re: Silver lining??

I am, and continue to be a fan of Wade's (thought by faith in him is starting to waiver just a bit), but I think this season has been his worst coaching job at at LSU to date. This is arguable his second (maybe first) most talented team at LSU and certainly his deepest. But right now they are trending towards having the worst season in the last three years (can't compare record because of the "pandemic" cancellations).

There are still several games left on the schedule and time to turn things around. But to do so, two things MUST happen IMO:

1. Wade has to acknowledge and accept his defensive approach simply isn't working...and won't work...no matter how much he believes in it. Nearly 4 years of data doesn't lie. At times last night LSU sat back in the half court and guarded. Not a half-assed press. Not unnecessarily leaving offensive players to try to sneak a deflection. Just guarding. Staying in front of ball handlers. Switching. And not unnecessarily helping. And guess what...they didn't look terrible doing it. This team doesn't have to be great defensively. Just average to slightly above average. Abandoning the useless pressure and focusing more on forcing tough shots vs. trying to get steals at all costs would (IMO) make a WORLD of difference

2. Reigning in Thomas. I get it. Thomas is a tremendous scorer who will likely only be here one year. Wade wants to get the most out of him while he's here and he's show the ability to be great at times this season. But SEC teams and SEC athletes have zeroed in on him. They are doing everything in their power to take him away. It's now not as easy for him to win one-on-one battles like he did vs. overmatched Non-conf foes. By Wade's own admission, Thomas's role on this team is as the main scorer...and he's trying to fulfill that role at the request of his coach. But it is hurting the team because now the majority of his shots are "bad" shots and unnecessary forces. And it looks like his misses on those tough shots are speeding him up on his open shots...causing him to miss those. Right now Thomas and Watford are basically "black holes" when they get the ball. Once the ball gets to them it rarely every comes back out. Watford has shown the ability to be a good passer. You'd like to see he and Thomas use the attention they draw when they have the ball to set up others for great looks. If they would do more of that...just a little bit...it would open things up for THEM.