It’s Time: Bring the Payne

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Formerswish said:
Getting Payne good post feeds is a missing ingredient to this team so far, and Payne showed what a force he could be last night. Observations about that and other observations:
  • Garcia struggled again to feed Payne when he sealed his defender (which he does better than just about anybody). Not only did he overthrow passes to Payne, on a couple of possessions he neglected to pass it to Payne when he had great post position.
  • When Payne does get the ball in the post, other players need to do a better job of spacing and getting to spots, so when the double team comes, Payne has better passing options.
  • God, I wish Payne could hit the 15 foot jumper-he hit one in one of the first games of the year, and I think tried it one other time and missed pretty badly. If he could add this element to his game he would be unstoppable-although his free throw shooting indicates this may be a challenge
  • If Payne can improve his ability to limit fouls and increase his fitness, then he can play 32-35 minutes a game, because this team is SO much better with him on the court.
  • This team has the ability to beat a team like Indiana, but having your guard trio shoot 4 for 28, and shooting 3 for 20 on 3's won't allow that.
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Unfortunately that is also the bane of Garcia this year. He gets away from the basket a little bit and his shooting % really takes a dive.
 

conventional wisdom is that Johnson is not starting Payne because he does not want Payne getting into early foul trouble.

he may have to try and risk it against Iowa.

but as noted, in minutes played, Hawkins had 36, JOJ 30 and Payne 29. the question is whether the Gophers are better with Payne getting minutes early or coming off the bench.

also - this may not be a great Indiana team, but playing at Indiana is never easy. there are reasons why the Gophers have not won a game there since 2012.

BTW - someone posted the starting lineup the last time the Gophers won a game at Indiana.
Julian Welch (who?)
Austin Hollins
Joe Coleman
Rodney Williams
Ralph Sampson III
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Unfortunately that is also the bane of Garcia this year. He gets away from the basket a little bit and his shooting % really takes a dive.
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That is the truth, as his 8 for 35 on 3's shows us so far this year. It seems likely he'll come around as the year goes on, but the positive piece is that he doesn't have much of a chance to be drafted based on his play so far. And I don't know what his plans are, but if he returns I really like the possibilities for this team-as much as you can predict what happens with the NIL.
 

bga1 said:
What is relevant is how you start the game. If you are lacking intensity and get behind at the start of the game- that's a big problem. Not having our best and most physical player on the floor at the start is not a good idea.
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Agreed. No matter what the reason or strategy has been, our propensity for slow starts dictates a change.
 

Dakota2 said:
Agreed. No matter what the reason or strategy has been, our propensity for slow starts dictates a change.
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I say Ben needs to piss Garcia off by starting Payne and JOJ while having Garcia come off the bench. Garcia needs a wakeup call.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
conventional wisdom is that Johnson is not starting Payne because he does not want Payne getting into early foul trouble.

he may have to try and risk it against Iowa.

but as noted, in minutes played, Hawkins had 36, JOJ 30 and Payne 29. the question is whether the Gophers are better with Payne getting minutes early or coming off the bench.

also - this may not be a great Indiana team, but playing at Indiana is never easy. there are reasons why the Gophers have not won a game there since 2012.

BTW - someone posted the starting lineup the last time the Gophers won a game at Indiana.
Julian Welch (who?)
Austin Hollins
Joe Coleman
Rodney Williams
Ralph Sampson III
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Welch was a weird player really herky jerky. Showed some promise his JR year after juco. His senior year was a big step back.
 

FinnGopher said:
I say Ben needs to piss Garcia off by starting Payne and JOJ while having Garcia come off the bench. Garcia needs a wakeup call.
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Don't think Garcia needs a wakeup call. I think he has not fully recovered from his injury. He is slower and it also impacts his shot.

In quest of getting off to a better start in games, I would favor starting Carrington over Christie for better defense and more energy. Christie really is not ready for the expectations that have been placed upon him. Coming off the bench for a few games might do him some good.
 




bga1 said:
Correct. He's a ball stopper on offense and if he isn't scoring at a high rate, he hurts the flow of the offense. When he's on, he's really good and he attracts a lot of attention, but lately he hasn't been so good.
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So another Jamison Battle? At some point is it on the coaching staff that guys go from "best player" to "addition by subtraction"?
 

howeda7 said:
So another Jamison Battle? At some point is it on the coaching staff that guys go from "best player" to "addition by subtraction"?
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No, I don't think he is like Battle in that sense. Garcia is still getting 1.3 pts per shot taken so that's fine. Last year Battle was getting 1.1 pts per shot- not good. Garcia is just a little off right now - really off on his 3 point shots, but he went through a spell like that last year as well and then finished great.
 


SelectionSunday said:
I agree. Mitchell can be an instant offense guy off the bench. A Charles Thomas or Quincy Lewis, so to speak.
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He can be, but he’s not creating enough space for himself or their not running plays to get him open shots. I honestly don’t know, but the production has been down.
 












fan of Ray Williams said:
Ben probably will start him. He has started every game this year. Doubt Ben will change it up with him.
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For unknown reasons, JOJ is the quickest offensive starter on the team. Seems to get his 10 first half points most games.
 

tikited said:
True.
I'd sit Garcia and start Payne.
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That's worth a try Monday night. I would also switch Carrington for Christie in the starting lineup with the objective of bringing more defensive energy early in the game.
 


Garcia needs to be in the game and we need to get him the ball early, get him going. He is our most skilled post player and he can drive the lane, and will sink the FTs. Agree that starting Payne alongside Garcia and JOJ against this tall Hawkeye lineup is the way to go. Sit Mitchell and Christie, bring them off the bench, and start Hawkins and Carrington.
 

Couldnt watch game (and probably not going to now) but see Payne only played 14 minutes. Assuming he reinjured himself?
 


There was one TV timeout he was wearing a black brace on his lower back. He looked uncomfortable even warming up.
 

Seems like he goes 18 minutes, 25 minutes, 18 minutes, 25 minutes. Who knows. He is good down low, but very one dimensional. He is great down low and yes like to see more of him, but he also needs to work on his passing and FT. Iowa was feasting in the paint tonight and as soon as we collapsed, they made the extra pass to get the better look.
 

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