Thread: Illinois
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Old 11-22-2021, 03:39 PM   #7
waterhead
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyblade View Post
We are going to get a real test of our big men tonight. The game will be won or lost on the interior, controlling their big men and keeping the rebounding margin close to equal. Cockburn is the obvious one, but they've got plenty of others and plenty of depth. Their PF Hawkins is 6'10" 200lb and averages 12.4 rebounds/40 minutes (and 19.5 points). JD needs to be able to guard him and take advantage of the mismatch on the other end.

If he can't then suddenly our big man depth becomes a lot less. It's quite possible that the rotation tonight will be Ado/Koval at C and Lakhin/Ody at PF, with JD shifted to mostly playing the 3.

It seems likely that our hopes will rest on Ado. Cockburn has 50 lbs on every other player on our team. I can't imagine Ody being able to guard him, Koval maybe but it will be a tough matchup for him. If Ado can play like he did in the 2nd half of last game, we've got a chance. If he plays like he did in the first 3 games, we are in trouble.

If we can keep their bigs under control, I like our chances. If we can turn them over and avoid turning the ball over ourselves we can keep ourselves in the game and score on the fast break.
It's a good thing Ado showed up in 2nd half of last game. No doubt we are going to need that player tonight. Ody is under sized and Koval would probably give more ground. Lakhin might just do pretty well because of his footwork and instincts. If Ado can't do the job I expect to see a lot of Vik.
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