Lineup Thoughts...Utilizing Burton Better

[Hyclone]

I know our guard play is supposed to be our strength this year.
Burton is supposed to be our x-factor.
Our defense has been our saving grace this year.
What if we played our lineup to force opposing teams to play against our personel better?
I propose a lineup that would allow Burton to benefit from playing against a smaller defender instead of the 6'8"+ guys hes been battling with as of now.
1 - Morris/Jackson
2 - Long/Thomas/Jackson
3 - Burton/Babb/Thomas
4 - Bowie/Burton/Young
5 - Holden/Young/Bowie
Burton as a 3 would open things up for him and would grant us more size which should shore up our inside defense and rebounding deficiencies. We still would have enough fire power for offense and would allow Burton to flourish and be the game changer we were counting on.
I am not saying we stop using the four guard lineup, I believe it brings a change of pace to the game in our favor and would be a bigger punch to the face to the opposing team.
Please dissect my thoughts.

 

[Ben4Cy]

I know our guard play is supposed to be our strength this year.
Burton is supposed to be our x-factor.
Our defense has been our saving grace this year.
What if we played our lineup to force opposing teams to play against our personel better?
I propose a lineup that would allow Burton to benefit from playing against a smaller defender instead of the 6'8"+ guys hes been battling with as of now.
1 - Morris/Jackson
2 - Long/Thomas/Jackson
3 - Burton/Babb/Thomas
4 - Bowie/Burton/Young
5 - Holden/Young/Bowie
Burton as a 3 would open things up for him and would grant us more size which should shore up our inside defense and rebounding deficiencies. We still would have enough fire power for offense and would allow Burton to flourish and be the game changer we were counting on.
I am not saying we stop using the four guard lineup, I believe it brings a change of pace to the game in our favor and would be a bigger punch to the face to the opposing team.
Please dissect my thoughts.

I would rather Burton have a center on him than a guard/forward. It drags them away from the hoop and helps in rebounding with our overall lack of size.

Morris/Naz/Jackson(or babb)/Thomas/Burton is our bread and butter this year. I've come to terms with this.

 

[Hyclone]

I would rather Burton have a center on him than a guard/forward. It drags them away from the hoop and helps in rebounding with our overall lack of size.

Morris/Naz/Jackson(or babb)/Thomas/Burton is our bread and butter this year. I've come to terms with this.

But with Burton having a center on him. If Burton steps out the Center can sit in the lane and defend the paint while a guard switches onto him. By having bigger bodies out there it would force him to play honest defense. Young has shown potential to hit the midrange jumpers effectively.

 

[niangstermvp]

More important than who is guarding Deonte is where he gets the ball - The free throw line and right block would be great to take advantage of his skill set - clear out & let the man get to work.

 

[woodm07]

If we had quality bigs, we'd play them more. You play your best 5 (within limits). We are simply guard/sf strong.

 

[isucy86]

Thomas off the bench? His injury might be impacting his play this year, but when we seem to be struggling, he seems to hit a big shot to get us rolling.

No reason to start Bowie and Holden. Just focus Burton's minutes at 4, with Holden and Young at 5. Depending on the opponent, Bowie plays mostly 4 and some 5.

 

[CarlHungus]

If Holden can play like he did yesterday, then having Burton at the 4 is our most effective lineup. Still present a mismatch at the 4 and Holden can protect the paint

 

[CLONEing around]

The only way Bowie and Holden will be on the floor together is if Burton has fouled out. Even then it's not likely. We can't afford to have two guys the defense can sag off on the floor at the same time.

 

[Cyclone1985]

Holden, Bowie and Young should never play at the same time. When we have that combo playing, this team struggles on both ends.

The point of setting screens is to get guys to switch, creating miss matches. Doesnt matter if Burton is playing the 5 or PG, it's on Prohm to run plays to create the appropriate matchup.

 

[bosco]

How Prohm is using Burton is fine. It's DB's decision making that I have issues with. He's never going to be the defensive player we want him to be but there are about 4 or 5 times a game where he shoots incredibly difficult shots when he could kick out to an open MT or Naz.

At the rate they are hitting 3's that's expected value of 5 points a game we could get if he would just kick out. With those additional points we would have 4 more wins which are against top 25 teams.

 

[isutrevman]

I would rather Burton have a center on him than a guard/forward. It drags them away from the hoop and helps in rebounding with our overall lack of size.

Morris/Naz/Jackson(or babb)/Thomas/Burton is our bread and butter this year. I've come to terms with this.

It doesn't drag him away from the hoop when we are on defense, which is where we are getting killed on the glass. He has given up a ton of offensive rebounds to players 5-6 inches taller than him simply because they can reach higher. When Burton has been at the 5, our rebounding has gone to ****.

 

[mb7299]

Wish they could come up with a way to better utilize him on offense, he is such a poor passer that he should be put in more situations where he's just a finisher, so basically posting him up in midrange would be ideal, literally who in the conference beyond say Motley can guard him in those situations. He could easily be the modern day Pratt inside.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Hopefully deonte watches the tape and sees thenice kick outs he made

 

[cyclones500]

Burton is the "No, No - YES!" player on this team, offensively. Find a way to get more yes and less no, and we're in better shape.

 

[CloneIce]

The only way Bowie and Holden will be on the floor together is if Burton has fouled out. Even then it's not likely. We can't afford to have two guys the defense can sag off on the floor at the same time.

Exactly. Need to get your best players on the court. Our strength is our guards. Our weakness is down low. No way do we go with a big lineup like that regularly

 

[cstrunk]

Burton plays too far out of control too often. I agree with the poster above who said he needs to focus on finding the open man instead of forcing a terrible shot into double/triple coverage.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

Does Burton have the post-up game to really take advantage of having a smaller guy on him, and/or the discipline to do so? More likely we just have Burton trying to drive on a quicker wing with the middle clogged up with Holden and Bowie's defenders.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I'd like to keep Burton at the 4 and play Young/Holden and (only sometimes) Bowie at the 5.

 

[VeloClone]

But with Burton having a center on him. If Burton steps out the Center can sit in the lane and defend the paint while a guard switches onto him. By having bigger bodies out there it would force him to play honest defense. Young has shown potential to hit the midrange jumpers effectively.

Seriously? If that guard switches on to Burton and the center that was on him just camps out in the lane then I like the odds of Monte', Matt, Naz or pretty much any other ISU guard attempting a wide open 3 while their center sits in the lane and looks at him. Frankly, I think Wes might be able to make a team pay from the arc if they gave him enough wide open attempts that he was able to get comfortable.