So we all know Khadeen has been struggling of late, especially with his shot (0-17) in the last four games from three. But I have been going through his numbers and rewatched a few of the games I recorded and here is what I see. Just first a quick look at the numbers
Games 1 through 11 (through Rutgers)
3PT Shooting - 8-37 (21.6%)
FT Shooting - 33-42 (78.6%)
FG Shooting - 44-120 (36.7%)
Assists - 46
APG - 4.2
Turnovers - 22 (5 vs. RU)
A/T Ratio - 2.1
Games 12 (Wagner) through 16 (Butler)
3PT Shooting - 22-36 (61.1%)
FT Shooting - 28-33 (84.8%)
FG Shooting - 31-59 (52.5%)
Assists - 15
APG - 3.0
Turnovers - 14
A/T Ratio - 1.1
Games 17 (Marquette) through 20 (Xavier)
3PT Shooting - 0-17
FT Shooting - 11-12 (91.7%)
FG Shooting - 11-45 (24.4%)
Assists - 23
APG - 5.8
Turnovers - 8
A/T Ratio - 2.9
When you look at all of this, it's kind of telling. The games where Carrington "thrived" in the PG role (i.e. distributed the ball well without turning it over much), he shot the ball terribly (except from the FT line where he has really made big strides this year in consistency). To me, that screams of one thing. He has been overthinking all year except for a short stretch of games where he reverted to the Khadeen Carrington we know and love. In that five game stretch, his assists per game were way down, his turnovers per game were way up, but he and the team played way better offensively in those five games. For a comparison
Games 1-11 Team PPG (remember a lot of weak competition in here) - 80.4 PPG
Games 12-16 Team PPG - 82 PPG
Games 17-20 Team PPG - 66.3 PPG (only broke 70 once, haven't broke 75)
Looking even further, that five game stretch where Carrington thrived and his assist numbers dropped, Delgado's assist numbers were very high (i.e. the team played through him a lot).
Games 12-16 Delgado APG - 4.6 (he had only 1 against Manhattan but had 5 or 6 in each of the other games, 4 of his 5 highest assist totals of the year)
In the games where Seton Hall successfully played through Delgado, that allowed Carrington to be free of the responsibility of having to "run the show" as a pure PG and freed him up both from a confidence standpoint, and an on-the-court standpoint, to play better and shoot the ball better, even if his assist numbers dropped.
Also, notice the volume of FTs Carrington shot during his impressive 5 game stretch. In those 5 games, he shot 33 FTs (6.6 per game) versus just 42 in the first 11 games (3.8 per game) and just 12 in the last 4 (3 per game). That again shows that he was in an aggressive, attack mode, rather than in a passive, thinking, facilitating mode during that stretch.
So, what does that mean?
Well I guess it's quite obvious.
One, the team needs to find a way to play through Delgado more effectively again. That starts with getting rid of the double teams before the catch, which starts by either moving Desi to the four (I don't like that) or spacing Ish out from under the basket to the short corner in the 12-15 foot range. I think we will see that going forward and defenses will have to respect his jumper now.
Two, they need to stop emphasizing to Carrington that he has to play this PG role where he distributes it freely and cuts down on TOs. Carrington is at his best when he doesn't have to think and can just trust his instincts, and all this pressure on him to "run the show" is crushing his game even if it's improving his A/T ratio and APG number.
Let Carrington be Carrington. Create more space in the post for Delgado. And let the offense flow through Delgado and I trust that Willard has been working on this stuff all week during the bye week and hope we see it going forward the rest of the year
Games 1 through 11 (through Rutgers)
3PT Shooting - 8-37 (21.6%)
FT Shooting - 33-42 (78.6%)
FG Shooting - 44-120 (36.7%)
Assists - 46
APG - 4.2
Turnovers - 22 (5 vs. RU)
A/T Ratio - 2.1
Games 12 (Wagner) through 16 (Butler)
3PT Shooting - 22-36 (61.1%)
FT Shooting - 28-33 (84.8%)
FG Shooting - 31-59 (52.5%)
Assists - 15
APG - 3.0
Turnovers - 14
A/T Ratio - 1.1
Games 17 (Marquette) through 20 (Xavier)
3PT Shooting - 0-17
FT Shooting - 11-12 (91.7%)
FG Shooting - 11-45 (24.4%)
Assists - 23
APG - 5.8
Turnovers - 8
A/T Ratio - 2.9
When you look at all of this, it's kind of telling. The games where Carrington "thrived" in the PG role (i.e. distributed the ball well without turning it over much), he shot the ball terribly (except from the FT line where he has really made big strides this year in consistency). To me, that screams of one thing. He has been overthinking all year except for a short stretch of games where he reverted to the Khadeen Carrington we know and love. In that five game stretch, his assists per game were way down, his turnovers per game were way up, but he and the team played way better offensively in those five games. For a comparison
Games 1-11 Team PPG (remember a lot of weak competition in here) - 80.4 PPG
Games 12-16 Team PPG - 82 PPG
Games 17-20 Team PPG - 66.3 PPG (only broke 70 once, haven't broke 75)
Looking even further, that five game stretch where Carrington thrived and his assist numbers dropped, Delgado's assist numbers were very high (i.e. the team played through him a lot).
Games 12-16 Delgado APG - 4.6 (he had only 1 against Manhattan but had 5 or 6 in each of the other games, 4 of his 5 highest assist totals of the year)
In the games where Seton Hall successfully played through Delgado, that allowed Carrington to be free of the responsibility of having to "run the show" as a pure PG and freed him up both from a confidence standpoint, and an on-the-court standpoint, to play better and shoot the ball better, even if his assist numbers dropped.
Also, notice the volume of FTs Carrington shot during his impressive 5 game stretch. In those 5 games, he shot 33 FTs (6.6 per game) versus just 42 in the first 11 games (3.8 per game) and just 12 in the last 4 (3 per game). That again shows that he was in an aggressive, attack mode, rather than in a passive, thinking, facilitating mode during that stretch.
So, what does that mean?
Well I guess it's quite obvious.
One, the team needs to find a way to play through Delgado more effectively again. That starts with getting rid of the double teams before the catch, which starts by either moving Desi to the four (I don't like that) or spacing Ish out from under the basket to the short corner in the 12-15 foot range. I think we will see that going forward and defenses will have to respect his jumper now.
Two, they need to stop emphasizing to Carrington that he has to play this PG role where he distributes it freely and cuts down on TOs. Carrington is at his best when he doesn't have to think and can just trust his instincts, and all this pressure on him to "run the show" is crushing his game even if it's improving his A/T ratio and APG number.
Let Carrington be Carrington. Create more space in the post for Delgado. And let the offense flow through Delgado and I trust that Willard has been working on this stuff all week during the bye week and hope we see it going forward the rest of the year
