Heels lack punch without Lawson
Mar 14, 2009
Some shooters never adjust to the background in large domed arenas. Remember Shammond Williams in Indianapolis and San Antonio?
UNC’s Danny Green suffered a horrendous weekend in Atlanta, including a 1-12 icy spell in Saturday’s semifinal loss to Florida State. Already missing the explosive Ty Lawson, who hit the game winning shot the first time Carolina met FSU, Green’s inability to score made the Tar Heels all too predictable in the late stages against the Seminoles.
Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington were the only players to hit field goals in the final ten minutes and thirty-five seconds. So at crunch time, with UNC down one, the Tar Heels went to Hansbrough and Florida State’s defense was ready. Turnover. And on the game’s final possession with UNC down three, the Tar Heels went to Ellington. Again Florida State was ready. The heavily contested shot hit the back rim. Had Green, or obviously, Lawson, been in position to draw defenders at game’s end, the outcome might have been different.
As I said in my report Friday on WRAL-TV, Florida State is a very difficult matchup. You just don’t see teams with the kind of size the Seminoles bring in this day and age. Solomon Alabi, Uche Echefu and Chris Singleton represent the biggest front line to grace the ACC since the days before the NBA started drafting underclassmen. Carolina’s big men tried to take the ball to the basket. Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, and Ed Davis all had success at times, and they did a very good job of getting offensive rebounds against the big ‘Noles. The three hit 13 of 27 shots-that’s good against Florida State, but not what the Tar Heel bigs are accustomed to shooting. And with Ellington providing the only perimeter scoring, Carolina needed more inside.
One positive for the Heels: Bobby Frasor and Larry Drew II committed just one turnover against ACC Defensive Player of the Year Toney Douglas. The pair also took care of the ball against Virginia Tech. In short, they made it possible for Carolina to run its offense. But without Lawson that offense is missing transition scoring and perimeter punch in the halfcourt.
Lawson says the swelling in his injured toe has gone down following seven days of rest since he played against Duke. He says he can “see the veins again.” Lawson thinks he’ll be ready when the Heels begin NCAA play late next week. He looks for Coach Roy Williams to bring him back slowly, as he did when Lawson sprained his ankle early in the season. Expect Lawson to play no more than ten minutes in game one-if he plays at all. It seems doubtful that Lawson would be ready to play a full game until at least the Sweet Sixteen. Frasor and Drew will need to continue making good decisions with the ball. They don’t have to score, but they can’t get their team beat by turning the ball over.
The other positive is that Carolina played well at times defensively this weekend. The closing minutes against Virginia Tech and the first half aginst Florida State produced a lot of empty trips for those offenses. But if the Tar Heels can’t find more scoring help between now and the time Lawson gets back to full speed, that defense will have to get better still.
