Big Dog and what needs to be done.

[chillzatl]

Big Dog has been floundering. IMO, it's very easy to explain why too. The first few games we were finding Bid Dog in motion. All he had to do was catch the pass take a step or two and shoot, MONEY. It seems that after about 2-3 games of that someone decided that big dog can create for himself against double teams. Now, I like Big Dog and I think that he's a heck of a scorer. But I DO NOT see him as a guy who can put it on the floor against a double team and create. He's having to work too hard out there for his shot and it's hurting his game.

The blame for this has to go on the coaching staff. It almost seems like they put out a mandate to "get the ball to dog" without giving thought to how it should be done. Last night they were giving him the ball on the perimeter and letting him try to create and he looked very bad. Once JT and others started hitting him in motion, he warmed up. I know there are cases where he can create his own, man to man or against a double. But against a good team he's going to get shut down more often than not.

Without Big Dog we are only marginally better than last season. If he isn't scoring 20+ or at least doing the other things that go with scoring 20+, we aren't going to win many more games than last season.

[KB21]

JT is the guy that this offense has to be run through. He's the only player that can create his own shot against just about anyone on the floor, and when he is in the flow like that, he's playing his best.

It's going to take some time, but the right mix has to be found between JT, SAR, and GR. IMO, it would be a mistake to make GR the guy you look to as the go-to guy. Sure, he can score and has been a very consistent scorer over his career, but like you said, he isn't a guy that can create his own shot. He'll score a ton of points off his jumper when JT is penetrating and drawing the defense away. JT will still get his points, his assists will go up, and it will open up both GR's and SAR's offensive game if they just put the keys into JT's hands.