pivot or stick with what was working during the run. Otz went to Ward with Jones and Osun finding early foul trouble and he was wildly effective. He came in and immediately altered shots, shored up our rotations, and our offensive fed off that energy. Lipsey started to penetrate as did Holmes, and when thwarted the kicked out, someone else often attacked the basket, and the process continued until we got easy/open looks. The team was on a roll and looked like it was getting back in the game until....
Otz took out Ward. Inexplicably, when the team was rolling. Time and time again Otz has displayed a complete lack of feel for the game and what is transpiring on the floor. Bob came in and missed an easy outback (was fouled), missed both free throws, and fumbled some loos balls. It killed a lot of momentum and we went into the half down 7, a miracle considering the start, but it felt like we left at least 4 points on the table. Pitt stemmed the tide and was able to use half time as it's saving grace.
You'd think Otz and his staff would have identified that we needed to stay away from threes (in general) and that we needed to attack the basket. One would also hope he would have been able to recognize the significance of Ward, the benefits of a long, athletic rotation in general, and that Kunc and Osun needed to sit on the bench as much as possible considering they were liabilities on both ends. So what happens coming out of the half? Ward rides pine for 8 minutes to start, we largely revert to bad habits, take a plethora of horrendous shots, and tried pounding the paint to initiate our offense. Literally EVERY ******* time we passed the ball inside, at least as the initiator of our offense, it killed the possession. Osun labored in his moves and forced shots. Bob was slow and was easily trapped. It was a disaster. So WHY did we do it. WHY did we keep putting Osun and Kunc in the game.
Basically every decision or lack thereof by Otz defied logic and a fundamental, game-based tangent for it's occurrence. It literally felt like he wasn't at the game or mentally engaged at all. The result was a ship without a rudder and when it desperately needed one. He didn't have an offensive game plan, a back up plan, didn't adjust substitutions and rotations based on the game/what was effective, and didn't utilize TOs. WTF good did it do to save 2 timeouts for the last 5 minutes, staring down the barrel of a 20 point deficit?
Maybe Otz mistakenly thought he could turn his unused TOs into Jamie for a salary bonus. I have no idea WTF he was doing and...to be honest...I don't think he did either.
