re: SMU is a good win

Mackinnon was in a zone from distance Saturday, but other games he put down enough bricks from the arc to build the Pitti Palace.

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Mckinnon is shooting 45% from 3. So those 2 bad games were more of an anomaly than they were of his potential.

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He is shooting 45%. But that's been the byproduct of an inconsistent "all or nothing" approach. He hasn't just had two bad games. In half of LSU games this year he's shot 0% from 3. Vs. UNO, FIU and Alcorn he was a combined 0-8. He was 0-3 vs. Drake and 0-5 vs. Texas Tech.

Then he has games where he almost can't miss. 4-5 vs. Tarleton St., 6-8 vs. Omaha, 3-4 vs. DePaul, 6-7 vs. SMU.

That's what the post is referencing. This year he's either been on fire or he can't hit anything, without much middle ground. That's worrisome because once you get beyond the games McKinnon is red hot, LSU's 3 point shooting falls off a cliff. Of the guys averaging 10 or more mpg, Sutton is shooting 30%. King is 25%, Thomas is 24%, Reece is 11%. Tamba and Nwoko are literally no threat from deep. Those trends are unlikely to significantly improve once the level of competition jumps up nightly in SEC play.

McMahon is going to have to be able to read his team, recognize pretty quickly the nights McKinnon isn't shooting well from deep, and adjust the approach on the fly. LSU, thus far has been really good from two, and really good from the FT line (best in the SEC right now). That means some games may have to turn into a rock fight where the approach is to try to get inside and either get shot on the rim for a make or offensive rebound, or to get to the FT line a ton. LSU was getting to the FT line a lot early on, but in the last 4 games that's started to decrease significantly.

Basketball is a game of constant adjustments. What is working for 5-6 possessions may suddenly be shut down and the coach has to adjust accordingly. IMO, that has been the single biggest flaw in McMahon's in-game coaching. He either doesn't or is hesitant to adjust the approach. Sometimes the tempo is slow and you have to try to speed it up by doing things differently defensively. Sometimes you have to slow down the tempo. Some night the shots are falling and it benefits you to speed up offensively to attempt a lot of FGs. Sometimes you can't hit anything from deep and you have to try to make it a FT shooting contest. THAT is where coaching comes in.

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MO, that has been the single biggest flaw in McMahon's in-game coaching. He either doesn't or is hesitant to adjust the approach.

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I don't think that's an unreasonable take, I do think he is often slow or hesitant to adjust properly when teams adjust to us. Some would say that's because he has not had the talent to? I would say to that - maybe some of it is that, but not totally.

May be something to that. I just figured playing in the SEC would be a step down from Israeli pro league but maybe the game is much different there. He has looked good last couple of times he’s gotten in . He even ran a high pick and roll and alley ooped to Nwoko for a slam in a game. And his shot looks really smooth. Hoping he continues to get better because he could become the missing piece we need as the other 3 point shooter.