FAYETTEVILLE — Five observations, with video, from Arkansas’ 71-55 win over North Dakota State.
— Small-ball sparks game-changing run
Mike Anderson made the decision to go small early in the second half with the Razorbacks’ already tenuous halftime lead cut to 29-27. He inserted Dusty Hannahs for Dustin Thomas, a move that made Manny Watkins the nominal 4 in the lineup.
It was an interesting move given that the lineup he went to entered the game a -6 in more than nine minutes so far this year as the Hogs’ most-used four-guard look. In all, small ball hadn’t been effective, with the Hogs outscored 52-40 in nearly 24 minutes operating with one traditional big on the court.
But it was effective Tuesday. The teams traded buckets shortly after Hannahs checked in, but then Beard replaced Barford (maintaining the four-guard lineup) and the Hogs rolled off nine straight after that with the small group. They scored five more in a row when Arlando Cook checked in, a 16-0 run that essentially sealed the game.
Daryl Macon and Dusty Hannahs hit three 3-pointers during the run, with Hannahs scoring eight of his 11 points in a span of 2:26.
Four-out offense spaces the floor and leads to an open 3 for Hannahs after a heady shot fake.
Macon scored a team-high 15 points and filled up the box score, adding six rebounds and five assists (and four turnovers). He plays with a swagger that will lead to some questionable decisions early in the shot clock, but that attitude is obviously preferable to a player who is tentative.
The lineup hadn’t performed well before Tuesday, but it has the requisite tools to be explosive in theory. The spacing and playmaking the lineup has lends itself to big offensive potential, while there aren’t likely many teams that have a second big who can punish Watkins enough on postups to tilt the math in the opposition’s favor.
It’s a look worth exploring more in the future. Tuesday, it was one Anderson needed to spark a previously flat showing.
— First-half woes continue
Arkansas’ slow starts have become a trend. Early in the season, the Razorbacks have tended to play much worse in the first half than after halftime, relying on superb second-half performances to either rally and win games or turn small leads into bigger ones.
In the last nine games, the Razorbacks are shooting just 39.7 percent in the first half and have been outscored 316-312. It’s been a different story after halftime, when the Hogs have shot 51.3 percent and outscored opponents 419-321.
Anderson has shortened the rotation some and been quicker to make tweaks in the second half of close games, but playing C.J. Jones and Adrio Bailey bigger minutes and dealing with freshman up-and-downs is not the sole reason for the Hogs’ relative struggles in the first half. Too often, there is seemingly a lack of urgency to open the game that has plagued the Razorbacks. There are still regular segments in games where movement stagnates and players look for their own offense rather than drawing the defense and creating for others, leading to bad shots.
The slow starts are an issue they’ll need to fix as competition improves.
— Kingsley being asked to do too much?
Moses Kingsley posted a solid raw stat line, finishing with 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting with two turnovers, eight rebounds and a block. But it was another up-and-down game for Kingsley on the offensive end.
His usage is down, a development that was always going to take place with a roster that features more and better scorers than last year’s version when he averaged 15.9 points. Still, there was a stark difference in his scores and missed shots Tuesday.
Arkansas makes an effort to feature him on the block at times, a practice that at times feels like its purpose is to keep him engaged, even if it is at the cost of offensive flow.
But he has struggled as a one-on-one scorer. Take these plays for instance.
He fails to establish good post position and just settles for a no-chance hook that sails over the rim. That happened several times against Texas on Saturday in the first half.
Again, poor post position forces him to create his own shot. He settles for a mid-range jumper, a shot he's been better with lately but one that is inconsistent in part because of the little lift he generates.
Kingsley's issues often boil down to positioning. He's not a player who is going to excel in an iso catching the ball eight feet away from the basket or farther. He isn't Bobby Portis.
On the other end of the spectrum, here he gets good position and catches a lob over the top of the fronting defender underneath the rim and is able to finish.
Jabril Durham made life easier for Kingsley with some of his setups last year. This season, Kingsley has been less effective when relied upon to create his own offense, especially outside of the few feet around the rim. Arkansas has run more ball screens this season than in recent years and it would make sense to spread the floor and use Kingsley as a roll man. The action would either free him for an easy look or open up other avenues if the defense packed the paint to thwart the roll. But that hasn’t happened. Arkansas' guards at times have trouble entering him the ball at times and rarely set him up for easy looks in the halfcourt.
This isn't a suggestion the Hogs should stop posting Kingsley, but the struggles have clearly frustrated him. Even in the NBA, talented scorers generally aren't super efficient on post-ups (or isolations as a whole), but doing so can be a vehicle for offenses to work the ball inside-out and move the defense. Kingsley is a very good post passer, but he has just two assists the last four games. Too often, he is forcing it and trying to score even when he hasn't established good position. That's when posting him up becomes a detriment.
It may be time (or past time) to adjust the expectations for Kingsley. He was never going to score at the same rate because he was never going to get the same touches. But the touches he has gotten have largely forced him to be a one-on-one post scorer, an area of his game that hasn’t been a strong point, which has led to some frustration.
What is most important: He is still doing a good job of performing well in the areas Arkansas most needs him — shot blocking and rebounding. But while the hand-wringing about his point output may be overblown, the Hogs do need to find more ways to get him easy buckets.
— Switching has helped defense
Arkansas posted its third straight sub-100 defensive rating, holding North Dakota State to 76.4 points per 100 possessions as the Bison shot 33.3 percent from the floor and turned it over 15 times.
The last two games, the Razorbacks have switched across the board with increased frequency, a strategy that has, for the most part, proven more effective than when they show and blitz pick-and-rolls. The show makes them susceptible to playing 4 on 3 if opposing ballhandlers get rid of the ball quickly. By switching, help defenders can stay at home.
Great possession here. Everyone is playing on a string, there's good help to prevent a shot in the paint and the result is a long 2, the best outcome for a defense aside from a turnover or a block the defense can control.
Switching can result in Kingsley defending a guard on the perimeter, stationed away from the basket where he’s at his most valuable as a rim protector. It will be interesting to see how Anderson opts to play moving forward. How they defend different actions may be a game-by-game or possession-by-possession tweak, but the switching has been an intriguing development that has worked well so far.
— Hogs making strides with zone
Anderson has gone to a 2-3 zone at least once in every game this year, employing the look with more frequency in years pass.
It yielded a few open 3-point looks against Texas, but for the most part it has been a solid change-of-pace, at times a look that’s been more effective than the Hogs’ man defense, especially early in the year.
Arkansas looked as in tune as it has so far this year in the zone Tuesday, working as a collective to nail rotations and shifting to cut off potential openings.
North Dakota State manages to swing the ball across the court, but the Razorbacks handle it well and Manny Watkins, always active, caps the possession with a steal.
Some of the rotations made Tuesday night, including the one above, are signs the Hogs are growing increasingly comfortable with the look, a valuable tool Anderson can use to throw off the rhythm of opposing offenses.
Stray Thoughts
— Dusty with the Steph Curry range. Not once, but twice.
— Trey Thompson had two more blocks, giving him four multi-block games this year. Also hit a mid-range jumper. Also airballed a deeper jumper.
— Freshmen C.J. Jones and Adrio Bailey returned to the lineup and didn't do much of substance, combining for two points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in 20 minutes. Jones did have a nice block, but that was about it.
— Brachen Hazen got a little more than a minute of run. That's this year's sign that a game is out of reach.
— Dustin Thomas played just 13 minutes and had six points on 2 of 6 shooting and two rebounds while committing four fouls. He has a tendency to pick up silly touch fouls, a trend he needs to curtail. He hasn't been as consistently effective as August practices indicated he might be. Then, he was a playmaker, grabbing rebounds, leading the break and making plays for himself or others on a regular basis or making quick decisions in the halfcourt to pierce the defense. He hasn't done that with much regularity, partly because the guards have been fairly ball-dominant. He posts up looking for the ball more than he probably should given his skill set. He still has the tools and talent to make an impact (and has at times), but he needs to find ways to leave an imprint on the game more consistently.