The struggles for the Tigers continue as they lost to Texas Tech Saturday, making it their eighth straight loss. And the theme behind these losses seems like it’s the same every week, which is the inability to put the ball in the basket.
Watching the LSU offense has become hard to watch for fans because each time they have the ball it’s a challenge for them to create anything. The Tigers rank 302nd in field goal percentage shooting just under 42% and ranking 220th in the country from three with 33%, according to NCAA.com.
Numbers don’t lie and it’s clear that LSU’s losing streak has been due to the lack of scoring on the court. The playstyle has seemingly been to force up tough shots and waiting a long time in the shot clock to start the offense. Additionally, the offense has a general lack of movement and smoothness, and there’s a lot of isolation offense and letting their players going one-on-one. Even though they are a talented team regardless of record, this team isn’t the type of team that should be going one-on-one.
I would love to see more creativity with the offense, getting players open and going back to playing team basketball. Since everyone in this era wants to take the ball off the dribble and show off their ability to score, LSU tends to stray away from play calling and trying to beat the defense. With a team that is having trouble scoring, it would be best for them to keep things simple.
In addition to keeping the offense simple, it would be best for the team to focus on attacking the rim and creating easier shots. Of course, if a player is open and has a tendency to shoot the three, it would be bad to tell him no; if something isn’t working, however, then it’s time to try something new.
Another way to generate offense and take the lid off the rim is on the defensive side of the ball. Turning defense into offense is a great way to set the tone on the defense and get more points. Currently, the Tigers rank 303rd in the country with 66.5 points per game. A way to increase that is by making the game stagnant, getting out in transition and pressuring the opposing team. If coach Matt McMahon can implement full court pressure or trapping on defense, I think it will be a big help for the Tigers through the final stretch of the season in SEC play.
