re: We are a better basketball team without Tremont Waters

As I sat watching this game , those exact thoughts entered my mind except it was Reid I thought was the weak link in the chain. Having a backup like Smart certainly eases the pain of no Waters , but Reid and his wanting to play offense facing the goal keeps true down on the blocks players like Williams & Days from providing the kind of play that Reid shies away from. I may get downvoted for this , but this was my thought of watching the game. And I do not believe we would have gotten better play from the 1 position if Waters would have played.

Maybe ours guys are just pumped up for big games and give it their best..

One win without him in a 25+ game season to this point really doesn’t support anything. imo

LSU is a better team with probing, good shot selection Tremont, who is setting up his teammates with good shots.

They aren’t better when he’s jacking up bad 3’s, playing hero ball at the end of games, and showing poor body language.

Problem is it’s been a 50/50 thing.

Imo the op’er is off. Yes we played hard and battled and we are a good team, getting better. We are not better without Waters, but we are different! There could be a scenario here where Wade coaches a little different after seeing what the team accomplished. Let’s be real, it’s a big deal that we beat UT without waters, but we were still beat in many facets of the game, just not the final score.

you can see this thread coming.

And yeah, Smart is probably at his best as the primary point guard, especially when the opponent hasn't prepared for him specifically.

And, yes again, the rest of the team probably does look to Waters when it's crunch time.

But- no, this team isn't better without him. If anything, Saturday's game will make the whole team a LOT better- with him.

March Madness is coming. How many games have we seen where the pressure is boiling over, stakes are high, and teams advance or fall with their backcourts? Take the superstar out of his game, the rest of the team collapses. Frontcourt scorers stand helplessly by as they wait for the ball, watching turnovers happen instead.

LSU is now on the cusp of that environment (we got a taste yesterday), and things couldn't be better.

Tremont Waters has never seemed selfish to me. He hasn't pouted when his shots don't fall, or if someone else has a big game. He does jack up a lot of shots... because LSU has been behind a lot, and SOMEONE has to. And he's made them.
And now, his team, his friends, his brothers- they just played one of the 2 best teams on the schedule without him, and they stepped up and won.

Let's compare games (apples to oranges, I know): with Waters, on the road at Kentucky, he led the team to a close win.
Without Waters, at home vs Tennessee, Smart and Mays led the team to a close win.
And finally, Tennessee at Kentucky- Kentucky dismantled the Vols. Who knows Tennessee may get revenge soon, or they may not.
But the point is, LSU has won huge games, with and without Waters. It's not a trade, it's addition/subtraction. You don't lose Smart and Mays if you add Waters, you just add a super-quick guy with quick hands who's fearless.

Come tournament time, teams are going to try to double Waters, and Saturday gives us the blueprint on defeating that. The next test is Tuesday- because the tournament has games like yesterday, and you then have 1 day off and have to get back out there again, against another good team.

Ok, let me start out by saying Smart had a great game and I think he is a very good player. But in comparison with Waters who I consider the best pg in the Ncaa there are some major deficiencies. One, smart plays with tunnel vision isn't able to get the rest of the team involved on offense. Smart is not good enough to carry the team on his back to the final four, Waters is. A major reason Reid had an off night was because the guards and wings weren't able to get him the ball in good situations. Waters always plays with his head up and makes everyone on the court look and play better.

One telling stat to consider is assists and turnovers.

I love Javonte, he’s been great and will be even better. But I’m not sure that will be as a true PG.
Yesterday it took him 44 minutes to make 5 assists. He also had 4 of our 7 turnovers. I didn’t check to see how many points came from his turnovers.

One reason he did so well points-wise was that he wasn’t able to Involve the big men. It was difficult, against Tennessee granted, but Tremont would’ve snuck in and out and would also have pulled the double team off Reid sometimes.

Likewise with Mays, he had 2 assists and 2 turnovers.

One area where those two might best Tremont though, is on made free throws. Mays was 10 of 12 and Smart was 9 of 10.
Smart was clutch with those late game made FT’s.