FAYETTEVILLE — Five observations, with video, from Arkansas 89-76 home win over Mount St. Mary's on Monday.
Starting lineup shakeup
Mike Anderson switched up his starting lineup for the first time since the Hogs’ second game in Spain in August, replacing junior-college transfer guards Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon with veterans Anton Beard and Manny Watkins.
The move likely won’t stick long-term — Anderson even indicated he isn’t done tinkering yet — but it worked on a few levels Monday. 1: It served as a wake-up call to Barford and Macon, who combined for an underwhelming 21 assists and 22 turnovers in the first four games. 2: It gave the starting lineup more of a veteran look that helped lead to better ball movement after the Hogs stagnated and totaled just 18 assists the last two games. 3: Macon and Barford gave the bench an added scoring punch after it scored just 12 at Minnesota.
The new-look starting lineup had only logged 17 seconds together in the first four games and didn’t perform as well as its predecessor, tying Mount St. Mary’s 25-25 in nearly 12 minutes of game time (the old-look lineup didn’t play a second together Monday). But the change paid off on the bench, which was markedly improved and outscored the Mountaineers 36-18.
Barford and Macon played with a sense of urgency when they did hit the floor. The JUCO duo sparked a 9-0 run immediately after checking in, turning a tie ball game into an Arkansas lead it never relinquished.
Macon scored a team-high 15 points, while Barford added 13 and generally played more aggressively.
The performance was noteworthy for Barford, who has struggled to find his way early while appearing tentative at times. The leading JUCO scorer last year, he didn’t hunt his own shot with regularity in the first four games and also didn’t do a great job playmaking for others, setting up teammates for easy scores.
He was better in that regard Monday, scoring his 13 on an efficient 5 of 8 night. Through five games, he’s shooting 50 percent from 3, albeit on a small sample size. He was more assertive with the basketball, pushing the pace and creating transition opportunities.
He showed an ability to create for others with court vision and deft passes in August and October, but the distribution didn’t carry over the first four games. Monday was a step in the right direction in that regard.
That isn’t the first time the Hogs have tried to post him up, but it is the first positive result that’s spawned from it. Worth trying more the next few weeks.
Barford has come across as easing his way into Division I ball at times the first few weeks, but has scored well when he’s looked for his own shot: He’s second on the team with 12.2 points per game on 53.3 percent shooting. A sign he may be growing more comfortable: he took four 3-pointers Monday — hitting two — after attempting just six in the first four games.
— Thomas benefits from veteran starting lineup
Inserting Watkins and Beard into the starting lineup seemed to have a positive effect on junior Dustin Thomas. Without sharing the court as much with score-first guards like Barford and Macon, the Colorado transfer had his best offensive game in a Razorack uniform, totaling a season-high 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting.
He knocked down his first 3-pointer of the year off an assist from Kingsley.
Five of his six baskets were assisted, including two from Watkins and Beard. He stayed out of foul trouble on defense and was confident and instinctive on offense, which is when he’s at his best.
Watkins and Beard accounted for seven of Arkansas’ 20 assists as the Razorbacks got out in transition (21 fast-break points), generally moved the ball better in the halfcourt and limited turnovers to seven after suffering 21 at Minnesota.
Thomas made himself available and the veteran-laden group got him the ball.
As a whole, the group’s collective basketball IQ was evident.
Great sequence. Watkins’ touch pass was a thing of beauty. He finished with a very Manny line: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in 22 minutes.
Anderson indicated he would likely to continue to tweak the starting lineup and rotation (no surprise, given his track record). In that light, a lineup that separates Barford and Macon might be worth checking out. But Monday’s rotation worked well, jump-starting more movement amongst the starters and adding scoring to a bench group that lacked much punch.
Beard is quietly having a great November. He's averaging 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, a steal and just one turnover in 18.8 minutes while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent from 3. His ability to hit late-clock shots and also knife into the defense has been impressive.
Kingsley looks lost on offense
Moses Kingsley finished with nine points, 13 rebounds and a block, a solid enough stat line. But it was somewhat deceiving, much like the Minnesota game in which he finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Much of his production in both games came in garbage time with the game already out of reach.
He was just 3 of 8 on Monday and is only shooting 40 percent on eight field goal attempts per game through five, markedly less than the 10.4 attempts he averaged a year ago. When adding in free throws (and counting each free throw as a half a field goal attempt), he’s averaging 10.2 shots, down from 13.9 last year.
Arkansas has more scoring options in the backcourt and with Thomas at the four. Macon made the point after the game while stating the team would feed Kingsley the ball when he wants. They should — his involvement will make life easier for them. It’s only five games and the numbers can (and likely will) trend upward, but how Kingsley has looked on the offensive is more concerning than the raw data.
He appears lost. Monday, his eight shots broke down as follows: two mid-range jumpers, two putback attempts, a driving layup off a foul line entry pass, a 10-foot floater off a loose ball, a dunk in semi-transition, a hook shot off a post-up and a short floater off a post-up. So he attempted as many mid-range shots as he did shots off post-ups, with nothing off dives to the rim or duck-ins in the halfcourt.
More and more, teams are coming at him with a hard double when he catches it on the block. He’s shown commendable progress as a passer, but is still a work in progress, at times caught unaware or is slow to react, keeping the Hogs from reversing the ball and exploiting the double. Here’s an example of both.
Kingsley being doubled doesn't have to be a negative if the Hogs surround him with shooters and he is a willing passer. But Kingsley has displayed a tendency to float around in the halfcourt rather than aggressively posting up and sealing his man. His jumper has looked flat so far, but defenses are gifting him open looks and he’s mostly accepting them, with poor results.
Not the type of shot he needs to be taking. It’d be great for Arkansas if he was a 6-10 big who could stretch the floor (actually, maybe not, because he would've gone pro in the spring), but there’s nothing wrong with being an athletic 6-10 finisher around the rim, so long as you accept and embrace the role.
While it’d be nice to see him post with more aggression, truth be told, he’s not a great back-to-the-basket scorer. Last year, he benefited from playing with Jabril Durham, who often set him up and spoon-fed him looks. No one on the current roster has shown that ability with any consistency early on.
One potential way to set the table for him is by using him as a screener in the pick-and-roll. Anderson has been open to using more ball screens this year, but other players have often set the screens and the guards more often than not have done a mediocre to poor job using the action to create meaningful downhill traction. Kingsley is a potentially devastating roll man, especially if Hannahs or Macon are spotting up on the weak side.
That combination puts defenses in a pick-your-poison situation and may be worth trying to generate more. Here, Hannahs runs the pick-and-roll with Kingsley. Kingsley’s man doesn’t want to help off Moses and give up a free roll to the hoop, but as a result, Hannahs has a clear path to the basket.
But it mainly boils down to aggression. Case in point: Kingsley hasn’t hit the offensive glass with the same fervor or success so far early in the season. Through five games, he’s averaging 2.4 offensive rebounds, noticeably down from the 3.2 he pulled down a year ago (3.6 this year and 4.4 last year per 40).
His length and athletic ability give him a physical edge in almost every matchup, but he has to be smarter and more aggressive looking for his own shot, his teammates need to make a concerted effort to set him up and Anderson may need to drum up actions that get his best post player the ball in comfortable spots.
2-3 zone a remedy for 3-point D woes?
Mount St. Mary’s is fond of the 3-pointer. The Mountaineers attempted 29 Monday, but only hit 10.
Arkansas is going to surrender 3s against pick-and-roll teams as a result of its scheme. The Razorbacks often show, prompting help on the roller and opening up the defense to a 4 on 3 disadvantage. It’s been discussed at length here and here. No surprise, Mount St. Mary’s had a number of looks off the pick-and-roll Monday, some of which it converted. It’s a risk-reward scheme that was more risk than reward against the Mountaineers.
Perhaps as a result of the defensive issues, Anderson has gone to a 2-3 zone for stretches this year. It hasn’t been perfect, but can at times gum up opposing offenses and help stymie the open looks from beyond the 3-point line.
This roster was supposed to be better-suited, at the very least athletically, to guard the perimeter. But overeager, undisciplined closeouts, poor communication and plain being beaten have led to more breakdowns than Anderson can be content with. Look at this possession, which features switches the whole way and then breaks down with one miscommunication leading to an open, made 3.
The 2-3 zone will never be his go-to mode of defense, but it has been a decent option as opposed to bleeding points from behind the arc like the Hogs’ primary pick-and-roll defense has most of the early season.
Buy or sell: Macon as Hogs’ best player
Macon’s game-high 15 points came on an efficient 4 of 7 shooting night that included 2 of 3 3-pointers and was supplemented by a 5 of 6 night at the line.
He may be the Razorbacks’ best all-around player. He’s one of the only true two-way players on the roster and has a great feel for the game.
He had a team-high five turnovers in the Minnesota debacle, but several were the result of bigs not being ready for heady dump-offs. He plays the game with a veteran savvy that not everyone has. Watkins does, too. Playing him in tandem more frequently with Beard, who works well off the ball, could allow him to unlock more of his playmaking potential.
He’s a plus defender. And he’s proven he can score. He’s not shy about looking for his own shot and can get it at any time, but has still been efficient, averaging 11.8 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the floor and 36.4 percent from 3 after Monday.
The man knows how to get buckets.
Stray Thoughts
— Much better job protecting the ball after Minnesota. The opening minute was rough, with turnovers on the first two possessions, but the Hogs took care of the ball much better after that.
— Hannahs went just 4 of 14, including 0 of 5 from 3-point range. Shooters tend to figure it out and Hannahs no doubt will, but the way teams are playing him is causing him to adjust. In one sense, he’s getting into the lane as a result of defenders pressing up on him and running him off the line. On the other, he still wants to pull the trigger from 3 and is often forcing rushed, deep shots from beyond the arc = not a good combo. Arkansas collectively needs to do a better job freeing him for open looks.
— Anderson went with the Kingsley-Adrio Bailey frontcourt for a stretch, noteworthy because it features the two best shot blockers on the team. Mount St. Mary’s managed to convert a few forays to the rim in the lineup’s limited run, but it’s a look worth going back to, especially if they’re combined with Watkins and a few shooters. That group could really get after it defensively.
— Arlando Cook made his first mid-range jumper in the season opener and is approximately 0 of 12 since. But he keeps taking them. Entering Monday, Arkansas’ offense was averaging a ghastly 67.8 points per 100 possessions with him on the court. No other main rotation player is less than 101.4. (Side note: Lineups with Bailey, in very limited time, are at an unthinkably bad 8.6, while Brachen Hazen is at a 12.6). Cook’s offensive rating is even easily worse than the 79.4 posted last year when Keaton Miles is on the court. Part of that is who Cook is playing with, but his 41.2 shooting percentage and -7 assist-turnover ratio don’t help matters. He did have a nice reverse layup in transition. He can be an effective reserve big if he plays within himself.
— C.J. Jones played extended minutes for the second time in five games, finishing with five points, an assist and a turnover on 1 of 4 shooting in 14 minutes. He still gets lost defensively at times, which will limit how much Anderson trusts him, but the offensive sparkplug potential warrants at least a few minutes every first half to see if he’s on during a particular night.
— Trey Thompson nearly airballed a baseline jumper, shooting it way over the rim in the first half. He passed up a similar look in the second. Just hasn’t been able to carry over practice to games to this point. Did have five rebounds in 13 minutes. Cook had three points and two rebounds in the same time. Hogs were +14 with Cook on the court, +6 with Thompson. Monitoring the duo’s comparative playing time night-by-night continues to be interesting.