Watertown runs a basketball clinic at Belmont’s expense

UPDATES:

April 19, 2010 - I made few but important changes to this article published on February 13, 2010. At first, I wanted to leave the original sentences crossed, but in the end I decided to take them out completely because crossed lines destroy the flow. In addition to revising some sentences, I removed all the comments. The debate made sense while it was happening but I don’t think it is interesting as a permanent addition to the article.

Author

“Winning is like deodorant – it comes up and a lot of things don’t stink.” – Doc Rivers, The Celtics Coach

Not long ago, the Belmont Marauders basketball team was undefeated, 15 and 0. But, they lost two of their last three games, first to Reading, then last night to Watertown. Both these teams are considered serious rivals and getting the wins was extremely important to the team. The game against the Watertown Raiders was particularly important because the team wanted to go into the post season on the wings of a decisive win against a great rival. It all looked possible as Belmont thoroughly outplayed Watertown in their first game of the season. This time, the final score was Watertown 57 – Belmont 53.

In my article from January 13th, 2010, titled Big win for Belmont against undefeated Reading, I highlighted what Belmont needed to do differently to get more decisive wins and to prevail in tough situations. When the article came out some people expressed their consternation that I was too pessimistic while the team was winning. I wanted the team not to be oblivious to the “deodorant effect,” to look at their performances objectively, and start fixing problems while there was still time. Read more ->

Big win for Belmont against undefeated Reading

Belmont won an important game, maybe the most important game of the first part of this season. Again, they played a tough 4th quarter, and I don’t expect anything but toughness from this team any more. They took over a close game and made it into a blowout. Overall, the team played well, but the final score is somewhat deceiving. I say this mostly because Reading missed 15 free throws. That’s a big hit even for the best teams to take.

Among good things, the inside defense was solid. Reading centers and forwards couldn’t easily score. Belmont hit more than their typical 20% of threes attempted, which helped quite a bit.

Among not so good things, the defense on penetrations was shaky. It looked like Reading guards could get into the paint any time they wanted.

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The Outlook of the Season

First, let me remind myself and everybody else about the teams I am committed to write about. Cibona and Partizan from Croatia and Serbia respectively; Boston Celtics, arguably the most famed NBA team (LA Lakers come as very close second); BC Eagles and Harvard Crimson for college basketball; and Belmont Maruaders for high school basketball. This year I am adding the Maine Red Claws NBDL team, associated with the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats.

Why did I chose exactly these teams. Either because they are geographically close to where I live, so I am more likely to watch live games, or because of the memories from years ago (I used to watch Partizan in the late-eighties and Cibona in the mid-nineties).

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Belmont Defeats the Tanners

The Belmont Marauders defeated the Woburn Tanners in a balanced game in which they controlled the Tanners defensively throughout the game. The game was low-scoring and close until the half. In the third quarter, the Marauders played tenacious defense and fed the front court in a timely fashion. Goodwin and Paolillo finished most of the feeds to lead the Marauders in scoring.

Belmont has all the reasons to believe that this will be a winning season, especially if they continue displaying consistent defensive effort. The team seems to be well synced on that end of the court. The guards play on a defensive string, expanding and collapsing as needed, and the center line is solid with a good amount of bulk added to length. These centers can push anybody out of the paint; if they maintain their focus and keep boxing out, there will be no easy points for the opposing offense from down low.

On the offensive side of the court, Belmont again relies on the strong game of the front court (Paolillo and Goodwin) with occasional penetration by Andrew Musler. Musler is hard to categorize as a player, he may be one of the few point forwards in the league, but his contribution is bigger than the stat sheet may tell. He can break the other team through the middle and either score or open the game up for others… and he gets on the line which is valuable since he is a dependable free throw shooter. He extends his game to either guard or power forward with solid ball handling and rebounding. Even when percentage of his conversion is not high, as will occasionally happen, it is not a concern because there is always a positive side effect of throwing the opposing defense out of their formation.

Not everything is cozy on offense, though. The lack of outside shooting is a concern. The guards are reluctant to take shots when open 10-15 feet away from the hoop. So far, they haven’t been successful in a penetrate-and-dish-out or find-the-big-guy kind of game either. This leads to my other concern, which is play-making. In the game against the Tanners, Belmont relied on Musler far too often to handle the ball and make plays. Luckily, in this game, it didn’t turn out to be a critical weakness.

So far, the strengths outweighed the weakness. That’s why Belmont has a 1-1 record against two tough opponents from two away games.

From Around the Web

• It’s early, but so far so good, Mark Goodman and Michael Liuzza, Belmont Citizen-Herald

On Tuesday night, the Belmont High boys basketball team defeated Woburn, a team that has been picked by many to do great things this season. But the Marauders went into Woburn High School with confidence and came away with a huge victory.

• Belmont gets the better of boys hoop, Mark Goodman, Woburn Advocate

The Woburn High boys basketball team never really got on track Tuesday night in a 48-36 defeat at the hands of Belmont. The visiting Marauders were down at the half, 20-18, but put on a remarkable defensive display after that. Woburn scored just two points in the third quarter, by the end of which Belmont led, 33-22.

Here’s the slideshow of pictures taken during the game:

Lexington Beats Belmont in Fourth Quarter

The first game of the season! After months of training, anticipation building, summer leagues, fall leagues, exhaustive workouts, week-long tryouts… the first game is here. Belmont knows that historically their chances to win are slim. But history doesn’t matter now, it’s ten guys on the court which will decide the outcome.

Belmont starts strong and has a lead after the first quarter. The front court is doing their job boxing out and rebounding. The guards are holding their positions defensively, Belmont’s patient with the ball and runs the court well. They continue playing strong in the second quarter and have the lead at the half. Third quarter is no different. The offense from both teams is slow, half-court offense which is looking for the big guys as close to the paint as possible. If the big guys are cut off, the ball circles around while guards are looking for the opening. Slow, but tension builds up. The quarter ends in a tie.

Belmont is starting to believe that the win is within reach.

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