Well, that was certainly better, but still not good enough.
Part of the problem for the UCLA Bruins is that they have yet to put together a complete game performance. Some games featured them playing hard early but fading late, while the recent set of games have seen the Bruins struggle coming out of the gates before staging a furious late rally to try and win the game. This game featured the latter, as UCLA went down big to Maryland early before staging a huge comeback in the second half, bringing the game as close as two points before ultimately fading down the stretch, losing by the final score of 69-60.
He’s an easy target after this game but we have to start with a conversation about Lazar Stefanovic. I don’t know if this is a case of horrible misevaluation or a player being asked to do way more than he’s capable of, but right now the amount that Stefanovic plays has become untenable. Stefanovic played 35 minutes in this game, but they were the most empty-calorie minutes I’ve ever seen; Stefanovic finished with a single point in the game, going 0-6 from the field with none of his attempts even looking close to going in. Worse still, he’s a defensive sieve who is continually overhelping and putting the Bruins in a bad defensive situation. The advanced stats go even further; while Stefanovic was only the second-worst in +/- on the team at -10, the guy who beat him (Sebastian Mack) also played four more minutes but at the same time put up both an EFF (efficiency stat) and Game Score number that led the team while Stefanovic’s similar stats were the second-worst. The eye test back up this assessment that the Bruins simply played better when Stefanovic was out, even when he was replaced with Ilane Fibleuil and Brandon Williams, neither of whom are known as major scorers at this point in their careers.
With two other weaker defenders in the backcourt in Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack, it makes absolutely no sense to put a third one on the court, especially one with weak team defense that is a negative on offense. There’s a reason UCLA was able to start getting back into this game, and it came when Stefanovic was subbed out and replaced with Fibleuil for the first time all game. The crowd was thankful for the change, and even if Fibleuil isn’t scoring, he still made a lot of really smart plays on both sides of the court to energize the Bruins. The crowd started booing whenever Fibleuil was taken off the court, as sure a sign as any that they recognize the hard work he puts in. Brandon Williams similarly had an excellent bounce-back game after a nightmare outing on Tuesday, with his eight points coming at a critical juncture to help the Bruins climb back.
I’ll also point out here that, for the first time in a while, I felt Aday Mara deserved more minutes. He certainly was playing better than Adem Bona, who is much more athletic and stronger but was playing too out-of-control on both ends which essentially wiped out his positives. Mara felt like the second-best center option for the Bruins in this game behind Kenneth Nwuba, which speaks both to the fact that Nwuba stands out as a development success story for Mick Cronin and that Bona and Mara are not where they need to be yet. Berke Buyuktuncel also played for the first time in a few weeks after his ankle injury, and he looked like a guy that can provide good minutes when he’s not getting screwed over by the officiating.
(I guess I’ll mention it here, but the officiating in this game was god-awful both ways. Any time someone got in the lane for either team, you could assume a foul was going to be called for even the most nonsensical stuff. It made it so neither team could establish a rhythm and made it so the game had no flow, but they did get a bunch of screen time which is what really matters here I guess.)
I’ve already decided I can live with Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack not being great defenders when they are so clearly the only offensive players who can create something. Part of that speaks to an offensive system that seems DOA at the moment, but it also speaks to both players being fearless with the ball and willing to make a play, something many on the team lack. Andrews felt a bit more unlucky tonight, as he was able to create open looks that did not go down as much as they should have, while Mack was a bit inefficient from the field but his ability to draw fouls making up for it.
UCLA showed some life down the stretch of this game, but at this point I think the time for experimenting should be over. UCLA’s best lineup on paper feels like it should be Andrews/Mack/Fibleuil/Buyuktuncel and then Bona or Mara, with Will McClendon and Stefanovic subbing in for Andrews and Mack while Fibleuil and Buyuktuncel rotate with Brandon Williams. This isn’t a perfect lineup, but it does provide better coverage on the defensive end, and that’s where I think UCLA’s development focus needs to go. The Bruins did not shoot well all game, going 31.5% from the field, but they were able to cut into the lead by simply turning up the defensive pressure; Maryland shot 30.4% in the second half after hitting 52% of their shots in the first, and going over 10 minutes without a field goal in the middle section of the second half. It’s a very caveman-esque approach to basketball, but it might be what UCLA needs to do going forward if it wants to win games in a decent Pac-12.
Go Bruins.
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On target. I would allocate minutes for Vide as well out of Lazar’s way too many. Could it be any worse? Also, Bona benefited last year by playing with talented and experienced teammates. Having less accomplished players around him highlights his weaknesses.
Just home from the game and I couldn't agree more regarding our best lineup!
We all noticed how the intensity on the defensive end of the floor increased when Fibleuil checked in and how he and Williams were both much better at recovering in rotation when Young was attacking Bona on switches, which slowed him down and made him give up the ball, a big part of how that 10+ minutes they went without a field goal started and we closed from 20 to 2
We have to live with any of Mack's defensive shortcomings since his ability to get to the rim and the line are the closest thing we have to a "go get a bucket" with this roster
Thank you, Dmitri, and Merry Christmas. Nice write up. And yes Mack seems to be the only one willing and able to take it to the basket. Walton was shouting all night at Bona for playing to far out from the basket on defense. Yes I wish Adem had Bill's game savvy. The rest of the season is garbage time, so yes give those others more minutes on the floor to experience NCAA basketball.
On target. I would allocate minutes for Vide as well out of Lazar’s way too many. Could it be any worse? Also, Bona benefited last year by playing with talented and experienced teammates. Having less accomplished players around him highlights his weaknesses.
Just home from the game and I couldn't agree more regarding our best lineup!
We all noticed how the intensity on the defensive end of the floor increased when Fibleuil checked in and how he and Williams were both much better at recovering in rotation when Young was attacking Bona on switches, which slowed him down and made him give up the ball, a big part of how that 10+ minutes they went without a field goal started and we closed from 20 to 2
We have to live with any of Mack's defensive shortcomings since his ability to get to the rim and the line are the closest thing we have to a "go get a bucket" with this roster
Thank you, Dmitri, and Merry Christmas. Nice write up. And yes Mack seems to be the only one willing and able to take it to the basket. Walton was shouting all night at Bona for playing to far out from the basket on defense. Yes I wish Adem had Bill's game savvy. The rest of the season is garbage time, so yes give those others more minutes on the floor to experience NCAA basketball.
FAU beat 'Zona 96-95 in OT
That is good news. Thank you, Jim 💙💛
FAU is a legit team. Remember, they were the 9 seed who made Final Four last year.