re: Its easy to get a team up for #1 but how motivated will JJ have players 4 Auburn

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Unfortunately this term is the exact opposite of LSU basketball at the moment. They play in a helter skelter sort of way without movement on offense and without much team discipline on defense. They may play "hard" but there is so much subjectivity in that analysis that I don't even really know if people understand what that even means.

So, that's why I say that loving your coach and playing "hard" for him doesn't always translate into wins.

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Perfect analysis. I don't ever question the players love or willingness to play for Jones, nor does it look like they "mail it in" very often. However, you're completely right. Playing hard without playing smart doesn't always translate into wins.

Every game in countless half-court possessions you see LSU with seemingly no coherent structure. 1 guy has the ball and the other 4 are either standing around waiting for something to happen or running around aimlessly with seemingly no apparent direction. How many times have we seen the ball handler dribble to the wing or top of the key looking for a screen, only to see two teammates stand there staring at one another confused as to who is supposed to be setting the screen? There are other times where guys are moving away from the ball but without any particular direction, which leads to two, sometimes 3 guys all inadvertently ending up standing right next to one another.

I think with the team LSU has Jones is trying to create space on the floor. However, because the players are generally freelancing in the half-court offense they many times inadvertently destroy the spacing because they quite literally get in each other's way. Watch how many times TQ or Simmons has the ball at the top of the 3pt point line just desperate for something to happen away from the ball, only to watch their teammates either stand still or move with hesitancy because they don't really know where they are supposed to go. You can see the frustration on Quarterman's or Simmons' faces when they see a play that can be made, but the other guys just don't know what to do.

On defense I think LSU generally plays hard. They just don't always play smart. Instead of just playing hard-nosed defense and staying in front of their man, they seem to be constantly looking for a steal. The downside with always looking to create a turnover is that many times LSU's players find themselves out of position thus allowing an easy basket or picking up an unnecessary foul. One only has to look at the last game to see how much this hurt LSU

With about 14 minutes left in the game Quarterman (who was outstanding all first half and into the second) hits a 3 to put LSU up by 13. He then comes back down and picks up a silly 3rd foul by trying to get an unnecessary reach-around steal. He goes to the bench because of it and the complexion of the game completely changes. OU outscores LSU 33-18 from that point on, including a quick 10-4 run as soon as Quarterman goes to the bench. He was LSU's most important player up to that point because he was scoring AND doing a decent job (as much as possible) defending Heild. He was controlling the game. Yet, he needlessly removes himself from the game trying to force a play that just wasn't there. That wasn't a matter of effort, just a matter of not making a sound play.