My first career Closing Thoughts. Hopefully you all don't revolt. A few things.
1. Get used to it: This team is going to struggle to score all season. I don't expect them to turn the ball over 25 times again (if they do, they'll lose, regardless of who they're playing) but with no Jontay Porter in the lineup, Missouri just doesn't have anyone who can consistently create an easy bucket. This team is going to have to win games like 55-54 this year.
2. Jeremiah Tilmon showed why he is so important to the offense — and why he isn't going to be ready for the NBA any time soon. I'll have more on this for a story tomorrow morning, but the Tigers can't win if Tilmon only takes four shots. They need him to score nearly every time he gets single coverage so that opportunities open up for the perimeter players. Tilmon had issues with disappearing in games last season, both because of foul trouble and because he let his aggressiveness slip. Tonight was an example of the latter.
3. Tilmon's struggles aside, I do think this offense needs to try to add a little creativity somehow. It feels so stagnant; either they throw the ball into the post, or pass it around the perimeter until someone either shoots a contested three or attempts to drive through traffic. I know Cuonzo is the type of coach to focus much more on defense than offense in practice, and I admit I don't know exactly what the answer is for this team offensively, but something has to change.
4. Missouri has been in this position before and rebounded. Last year's first road game, at Utah, finished with a nearly identical final score: 77-59 Utes. Now, do I think this year's team can score enough to be as good as last season? Absolutely not. But Cuonzo Martin's teams typically improve as the year goes on, so don't write this squad off as a 12-win team quite yet.
1. Get used to it: This team is going to struggle to score all season. I don't expect them to turn the ball over 25 times again (if they do, they'll lose, regardless of who they're playing) but with no Jontay Porter in the lineup, Missouri just doesn't have anyone who can consistently create an easy bucket. This team is going to have to win games like 55-54 this year.
2. Jeremiah Tilmon showed why he is so important to the offense — and why he isn't going to be ready for the NBA any time soon. I'll have more on this for a story tomorrow morning, but the Tigers can't win if Tilmon only takes four shots. They need him to score nearly every time he gets single coverage so that opportunities open up for the perimeter players. Tilmon had issues with disappearing in games last season, both because of foul trouble and because he let his aggressiveness slip. Tonight was an example of the latter.
3. Tilmon's struggles aside, I do think this offense needs to try to add a little creativity somehow. It feels so stagnant; either they throw the ball into the post, or pass it around the perimeter until someone either shoots a contested three or attempts to drive through traffic. I know Cuonzo is the type of coach to focus much more on defense than offense in practice, and I admit I don't know exactly what the answer is for this team offensively, but something has to change.
4. Missouri has been in this position before and rebounded. Last year's first road game, at Utah, finished with a nearly identical final score: 77-59 Utes. Now, do I think this year's team can score enough to be as good as last season? Absolutely not. But Cuonzo Martin's teams typically improve as the year goes on, so don't write this squad off as a 12-win team quite yet.
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