There’s a definite juggling act Andy Enfield will have to perform as this season moves along: How long can I rest my starters without getting punished defensively? People will look at Drew Peterson’s 38 minutes on Sunday against Auburn and will see that Peterson hit just 2 of 10 shots. Why is he getting 38 minutes when he’s not delivering big numbers on offense?
It’s simple: Peterson defends well. His length, reach and intelligence all make him essential to USC at the defensive end of the floor. Even though he might miss a lot of shots, Peterson saves points for USC because his defense prevents the other team from scoring. Replacing Peterson with a better offensive player sounds good in theory, but that better offensive player will give up a lot of points at the other end of the floor.
Consider Malik Thomas.
Whereas Peterson shot terribly against Auburn in 38 minutes, Thomas scored seven points in seven minutes, hitting 3 of 4 shots. Why does Peterson get 38 minutes and Thomas only seven? Defense. Thomas is just not ready at that end of the floor. He would give up more baskets than he scores if he played 20 minutes.
This is a big part of why Vince Iwuchukwu’s absence matters so much.
If Iwuchukwu could play, he would clean up a lot of messes and stop a lot of dribble drives at the rim. Guards and wings could let their man drive to the basket, knowing Iwuchukwu could stop them. It’s not an airtight defensive strategy, but teammates would have a larger margin for error. Enfield would have more reason to play offense-first, defense-second guards with Iwuchukwu as a defensive counterbalance on the court. With Iwuchukwu unavailable, Enfield can’t do that. It’s why Thomas played just seven minutes despite scoring seven points.
USC has to find lineups which give the Trojans more balance and can give more rest to the starters as the season moves along.
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