Rotation in the Tournament

[Sweetlou10]

Currently, with our starting five, we’re playing with a hand tied behind our back until the first media timeout. If Oats actually believed Bruner was our best option in the paint he’d be getting more than 7 minutes a game. Gotta be Reese or Gary.
Also, I’ll never understand how it takes the best point guard in the tournament 5 minutes to get on the floor. If you want to bring him off the bench that’s fine, but he needs to be in at the first or second dead ball. He played 21 minutes, and some of that was foul trouble, but a lot of it was not even coming into the game until a quarter of the way through each half.
Granted, most of these thoughts are at 4:00 AM after my kids woke me up.

 

[RANGER520]

Sweet Lou I agree with you 100% .

 

[IgnatiusJacquesReilly]

Currently, with our starting five, we’re playing with a hand tied behind our back until the first media timeout. If Oats actually believed Bruner was our best option in the paint he’d be getting more than 7 minutes a game. Gotta be Reese or Gary.
Also, I’ll never understand how it takes the best point guard in the tournament 5 minutes to get on the floor. If you want to bring him off the bench that’s fine, but he needs to be in at the first or second dead ball. He played 21 minutes, and some of that was foul trouble, but a lot of it was not even coming into the game until a quarter of the way through each half.
Granted, most of these thoughts are at 4:00 AM after my kids woke me up.

Go back to bed!

Wait, I was up at 4 a.m. as well. Of course, I am up at 4 a.m. most days.

Seriously, I think, at this point, it's more that Oats doesn't want to mess with success. Maybe he is superstitious.

Other than that, his substitution patterns have been a mystery to me all year.

 

[Sweetlou10]

Go back to bed!

Wait, I was up at 4 a.m. as well. Of course, I am up at 4 a.m. most days.

Seriously, I think, at this point, it's more that Oats doesn't want to mess with success. Maybe he is superstitious.

Other than that, his substitution patterns have been a mystery to me all year.

I agree... but that’s an absolutely horrible reason to not tweak your lineup.

 

[BAMAPG]

mmmm we are WINNING ... we won the SEC Regular Season the SEC Tournament ... won the first round and are a # 2 seed .. hell good enough some have us winning it all. Then I jump onto here and find out our coach does not know who to play and or when to play them ...... MAYBE JUST MAYBE he is doing the right thing to win games. I know some of you want to be able to say "I told you so" when we lose a game. Very goo chance you will get your chance ... and then you can tell us how we would have won ...

I am CONVINCED if our AD would hire the people on this site we would NEVER lose a game ... in ANY SPORT.

I think Nate is doing a GREAT JOB. I watch a lot of NBA and during the Warriors run it was not unusual to have a couple of guys off the bench who would play equal minutes to a starter or would be on the floor for closing time ....Iguodola, Livingston it worked well enough to win 3 NBA championships.

 

[Sweetlou10]

mmmm we are WINNING ... we won the SEC Regular Season the SEC Tournament ... won the first round and are a # 2 seed .. hell good enough some have us winning it all. Then I jump onto here and find out our coach does not know who to play and or when to play them ...... MAYBE JUST MAYBE he is doing the right thing to win games. I know some of you want to be able to say "I told you so" when we lose a game. Very goo chance you will get your chance ... and then you can tell us how we would have won ...

I am CONVINCED if our AD would hire the people on this site we would NEVER lose a game ... in ANY SPORT.

I think Nate is doing a GREAT JOB. I watch a lot of NBA and during the Warriors run it was not unusual to have a couple of guys off the bench who would play equal minutes to a starter or would be on the floor for closing time ....Iguodola, Livingston it worked well enough to win 3 NBA championships.

Dude... this is a horrible, horrible take. Obviously Oats is doing a phenomenal job... this is a sports message board and fans are able to criticize decisions. The greatest coach of all time literally watched every single practice all season and continued to play Jalen Hurts over Tua. Just because a coach has done a good job doesn’t mean every single decision he makes is a good one.

 

[frazor]

While it isn't conventional I am starting to think Oats wants to get Bruner's playing time and Q's "rest breaks" out of the way. In Bruner's 12 minutes per game, going back to the start of the SEC tournament he is avg 1.5 pts per game and 2.25 rebounds. I guess he feels Bruner is going to have to play those minutes so why not get them out of the way. If he starts Reese or Rojas then they'd have 3 fouls before the first TV timeout. I have no idea what his reasoning is but just win baby. Roll tide.

 

[EugDan]

Nope.

JQ has assumed the assassins' role and it's best for CNO & JQ to watch for few minutes to determine what the opponent is trying to do. It's not who starts but who finishes and JQ is doing that literally and figuratively... finishing the game and finishing his shots at the basket.

Insert JQ - totally disrupt with some 'Jelly Fam' quickness, movement & shots.

Same with Bruner... let him start, then determine if you need Reese or Gary or both.

If I was coaching I'd probably insert Miles, Gary, & JQ, and leave Herb & Ellis in and just totally run the heck out of the ball for 2 or 3 minutes.

 

[HOUNDZTOOTH1]

Bama is not the NBA.

 

[IgnatiusJacquesReilly]

I agree... but that’s an absolutely horrible reason to not tweak your lineup.

Agreed!

 

[Kintzfam]

For you older basketball fans I compare JQs role to Vinnie (the Microwave) Johnson from the Pistons heyday. If you watch closely you may notice JQ is coming in when the other team rotates too... creates matchup problems for them. Our first five have been our more experienced defenders. Learn how the other team is attacking our defense and work through it. Bruner is like a coach on the floor and is excellent communicating what is happening.

Speaking of Bruner- he has been a huge addition to this team. You may also recall he has now had surgery THIS SEASON on each knee. It can come down to matchups for how much he plays. He isn’t moving laterally very well which is why he couldn’t stay on the court against LSU. He can stilll knock down the three if the defense stays off of him. (See 2nd LSU game!)

How about a shout out to Reese. He has taken a lot of criticism over his time. We may not win without his spark in the second half. Both ends of the floor. Kid worked very hard to change his body shape and is a definite contributor this year.

We are blessed to have several guys that can be THE GUY any given night. Even more blessed that our superstars support that and are happy to contribute where needed. I’ve enjoyed this season immensely and want success for all of these guys that have put in the work.

 

[bamabuilt22daddy]

Currently, with our starting five, we’re playing with a hand tied behind our back until the first media timeout. If Oats actually believed Bruner was our best option in the paint he’d be getting more than 7 minutes a game. Gotta be Reese or Gary.
Also, I’ll never understand how it takes the best point guard in the tournament 5 minutes to get on the floor. If you want to bring him off the bench that’s fine, but he needs to be in at the first or second dead ball. He played 21 minutes, and some of that was foul trouble, but a lot of it was not even coming into the game until a quarter of the way through each half.
Granted, most of these thoughts are at 4:00 AM after my kids woke me up.

Bruner can come in and knock down some shots. If he does that you ride with him. But as long as:
JQ, SHACK, ELLIS, HERB, GARY, & PETTY lead the top 6 in minutes we will win no matter who starts. I personally likes oats approach. Its a statistical based approached that won us the regular season and sec tournament.

 

[drg1955]

While it isn't conventional I am starting to think Oats wants to get Bruner's playing time and Q's "rest breaks" out of the way. In Bruner's 12 minutes per game, going back to the start of the SEC tournament he is avg 1.5 pts per game and 2.25 rebounds. I guess he feels Bruner is going to have to play those minutes so why not get them out of the way. If he starts Reese or Rojas then they'd have 3 fouls before the first TV timeout. I have no idea what his reasoning is but just win baby. Roll tide.

This is it. It keeps Quinerly,Reese and Gary out of early foul trouble when the refs are calling it close to establish control of the game. He is also putting Herb on the opposition’s weakest player early on to keep him out of foul trouble

 

[BAMAPG]

Lou not doubt you know it all when it comes to team sports .... as good as Coach Saban and Coach Oats are you still come on and tell us where they screw up .... do you ever think maybe your OPINION is wrong? Nah ....
Just as every coach is not PERFECT I think it is fair to say your OPINION may be wrong but we can never PROVE IT because you do NOT get to make the decision.

Juts for the record I think your first post was a HORRIBLE take on the decisions Coach Oats has made.

Dude... this is a horrible, horrible take. Obviously Oat is doing a phenomenal job... this is a sports message board and fans are able to criticize decisions. The greatest coach of all time literally watched every single practice all season and continued to play Jalen Hurts over Tua. Just because a coach has done a good job doesn’t mean every single decision he makes is a good one.

 

[BAMAPG]

Good points ... I do not know if they are correct but certainly possible ... one thing is damn sure I bet he has good reasons.......

This is it. It keeps Quinerly,Reese and Gary out of early foul trouble when the refs are calling it close to establish control of the game. He is also putting Herb on the opposition’s weakest player early on to keep him out of foul trouble

 

[anon_z8qxv7qt5719f]

The only reason I think he is letting him sit a little bit long is have him fresher driving to basket at the end of the game where he can draw fouls from players that may be tired.

 

[Sweetlou10]

Lou not doubt you know it all when it comes to team sports .... as good as Coach Saban and Coach Oats are you still come on and tell us where they screw up .... do you ever think maybe your OPINION is wrong? Nah ....
Just as every coach is not PERFECT I think it is fair to say your OPINION may be wrong but we can never PROVE IT because you do NOT get to make the decision.

Juts for the record I think your first post was a HORRIBLE take on the decisions Coach Oats has made.

Let me put your questions to bed PG. of course my opinions may be wrong! What are you even talking about? This is a sports message board where fans share opinions. I’ll be the first to say my opinions may be wrong. Where are you coming up with this nonsense?

 

[BAMAPG]

NOT ONCE in your original post did you credit Oats with doing anything right and you did not say I wish we would etc.... every comment was NEGATIVE. Gets tiring hearing nothing but negative about a Coach who has worked MIRACLES.

 

[HOUNDZTOOTH1]

I like those 24 MIRCALES that Oats has produced. Maybe be can get really lucky and produce 4 more.

 

[Sweetlou10]

NOT ONCE in your original post did you credit Oats with doing anything right and you did not say I wish we would etc.... every comment was NEGATIVE. Gets tiring hearing nothing but negative about a Coach who has worked MIRACLES.

Any time I’ve ever critiqued him I’ve prefaced it by saying he’s way smarter than me and has done an incredible job... didn’t feel the need to do it this time because at this point it’s kind of understood. I’m not a negative poster on this board. Any and every critique of a decision is not a bashing of the coach

 

[tydzbk]

pERPETUALgRANDSTANDER

 

[anon_z8qxv7qt5719f]

I like those 24 MIRCALES that Oats has produced. Maybe be can get really lucky and produce 4 more.

Luck is what happens when Preparation meets opportunity!

 

[Sweetlou10]

pERPETUALgRANDSTANDER

It’s gotten weirder

 

[Sweetlou10]

Update: looks like Oats agrees with the first part of my OP

 

[frazor]

Really happy to see Gary get a heavy dose of minutes tonight especially when you look back at how his season started with 2-3 minutes per game. He plays so big.

 

[greatbb]

Currently, with our starting five, we’re playing with a hand tied behind our back until the first media timeout. If Oats actually believed Bruner was our best option in the paint he’d be getting more than 7 minutes a game. Gotta be Reese or Gary.
Also, I’ll never understand how it takes the best point guard in the tournament 5 minutes to get on the floor. If you want to bring him off the bench that’s fine, but he needs to be in at the first or second dead ball. He played 21 minutes, and some of that was foul trouble, but a lot of it was not even coming into the game until a quarter of the way through each half.
Granted, most of these thoughts are at 4:00 AM after my kids woke me up.

JQ was terrible for a good part of the year. Perhaps coming off the bench gives him an opportunity to see the flow of the game or reduces the pressure. It has certainly been the recipe for success. It would be interesting to hear how Oats decides when to bring him into the game.

 

[PlaidandParquet]

Sweet Lou Pinella aint never been nothing but a winner

 

[EugDan]

I think most of us forget that when the season started CNO ONLY HAD four (4) players that had actually played in a game for the University of Alabama.

Herb, Petty, Reese & Shackleford are the only players to have seen live SEC type action...

CNO has done a TREMENDOUS job in developing this roster & the players. Kudos to him!

 

[oslim]

Go back to bed!

Wait, I was up at 4 a.m. as well. Of course, I am up at 4 a.m. most days.

Seriously, I think, at this point, it's more that Oats doesn't want to mess with success. Maybe he is superstitious.

Other than that, his substitution patterns have been a mystery to me all year.

right or wrong, most coaches are very superstious. who am i to tell hime how he needs to do it

if it ain;t broke do not fix ir

we doing alright