Oregon Stuns Seton Hall

C.J. Walker  With a Breakout Game

It has been a tough start to the season for five-stare freshman C.J. Walker. However, in this game, he enjoyed his breakout game.

Overall Walker finished with 12 points and five rebounds. He also knocked down a three-point shot.

Not seen in the box score was Walker’s ability to play the point of the press. His length disrupted Seton Hall when Oregon was able to set up the press. Whether it was with a deflection or just simply forcing the Pirates to slow down and take some time getting into their offense.

He also had a big block on Pirates star Myles Powell in the final minutes.

Overall Walker was very active in this game and it was by far the most comfortable he’s looked. If he is going to play this role for Oregon, it will allow them to go to the next level.

Responding to Adversity

As mentioned, this game was not going Oregon’s way. The Pirates couldn’t miss from the three-point line in the first few minutes of the second half.

It would’ve been easy to fold up shop and move on to a game against Southern Miss tomorrow. However, this team had no interest in doing that.

Dana Altman made a switch to a man-to-man defense, and Payton Pritchard did an excellent job on Powell. The Ducks also did a good job on the glass, especially with the size advantage that the Pirates had.

In fact, offensive rebounding was what largely allowed Oregon to get back into the game. The Ducks pulled in 15 offensive rebounds in the game, and the game-winning lay-up by Shakur Juiston was on an offensive rebound after a missed shot by Pritchard.

This team is clearly not afraid to do the dirty work and isn’t going to panic when things get tough, and those are great qualities for a team to have.

Free-Throw Shooting Remains a Concern

In the win over Houston, Oregon had a much better game from the free-throw line. However, the free-throw issues that existed in the first four games, were present in a big way in this game.

Things got slightly better in the second half, but overall the team was 16/28 in this game from the line.

That’s just not going to be good enough. This team has aspirations of going deep in the NCAA Tournament in March and winning a Pac-12 title. However, it’s going to be hard to do those things if they don’t improve from the line.

What a Performance by Myles Powell

Wow, that was an impressive performance and he deserves a tip of the cap for his performance in this game.

It’s not hard to see why he was a preseason All-American.

Oregon Surprises Seton Hall: Overall Thoughts

Oregon is building quite the resume. They already have two wins over ranked teams, with another quality win over Houston, and UT-Arlington was picked second in the Sun Belt.

Now, they will play Gonzaga on Thursday with a chance to pick up another huge win. And it’s another great opportunity for this team, which seems ahead of schedule for a Dana Altman team, to continue to improve.

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Dallas struggled on both ends of the floor in this one. However, defense felt to be the main culprit in this 114-99 defeat.

The Mavericks Fall to the Clippers

Struggles on the Glass

Not only did Dallas struggle a lot of the night defensively, but they struggled to protect their own glass. In the game, the Clippers pulled down 17 offensive rebounds.

That was good for 31.5 percent of the available rebounds while the Clippers were on the court.

there wasn’t really one player Dallas couldn’t keep off the glass. It was many different players grabbing either three or four offensive rebounds.

Rebounding has been a struggle for Dallas so far this season, but if they are going to take the next step as a team and be viewed as a serious contender, it is something they are going to have to get better at.

They are good enough to get away with it against a good amount of teams. However, against the league’s best teams, it has proven to be a real weak spot.

Lack of Bench Production

This Dallas bench has been something the team has been able to lean on so far this season. That wasn’t the case in this one, however. In defense of the Mavericks bench, the Clippers do have the best bench in the league, and that was true last season.

As most teams do, Dallas struggled especially to defend Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams. Williams went for 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Harrell went for 12 points and seven rebounds.

Now after Dallas fell in a hole while the bench looked overwhelmed, Seth Curry was able to get things going with 13 points on an efficient shooting night, and J.J. Barea came in and scored 12 points.

The game was largely over at that point though.

Don’t expect this bench to continue getting outplayed like this. This has shown to be a quality bench so far this season, but the Clippers bench is just at a different level.

Stars Being Outplayed

There were several reasons Dallas lost this game, but the NBA is a star-driven league, and the duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard simply outplayed the duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis in this game.

Doncic finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, but he had to get those points going 14/16 from the free-throw line, as he was 0/8 from three. Porzingis was able to put up a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He, however, only went 4/13 from the field.

On the other side, Paul George went for 26 points and grabbed six steals. While Kawhi Leonard got off to a slow start, George scored 17 points in the first quarter. Following that, Leonard was able to carry the load, going for 28 points on 11/21 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds.

It doesn’t go much further than the Mavericks stars being outplayed by the Clippers stars. The George and Leonard duo is at a different-level defensively, and Porzingis is still trying to gain his rhythm after not playing at all last season. This game can be a good learning experience for Doncic and Porzingis.

The Mavericks Lose to the Clippers: Overall Thoughts

This was a tough loss for Dallas to suffer after putting together a five-game winning streak. However, it’s still November and Dallas is still 11-6. So they are in a good position even with this loss.

This just needs to be a game they learn from that while they are a good team, there’s still another level this team needs to reach if they want to be taken seriously as a contender.

Next up is a three-game road trip starting in Phoenix and then heading to Los Angeles to play the Lakers before the road-trip concludes against the Pelicans in New Orleans.

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The Mavericks Beat the Rockets in Houston

Hardaway Jr. Continues Big-Time Play

As mentioned after Friday’s win over Cleveland, Tim Hardaway Jr. has taken his play to a very high level since being inserted into the starting lineup.

Those two games since moving into the starting lineup were against the Warriors and Cavaliers, however. This was a much tougher test. However, with it being a tougher test, Hardaway Jr. didn’t take a step back at all.

He finished with 31 points on 10/18 shooting, 5/11 from three, with four rebounds and five assists. He also only turned the ball over one time. If Hardaway Jr. is going to continue playing like this, he has become the perfect third piece to Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

Three-Point Defense

The Mavericks have been middle-of-the-pack thus far in three-point defense, but on Sunday Houston really struggled to get going from deep.

That was spearheaded by James Harden going 2/15 from deep. However, nobody else was much better. As a team, Dallas held Houston to 10/44 from three-point.

Going against Houston, the three-point defense is the key. No team shoots three-pointers at a higher rate than the Rockets.

While Houston still put up 123 points, holding them to 22.7 percent shooting from deep gives you a great chance to win. Especially when you shoot the same amount of threes, but make seven more, as Dallas did Sunday.

Bench Production

Dallas has had one of the more productive benches in the league this season, while Houston has had one of the least-productive.

That was something the Mavericks were able to take full advantage of.

All-in-all, the Mavericks bench scored 28 points, led by 11 from Maxi Kleber, and nine from Delon Wright.

On the other side, the Rockets bench scored only 11 points.

The bench is something that Dallas has been able to take advantage of big-time this season, and it’s something that they should be able to keep taking advantage of.

The Mavericks Down the Rockets: Overall Thoughts

This was the best win of the season for Dallas. In the midst of them playing their best basketball of the season, this was their biggest test in that stretch.

With this being a road game against another top division opponent, it was huge.

Dallas will now head back home for a tough test against the Los Angeles Clippers, before heading out on a three-game road trip against the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and New Orleans Pelicans.

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The Saints Beat the Panthers at the Buzzer

The Offense Bails Out the Defense

Going against Kyle Allen in the Superdome would make one think the defense would be primed for a good game. That, however, was not the case.

The defense gave up over 5.1 yards per play. They also struggled to stop Christian McCaffrey when it came to all-purpose yards. However, that’s not surprising given nobody has been able to stop him this season.

The other player that New Orleans struggled to deal with was wide receiver, D.J. Moore. The receiver went for six catches, 126 yards and two touchdowns against this New Orleans defense.

With all of that, the Saints’ offense was just slightly better. The offense went for 7.1 yards per play. Between Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara, the offense ran for 6.6 yards per carry. In the passing game, Drew Brees threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns on 30/39, while Michael Thomas went for 101 yards on ten catches, and Jared Cook went for 99 yards on six catches.

This was one of the better games the Saints offense has put together this season. It was also very needed because of the poor game from the defense.

Why This Win Was Huge

This win was huge for a couple of reasons. For starters, it gives New Orleans a chance to clinch the NFC South on Thanksgiving against the Falcons.

If New Orleans can clinch the South before December even starts, it will guarantee at least one home playoff game. It will also leave the coaching staff with a lot of time to line things up for the postseason.

The other reason this win was so huge was that the Packers lost to the 49ers. That result put New Orleans into the second seed in the NFC playoff picture.

For that reason, New Orleans needs to continue to win. Having a first-round bye and having to play one less playoff game in the event of reaching the Super Bowl makes a huge difference.

The Saints Beat the Panthers: Overall Thoughts

This was a game the Saints should’ve won, and while it wasn’t easy, they ultimately found a way to win.

So far this season this team has found several different ways to win games, which is a great quality to have as the season reaches the home stretch and then ultimately the postseason.

Next up is a game against the Falcons in Atlanta on Thanksgiving night. It’s another game the Saints should be able to win, however, Atlanta was a team they should’ve beaten the first time at home and that was far from the case.

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Small Highlights For the Packers

Packer’s star pass rusher Za’Darius Smith got his tenth sack of the season early on and raised his jersey. He had a shirt on saying “We [heart] Eileen”. His mother Eileen has breast cancer. Za’Darius Smith has been a culture changer since his arrival in Green Bay. He may have only been in Green Bay for a couple months, but the love Za’Darius Smith has shown Green Bay is coming back full force for his mother Eileen. Green Bay loves Za’Darius Smith.

The 49ers Outplayed the Packers

Watching the game any football fan can tell you that the 49ers were simply the better football team. Despite Green Bay having two weeks to prepare, the gameplan, and team of the 49ers were still better. The 49ers’ defensive line continued to be dominant, the 49ers secondary locked up when the defensive line didn’t get pressure. And the 49ers offense did their job, putting up 37 points. Third-year cornerback Kevin King was beaten by tight end George Kittle five times halfway through the third quarter. To elaborate, King has been suspect many times this season, but he was given the task of covering George Kittle. As a cornerback, this matchup favors you. You are faster, more athletic, and can jump higher. But, Kittle made King literally look the other way. The 49ers simply outplayed the Packers.

George Kittle’s X-Factor

Pre-game I said if Kittle had over 100 receiving yards and one or more touchdowns the Packers would lose. So, Kevin King gave up six catches on six targets, for 129 yards and a touchdown. The Packers continuously prove that covering tight ends is their weakness, and they won’t go far if it continues. George Kittle proved once again, he is undoubtedly the best tight end in football.

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This deal is for two seasons, and $16 million. It will pay him an even $8 million per season this season and in 2021.

Atlanta Signs Travis d’Arnaud

This is a fairly minor move for the Braves. However, d’Arnaud does provide at least a threat of power behind the plate.

He only has 63 career home runs in seven seasons, but he has also only played in 500 games in those seven seasons.

On a good team, d’Arnaud could put up better numbers. He doesn’t hit for a bad average (.242) for someone who has largely been a backup catcher in his career.

However, d’Arnaud will be coming off of a decent season where he hit 16 home runs and hit for a .251 average, having played games for the Mets, Dodgers, and Rays. With most of those games being with the Rays.

Another thing d’Arnaud does better than most would expect is hit the ball to all fields. Now he does pull the ball more than hit it to any other field, but he does hit it the other way more than his numbers would make it look like.

What he doesn’t do well is draw walks, or hit line drives. A large majority of his contact comes in the form of a fly ball or a ground ball. Now in this day and age, that’s something that teams are looking for.

He is also coming off of an uncharacteristically bad season when it comes to chasing pitches out of the strike zone. That’s something that can be easily corrected, however.

Defensively

This side of the diamond is where Travis d’Arnaud has the most problems. During his career he has been a below-average defender, having been responsible for -16 defensive runs saved at catcher. He also had -1 defensive WAR in his career.

So clearly, Atlanta isn’t signing him to be a defensive backstop.

The reason this makes sense is that d’Arnaud is a better offensive player than Tyler Flowers, but Flowers is a much better defender. These two are going to complement each other very well.

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Even with a good comeback attempt, Oregon fell 31-28.

Oregon Loses to Arizona State

Justin Herbert With a Bad Night

Justin Herbert has always been a contentious topic. Oregon fans will always defend him when people try to criticize him. And that’s understandable because he’s a Eugene native. It’s also easy to see why scouts love him. He’s tall and he has a rocket arm.

With all of that being said, he had a horrible game. Don’t look at the final box score. Yes, he finished with over 300 yards and two touchdowns. However, most of that was in the comeback attempt from Oregon, and his play was a large part of why Oregon found themselves down 24-7. It was far from the defenses best game, but Herbert had two fourth-quarter interceptions that gave Arizona State great field position and resulted in ten points.

Marcus Arroyo deserves criticism too. Undoubtedly that’s where most fans will place blame. And he did have suspect play-calls at times and would abandon the run after Oregon would get a drive going on the ground. However, he’s not the one out there making throws.

They both deserve a sliver of credit for the near comeback, but ultimately those two are where the offensive blame needs to be placed because the running game looked good.

Worst Defensive Game of the Season

There’s no other way to put it. The defense struggled against Washington and Washington State, but this was the worst game. Jayden Daniels had a field day picking apart a secondary that’s been very good this season.

Not only did Daniels have plenty of time to throw, but the secondary was leaving people uncharacteristically open.

It started when Jevon Holland was beaten on a double move by Frank Darby. And the more crushing one was on a third-and-16 when Oregon had cut it to 24-21, and Deommodore Lenoir was beaten on a double move by Brandon Aiyuk for an 81-yard touchdown.

Given the situation, Lenoir’s breakdown was unacceptable. It was third-and-long and Oregon was poised to get the ball back with plenty of time and two timeouts. If you force Daniels to make a throw into a tight window at the sticks and he does it, you tip your cap to him. But allowing someone to get behind you can’t happen.

Also, this was a very poor tackling night. The poor tackling didn’t do much in the way of putting the defense in good situations. There were times when it could’ve been a third-and-long, but a missed tackle made it a much easier situation or gave them the first down.

Any talk about this being an elite defense can be put to rest. Against poor offenses, they will dominate, and they are capable of being a good defense. However, giving up 408 yards through the air to a true freshman when you’re in the thick of the College Football Playoff race is not something elite defenses allow.

Johnny Johnson III Was a Bright Spot

The passing game struggled most of the night, but Johnny Johnson III was a huge bright spot. He ended up with 207 yards and two touchdowns on ten catches. Now a lot of that came in the comeback bid when Oregon was throwing the ball downfield every play. But before that, he had a really solid night in his return to his home state.

Not only tonight, but Johnson has been great this season. Earlier this season there were injuries to the receiver core and most wondered if he was capable of stepping up. He’s been doing it all season. Last season he had problems with drops, but that is not the case this season.

With Juwan Johnson largely being quiet, and Jaylon Redd not playing, Johnson was the main reason Oregon even found themselves in the game.

Oregon Loses to Arizona State: Overall Thoughts

If you’re an Oregon fan this is a tough loss to swallow. They had a real chance at getting to the College Football Playoffs, and unless you’re a handful of programs, it’s not every season you get in that position.

With that being said, there’s still plenty to play for. The Civil War is next week so there’s a chance to pick up your 11th win in the last 12 games of that series. You also already have a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game clinched, so the Rose Bowl is still very well alive.

It was also good to see this team not quit. It would’ve been easy to basically fold down 24-7, but that is clearly not in the identity of a Mario Cristobal program. This team has shown time and time again that they won’t quit no matter the score. That’s a good trait to have because you will face a deficit at some point every season. It’s inevitable.

It also needs to be kept in mind that this is year two of Cristobal. While it’s tough to lose when in position to potentially get to the College Football Playoff, this senior class was 4-8 when most of them were freshmen. The program has come a long way from that point, and with the recruiting being done, it doesn’t appear Oregon will be getting worse.

Just remember, there’s still plenty to play for, and this program is still on an upward trajectory.

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The Mavericks Dominate the Cavaliers

Tim Hardaway Jr. in the Starting Lineup

It’s been two games since Rick Carlisle moved Tim Hardaway Jr. into the starting lineup. That has also coincided with his two best games of the season. Now part of it could be they were games against the Warriors and Cavaliers.

However, in these last two games, he has 36 points on 12/15 shooting and 8/9 from three. On top of that, he has eight assists to only one turnover in those games.

Again, it hasn’t been the best competition, but putting up those numbers against any NBA team is impressive.

It’s hard to know if these numbers will continue. But with Luka Doncic playing at an MVP level and Kristaps Porzingis showing flashes but still trying to gain his offensive footing, another player in the starting lineup who can score is huge.

Nobody has ever doubted Hardaway Jr’s ability to score, but it’s been his ability to do it efficiently. However, it doesn’t look like he’ll be leaving the starting lineup any time soon.

Dorian Finney-Smith Continues to Be Huge

It wasn’t even the best game of the season for Dorian Finney-Smith. However, the fourth-year forward deserves recognition because he has been one of the more important pieces of this season’s team so far.

Everyone knows about Doncic and Porzingis. And those two garner the most attention for good reason. But Finney-Smith does a lot of the dirty work that doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet.

For the numbers that do show up in the stat sheet, he is averaging a career-high 8.9 points per game on an impressive 50 percent shooting. He’s also a threat to knock down three-pointers when he is left open. Finney-Smith is also averaging a career-high 5.1 rebounds per game.

On the defensive end, Finney-Smith is an active defender. He isn’t the best defender on the team, but he has positive defensive win shares, and his activity makes a clear impact on the game.

Again, it doesn’t always show in the numbers, but if you watch a Mavericks game for a quarter, Finney-Smith is noticeable.

The Mavericks Take Care of the Cavaliers: Overall Thoughts

There’s not much else to say about this game. Dallas was clearly the better team going in, and they were clearly the better team when it played out on the court.

Dallas was able to finish off a 4-0 homestand, which is always huge. Also, in the past two games, they have won by over 40 points, which has enabled the starters to get work in, but not have to stress themselves with a close game or by playing 35+ minutes.

So in a sense, the Mavericks have bee able to load manage their starters, while not actually having them sit out games.

Up next Dallas will travel to Houston for a game on Sunday, before returning home to play the Clippers on Tuesday.

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Oregon Takes Down Houston

The Defense Has Made Huge Strides

The defense on this team was never bad, but there was plenty of room for growth. In the win over UT-Arlington, the defense looked much better. However, in this game, the defense took another stride.

With the likes of Quentin Grimes, Nate Hinton, and Fabian White Jr., Houston has firepower. And that firepower showed itself early in the game.

However, Oregon was able to take it up a notch, holding the Cougars to 66 points, and just 2/20 from three.

The only two made threes from the Cougars came from Caleb Mills, who finished with 21 points, and if he didn’t get hot when the game was already wrapped up, the margin of victory would’ve been much greater.

Continued Offensive Efficiency

Generally, Dana Altman teams have started out seasons slow on the offensive end. That has been far from the case this season, as the team is shooting 51.9 percent from the field, and 42.7 percent from three.

A big part of the impressive team shooting numbers has been Anthony Mathis, who is 20/31 from distance following a 5/9 performance in this one. However, it’s not just him. Payton Pritchard continues to be a dangerous threat from distance, as has Chris Duarte. Not to mention Will Richardson, who has only attempted eight threes, but has made five.

An aspect of the offense that had been lacking entering Friday’s game was free-throw shooting. However, in this game, the Ducks went 16/21 from the line. That included 4/6 from Francis Okoro, who is generally not a good free-throw shooter.

If this team is going to continue to shoot the ball the way they are and rack up more assists than turnovers, which is far from always the case in college basketball, and they can knock down free throws, they are going to be extremely dangerous.

Rebounding is Still a Struggle

Despite the big victory, Coach Altman has one main thing he can point to. Rebounding. This team hasn’t been a strong rebounding team so far this season, and that continued Friday Night.

Now the team did rebound better in the second half, but they were ultimately out-rebounded 38-26 on the night, allowing 17 offensive rebounds for 21 second-chance points. That’s just not going to cut it.

If Oregon is going to continue to rebound this way, they leave themselves very susceptible to being beat if they have an off night offensively. And with the schedule coming up, they will be beaten if they rebound like this.

In this game, nobody really stood out on the glass. There clearly isn’t one dominant rebounder on this team as of now. That could change when N’Faly Dante is eligible, but for the time being, it’s going to take a team effort.

Oregon Downs Houston: Overall Thoughts

Despite the poor rebounding performance, this win is huge. Houston might be 2-2 at the moment, but they are going to win a lot of games throughout the season.

Much like the win over Memphis, this is going to be big come March. And the fact that Oregon can get off to such a slow start and be out-rebounded the way they were and still win by double-digits speaks to how good this team is and can be.

Up next the team will make a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. They will open up Wednesday with a game against ranked Seton Hall. On Thursday they will either play Gonzaga or Southern Miss.

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Noah Sewell Commits to Oregon

The impact of this cannot be understated. Sewell is a player who has the ability to come in and start right away. He is the highest-ranked linebacker recruit in school history. And he keeps the defensive talent rolling into the program to play for Mario Cristobal and Andy Avalos.

This is also the first time in school history that Oregon has landed a five-star defensive prospect in back-to-back seasons. That was Kayvon Thibodeaux last season.

Of course, when your brother plays for the program it makes it easier to go to that school. However, Sewell had the likes of Georgia, and Alabama as finalists. Also, he comes from Orem, Utah, so Oregon is getting him from a state with another Pac-12 school.

The Class

The impact of this commitment can be seen by the 247 Sports ranking jumping from 15th to 9th nationally following this commitment.

Oregon also jumped Washington as the top class in the conference following this.

The 2020 class is largely built on front seven players and defense. Sewell checks both of those boxes, and now Oregon has two top-55 prospects that ware defensive players committed (Avantae Williams).

With this program already having clinched their spot in the Pac-12 title game and having a chance at the College Football Playoffs, it’s becoming more clear that this coaching staff can develop players, and the more they continue to win, recruits like this will continue to find their way to Eugene.

There are other five-star prospects Oregon could potentially land, but Sewell was far and away the one most thought they could land. However, just having his brother as a star player in the program doesn’t guarantee things. But actually getting him is a big deal for this program.

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