Calipari promises change
Some steps will likely be taken, hopefully the right ones
On his radio show this week, John Calipari said he’ll be making lineup changes to jumpstart UK’s woeful offense. As the wonderful Lizzo sang, “It’s about damn time”. Nothing is certain, but it seems likely that freshman Chris Livingston will move into the starting lineup after a strong performance agains UCLA.
In past seasons, Calipari’s lineup adjustments around this time of year have usually been pretty effective. 3 weeks ago, I wrote about how last season some UK tweaks got the Wildcats onto a great path. In previous seasons, players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ashton Hagans, and Immanuel Quickly moved from the bench into more prominent roles, usually with some success. Calipari has probably earned some benefit of the doubt that he’ll make the right moves, but I’m unsure.
The core issues that need to get addressed, in my opinion are:
UK plays lineups that do not create space for their best players on offense
UK does not seem to be prepared for their opponent tendencies on offense or defense, and need in-game adjustments to settle down
The key guards are not put in positions to use their skills to the fullest
I think #1 can be solved relatively easily, but I just don’t know that 2 and 3 are things Calipari recognizes as a problem and is willing to address. However, I’d like to focus today on what good and bad versions of “addressing these problems” might look like.
For my premium subscribers, I specify what I want to see and what I’m afraid I might see in the next few games…
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