Ristic

[Merkin]

Ristic wasn't covering Looney, first it was Ashley, then RHJ.

Even Bilas was commenting on how well Ristic was playing D the first half.

[Beachcat97]

Ristic needs more minutes.

[psiclist23]

If you play a front line of Zeus, Ristic, and RHJ and ask Rondae to check the hottest hand who happens to be a stretch 4, who ends up on the perimeter guarding the small forward?

If you put BA in that same scenario in place of Ristic, who guards the small forward then? Is BA a better player than Ristic? I'm not sure. From reading these boards it seems like quite a few posters don't think BA can defend either, so who is better offensively? That was my point.

[Chicat]

If you play a front line of Zeus, Ristic, and RHJ and ask Rondae to check the hottest hand who happens to be a stretch 4, who ends up on the perimeter guarding the small forward?

If you put BA in that same scenario in place of Ristic, who guards the small forward then? Is BA a better player than Ristic? I'm not sure. From reading these boards it seems like quite a few posters don't think BA can defend either, so who is better offensively? That was my point.

BA at least has the foot speed to stay in front of a three, especially if they aren't the primary scoring threat.

By the way, Ashley only played 19 minutes.

[rgdeuce]

TJ effed up a few times on D, but he did not get torched by Alford. Alford hit some really tough shots. The end result looked bad

[Merkin]

Draft Express analyzes Looney vs. UA.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Kev ... lysis-4823

Tarc nor Ristic was involved in defending Looney, so still not sure what Miller was talking about.

BAsh did better than I thought he did covering him if you watch the video.

[Reydituto]

This thread kind of went around the bend and back again. Forget reactionary after a 10-point win, I'd hate to have read the boards if UA had actually lost that game.

My thought, I buy Miller's explanation about why Ristic didn't play more in the 2nd half, to a certain extent.

Miller never actually said that he needed Tarc in there to guard Looney or to stop him per se, he said he needed Tarc in their due to the defensive situation created by Looney going off. Fans are reading into his comments and making that connection - i.e., needing Tarc to guard/stop Looney - when Miller never expressly did. Before I explain what I think Miller meant, let's talk about Kevon Looney for a second: As a defense, you want him shooting 3s, and even though he is shooting .425 3P%, you want him further away from the basket and out of offensive rebounding position, as he does the majority of his damage slashing to the rim and cleaning up the glass (his TRB%, even after the UA game, is a ridiculous 16.5). Looney getting hot from outside opens up lanes to the rim when his defender - Ashley or RHJ - come out on him. Knowing that, UA needed better rim protection, and Tarc, right now, offers better rim protection than Ristic. While UA's defense is "man to man", it is still a system, a packline scheme with switching, help, hedging, sagging in the lane and closing out on shooters, the intricacies of which are known and performed at a higher level by Tarc than by Ristic.

Putting all of that together, when Miller says he needed Tarc back out there for the defensive situation created by Looney getting hot from the outside, he needed him out there to improve and maintain the TEAM defensive level for the rest of the game, not specifically to guard Looney himself, and chasing that strawman doesn't do any good. I won't blame Miller for going with Tarc to achieve that end, on the basis of the prior 26 games, rather than what happened in one half of basketball. (As an aside, if Ashley's motor and defensive frailties factored into that decision as well, it makes even more sense, as Ashley spent much of that game mentally in the Bahamas).

Additionally, I will point out that UA's defensive efficiency rating for the game was 77.0 (!), that UA outscored UCLA 21-8 over the last 10:05 of the game, and that UA actually won the game, by 10, all with Tarc playing 19 minutes in the 2nd half. As such, I'm not buying the idea that because Tarc was out there when UCLA started the 2nd half as they did, that he should have sat the rest of the game and that Ristic should have received Tarc's minutes. The facts are, UA over came UCLA's first half run with Ristic in the game, and overcame UCLA's second half run with Tarc in the game.

Having said all that, I do agree Ristic should have played more in the 2nd half, maybe for a few minutes after the under-12 media TO when UA had stopped the bleeding but still needed someone to take the lid off the rim. UA didn't go to him during the one minute he did play in the 2nd half, and it probably would have been a good idea to actually run something for him out of a time out. Then again, Ristic's 1 minute came during that 17-0 UCLA run, Tarc did score all of his points in those last 13 minutes when UA wrested back control of the game, and had one of his better rebounding games this year (his 2nd consecutive 9 RB game BTW).

I get that Tarc is never going to win with some of you, because he doesn't fulfill all of your expectations of what a 7-footer should do on a basketball court. I get he's a frustrating player because of his small hands that aren't ever going to improve. Even so, Tarc still has significant value to this team's NCAA prospects, and I suspect UA will benefit down the line from Miller showing that trust and confidence in Tarc, instead of benching him.

[Merkin]

Good stuff Rey. I'm not asking for Ristic to replace Tarc by any means, just spell him for 5-6 minutes a half.

Miller talked about this a lot, so I think he probably had some second thoughts too.

[az91]

It is doubtful Ristic will ever be more than a 10 minute per game player until he improves significantly on defense.

[KaibabKat]

Kaleb Tarczewski: ORtg = 109.3, DRtg = 89.8.
So, in 100 possessions he produces 19.5 more points than he allows.

Dusan Ristic: ORtg = 122.6, DRtg - 90.8.
So, in 100 possesions he produces 31.8 more points than he allows.

Explanations as to why Dusan does not play more than 9.1 mpg seem more than just a little bit Looney.

[Harvey Specter]

Kaleb Tarczewski: ORtg = 109.3, DRtg = 89.8.
So, in 100 possessions he produces 19.5 more points than he allows.

Dusan Ristic: ORtg = 122.6, DRtg - 90.8.
So, in 100 possesions he produces 31.8 more points than he allows.

Explanations as to why Dusan does not play more than 9.1 mpg seem more than just a little bit Looney.

Next up: an analysis of why PJC is more effective than TJ and should be getting more of his minutes.

Or have you finally divorced yourself from that ridiculous agenda?

[Katzenfreund]

.

[Chicat]

+/- against UCLA:

Ristić +21 (11 min)
Tarczewski +3 (29 min)

The only +/- that counts is +10. As in, we won the goddamn game by 10. Give it up already.

[HiCat]

This thread kind of went around the bend and back again. Forget reactionary after a 10-point win, I'd hate to have read the boards if UA had actually lost that game.

My thought, I buy Miller's explanation about why Ristic didn't play more in the 2nd half, to a certain extent.

Miller never actually said that he needed Tarc in there to guard Looney or to stop him per se, he said he needed Tarc in their due to the defensive situation created by Looney going off. Fans are reading into his comments and making that connection - i.e., needing Tarc to guard/stop Looney - when Miller never expressly did. Before I explain what I think Miller meant, let's talk about Kevon Looney for a second: As a defense, you want him shooting 3s, and even though he is shooting .425 3P%, you want him further away from the basket and out of offensive rebounding position, as he does the majority of his damage slashing to the rim and cleaning up the glass (his TRB%, even after the UA game, is a ridiculous 16.5). Looney getting hot from outside opens up lanes to the rim when his defender - Ashley or RHJ - come out on him. Knowing that, UA needed better rim protection, and Tarc, right now, offers better rim protection than Ristic. While UA's defense is "man to man", it is still a system, a packline scheme with switching, help, hedging, sagging in the lane and closing out on shooters, the intricacies of which are known and performed at a higher level by Tarc than by Ristic.

Putting all of that together, when Miller says he needed Tarc back out there for the defensive situation created by Looney getting hot from the outside, he needed him out there to improve and maintain the TEAM defensive level for the rest of the game, not specifically to guard Looney himself, and chasing that strawman doesn't do any good. I won't blame Miller for going with Tarc to achieve that end, on the basis of the prior 26 games, rather than what happened in one half of basketball. (As an aside, if Ashley's motor and defensive frailties factored into that decision as well, it makes even more sense, as Ashley spent much of that game mentally in the Bahamas).

Additionally, I will point out that UA's defensive efficiency rating for the game was 77.0 (!), that UA outscored UCLA 21-8 over the last 10:05 of the game, and that UA actually won the game, by 10, all with Tarc playing 19 minutes in the 2nd half. As such, I'm not buying the idea that because Tarc was out there when UCLA started the 2nd half as they did, that he should have sat the rest of the game and that Ristic should have received Tarc's minutes. The facts are, UA over came UCLA's first half run with Ristic in the game, and overcame UCLA's second half run with Tarc in the game.

Having said all that, I do agree Ristic should have played more in the 2nd half, maybe for a few minutes after the under-12 media TO when UA had stopped the bleeding but still needed someone to take the lid off the rim. UA didn't go to him during the one minute he did play in the 2nd half, and it probably would have been a good idea to actually run something for him out of a time out. Then again, Ristic's 1 minute came during that 17-0 UCLA run, Tarc did score all of his points in those last 13 minutes when UA wrested back control of the game, and had one of his better rebounding games this year (his 2nd consecutive 9 RB game BTW).

I get that Tarc is never going to win with some of you, because he doesn't fulfill all of your expectations of what a 7-footer should do on a basketball court. I get he's a frustrating player because of his small hands that aren't ever going to improve. Even so, Tarc still has significant value to this team's NCAA prospects, and I suspect UA will benefit down the line from Miller showing that trust and confidence in Tarc, instead of benching him.

Nice post Rey.

[Katzenfreund]

.

[Chicat]

+/- against UCLA:

Ristić +21 (11 min)
Tarczewski +3 (29 min)

The only +/- that counts is +10. As in, we won the goddamn game by 10. Give it up already.

What in those stats warrants your reaction? If you don't like them, don't answer. Not every thread is in need of your idiotic unsubstantiated drivel.

Armer schatz...

[Katzenfreund]

.

[Spaceman Spiff]

+/- against UCLA:

Ristić +21 (11 min)
Tarczewski +3 (29 min)

The only +/- that counts is +10. As in, we won the goddamn game by 10. Give it up already.

The only folly is comparing the best game Ristic has ever played to a subpar game for Zeus and basing any long term decision on that. It's a fair point that if Zeus is off and Dusan is playing the best game of his life, maybe Dusan should get a little more time.

Ristic dropped a Duus all over UCLA, and hopefully that is something he can build off.

[Katzenfreund]

.

[catgrad97]

I'm leaning toward Katz's stats in this debate but will remain silent until we see further evidence after this final roadie.

That's all any of us can do. Hope Zeus responds with the USC energy again in Boulder, fouls be damned.

[Merkin]

It is doubtful Ristic will ever be more than a 10 minute per game player until he improves significantly on defense.

I think Ristic is going to be a very good player as an upperclassman. He just has such a nice feel around the basket. I'm calling 12 and 8 as a junior.

Not very many true freshmen are good at defense, especially bigs.

[Olsondogg]

I think Ristic will be great in years to come, it is not his time. I am glad he performs well when he comes in. However, to say that he needs more minutes at the expense of someone else is wrong. The starting 5 is the best team that Arizona can put on the floor. If a PAC championship, a PAC tourney championship, and a run to the Final 4 is something that is desired, then those 5 need to be on the floor as much as possible.

With that said, it is nice when a game that those 5 are not performing well all at once, the bench steps up as it did. Hats off to York, Dusan, Pitts, PJC etc.

[gronk4heisman]

They leap from ristic to Zeus on offense is huge, the step down on defense is small to my untrained eye. The moral of this story is ristic earned more time in the second half and miller's explanation was unsatisfactory at best. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this leads ristic to consider transfer or going pro at the end of the season. When you lose trust that you are getting a fair shot with your coach you are not loyal to that coach.

[Merkin]

They leap from ristic to Zeus on offense is huge, the step down on defense is small to my untrained eye. The moral of this story is ristic earned more time in the second half and miller's explanation was unsatisfactory at best. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this leads ristic to consider transfer or going pro at the end of the season. When you lose trust that you are getting a fair shot with your coach you are not loyal to that coach.

I imagine (and hope actually) that Miller called Ristic into his office and had a face to face explanation of why RIstic only got a minute in the second half, and not the Looney bullshit answer he gave the press.

[Olsondogg]

They leap from ristic to Zeus on offense is huge, the step down on defense is small to my untrained eye. The moral of this story is ristic earned more time in the second half and miller's explanation was unsatisfactory at best. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this leads ristic to consider transfer or going pro at the end of the season. When you lose trust that you are getting a fair shot with your coach you are not loyal to that coach.

This is stupid talk.

[pokinmik]

I think Ristic will be great in years to come, it is not his time. I am glad he performs well when he comes in. However, to say that he needs more minutes at the expense of someone else is wrong. The starting 5 is the best team that Arizona can put on the floor. If a PAC championship, a PAC tourney championship, and a run to the Final 4 is something that is desired, then those 5 need to be on the floor as much as possible.

With that said, it is nice when a game that those 5 are not performing well all at once, the bench steps up as it did. Hats off to York, Dusan, Pitts, PJC etc.

Spot on Odogg.

Could Ristic have used a few more minutes in the second half? Sure, and we still would've won most likely. Is it worth all the clamoring on this site? Fuck no.

Is anyone actually saying Ristic is a better option for starter minutes over Tarc??? Otherwise who gives a shit about a couple minutes from a backup big man in a double digit victory. Miller knows what he's doing...and I'm sure if he looks back on the game thinking "damn, maybe I should've squeezed in Ristic a lil more" then I'm sure he will adjust.

If you watched the Men of March on Miller he harped on being the tough team that other teams dread to face...AZ focusing on what we do well and excelling with that, and that is play defense, and that means Tarc plays.

[Spaceman Spiff]

The only folly is comparing the best game Ristic has ever played to a subpar game for Zeus and basing any long term decision on that.

Where did I do that, or anyone else, for that matter?

I didn't say you'd done that. I do think a bit of the rhetoric in this thread about how Dusan deserves more time is more a reaction to a particularly good game than a long term solution.

When Zeus came out like a stallion vs SC, there's the same tendency. We have the luxury of a backup to Zeus who can make a big contribution. I like the idea of using him depending on game production. When Zeus is rolling, like SC, Dusan sees less time. When Dusan is rolling, like UCLA, give him more time.

There are some reactionary statements on the previous page. As much potential as Dusan has, he isn't near the defender Kaleb is.

[gronk4heisman]

This is stupid talk.

You can think it is stupid talk, but I gurantee you that after that game (the 1 minute in the 2ND half) the first thing going through Duse's mind is "what da fuq". I think Merkin is probably correct that he sat him down after the game and talked to him, but if you think the second half didn't bother ristic, you are out of touch with reality.

[Olsondogg]

This is stupid talk.

You can think it is stupid talk, but I gurantee you that after that game (the 1 minute in the 2ND half) the first thing going through Duse's mind is "what da fuq". I think Merkin is probably correct that he sat him down after the game and talked to him, but if you think the second half didn't bother ristic, you are out of touch with reality.

He did nothing of the sort. Miller is trying to win games, that's it. He's not there to coddle players who think that they aren't getting this or that. Do you think that he sat down with Victor and laid out a plan to get him more minutes, begging him to stay? No.

Look at his answers to questions about how he was using Stanley's minutes earlier in the year, and if/when he starts. "I don't ask him for permission" I believe is what he said.

It's really pretty simple to get minutes in Miller's system. Be good. Be good on both ends of the floor, and then do it consistently.

There is no way he sat down a player and said "Damn, I'm sorry I shoulda played you more cause we only won by double digits and kept the opposition to the lowest point total in the history of the rivalry".

[Merkin]

There is no way he sat down a player and said "Damn, I'm sorry I shoulda played you more cause we only won by double digits and kept the opposition to the lowest point total in the history of the rivalry".

I imagine it was more: You did not play in the second half due to your inability to ____________. If you want to play more, you need to ______________________.

No coddling, just telling him what he needs to work on if he wants to get more time.

If we are all wondering why he didn't play, along with the pundits, you know damn well Ristic is too.

[Olsondogg]

There is no way he sat down a player and said "Damn, I'm sorry I shoulda played you more cause we only won by double digits and kept the opposition to the lowest point total in the history of the rivalry".

I imagine it was more: You did not play in the second half due to your inability to ____________. If you want to play more, you need to ______________________.

No coddling, just telling him what he needs to work on if he wants to get more time.

If we are all wondering why he didn't play, along with the pundits, you know damn well Ristic is too.

At this point in the season he isn't having 1 on 1 meetings with the players.

[Spaceman Spiff]

There is no way he sat down a player and said "Damn, I'm sorry I shoulda played you more cause we only won by double digits and kept the opposition to the lowest point total in the history of the rivalry".

I imagine it was more: You did not play in the second half due to your inability to ____________. If you want to play more, you need to ______________________.

No coddling, just telling him what he needs to work on if he wants to get more time.

If we are all wondering why he didn't play, along with the pundits, you know damn well Ristic is too.

Dusan doesn't play more because neither he or Zeus can defend the 4, especially an athletic one like Looney. When Zeus plays, Ristic sits. When Ristic sits, Zeus plays. Having two talented 7 footers has created a platoon, but one good half isn't going to change the general setup of the platoon.

[gumby]

To trained eyes, Tarc plays much better defense. What other reason would he start? In a game where the opposing team was held way below its average, that's consequential. With a team like UCLA, with a lot of high screen action, with the two best scorers being guards, hedging properly is critical. Must be hard, because a lot of players blow it. Tarc is one of the best.

It's not sexy, but it gets a rise out of Miller ... and for good reason. All coaches would love to have a big who defends like Tarc. He's like a star nose guard. Few tackles, but very effective.

Huge contribution by Ristic with those first-half buckets, but this was a game where the entire starting 5 went AWOL offensively. Unusual. Not a good idea to make big changes based on that. But if it supplies Ristic and York with confidence boosts, fantastic.

[gronk4heisman]

The fallacy that ristic has played just one good half is crazy. Ristic has consistently outperformed tarc on the offensive end and as shown by the analytics earlier in this thread, is a miniscule drop in the defensive side. I don't care how many minutes he plays, but it would be awful if to lose him going forward. It would have been better for miller not to say anything about it after the game. I'm by nature a cynic, so to me my first thought was miller didn't want to completely destroy tarc s confidence by ristic becoming a superstar, so he let Tarc play the most minutes he has played in any half this season. It would not surprise me if ristic felt similar feelings. But as I now know, that can't be the case since you know for a fact due to your relationship with Sean he doesn't "coddle" players.

[gumby]

The fallacy that ristic has played just one good half is crazy. Ristic has consistently outperformed tarc on the offensive end and as shown by the analytics earlier in this thread, is a miniscule drop in the defensive side. I don't care how many minutes he plays, but it would be awful if to lose him going forward. It would have been better for miller not to say anything about it after the game. I'm by nature a cynic, so to me my first thought was miller didn't want to completely destroy tarc s confidence by ristic becoming a superstar, so he let Tarc play the most minutes he has played in any half this season. It would not surprise me if ristic felt similar feelings. But as I now know, that can't be the case since you know for a fact due to your relationship with Sean he doesn't "coddle" players.

Don't believe anyone believes this. I don't. Which makes it a fallacy.

[Spaceman Spiff]

The fallacy that ristic has played just one good half is crazy. Ristic has consistently outperformed tarc on the offensive end and as shown by the analytics earlier in this thread, is a miniscule drop in the defensive side. I don't care how many minutes he plays, but it would be awful if to lose him going forward. It would have been better for miller not to say anything about it after the game. I'm by nature a cynic, so to me my first thought was miller didn't want to completely destroy tarc s confidence by ristic becoming a superstar, so he let Tarc play the most minutes he has played in any half this season. It would not surprise me if ristic felt similar feelings. But as I now know, that can't be the case since you know for a fact due to your relationship with Sean he doesn't "coddle" players.

The analytic comparison between a starter and reserve role isn't 1 to 1. D rating isn't particularly accurate either. For instance, Jacob Hazzard had an 88.5 D rating, Nick Johnson a 92.4, Jordin Mayes a 93.6 and Gabe York a 95.7 d rating last year. In no way does that correspond to their actual contributions.

[Katzenfreund]

.

[Chicat]

Where were all the people saying play Ristic less after Zeus went off against Wazzu and USC?

[gronk4heisman]

Where were all the people saying play Ristic less after Zeus went off against Wazzu and USC?

Wondering when he would be healthy enough to play.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Where were all the people saying play Ristic less after Zeus went off against Wazzu and USC?

The glory of being a sports fan is the infallibility of hindsight mixed with certainty that dramatic strategic adjustments would certainly pay off. If Miller had inserted Ristic and pressed falling back into a 2-3 zone, UCLA would never have gone on that 17-0 run.

To KF's point, Ristic doesn't lose much by staying at Arizona. Look at Daniel Orton from Kentucky for evidence that you can get drafted playing a smaller role on a team stacked with talent. Or keep it closer to home and remember Grant Jerrett. If he transfers, it's at least 3 years until he leaves. As a junior here, Zeus is gone and the starting job should be Ristic's to lose.

Back to the original point, there's a reason most coaches do not play wildly varying rotations on a game to game basis. While you certainly can adjust somewhat in an individual game, too much of that is a really poor game management strategy.

[rgdeuce]

They leap from ristic to Zeus on offense is huge, the step down on defense is small to my untrained eye. The moral of this story is ristic earned more time in the second half and miller's explanation was unsatisfactory at best. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this leads ristic to consider transfer or going pro at the end of the season. When you lose trust that you are getting a fair shot with your coach you are not loyal to that coach.

Come on now. Ristic had his best game defensively (and all around) against UCLA, but that was one game among many of him not doing his job on defense. Let alone on Tarc's level. Ristic's best defensive game still pales in comparison to Tarc's D and what happens with him on the court.

I wanted to see more of Ristic last game too. Like I said in the last few pages, I am not on the Ristic bandwagon, but I liked what he brought last game and wanted to see more of it. It didn't happen though. I don't think Miller owes an explanation or anything. It's his team and he knows what he is doing. Don't get me wrong, I was scratching my head during and immediately after the game, but it is what it is. Regardless, the issue with him remains: consistency on the defensive end and not being our best option at the 5. It is sure nice to see good things from him though and know in the back of our heads, should Zeus get in foul trouble in the tournament, we have a solid backup who has made improvements defensively.

If Ristic wants 30 plus minutes a game prior to being an upperclassman, this may not be the program for him. I think he knew that coming in here.

[Merkin]

I don't think Ristic expected Tarc to be around next year. Tarc was the 2nd highest rated center of his class, and the first had to retire for medical reasons.

Givony of Draft Express, one of the best in the business, had both Ristic and Tarc going in the first round in 2015, with Ristic a spot or two about Tarc.

Tarc as noted above is now about to fall completely off the charts.

[Olsondogg]

So if ristic played more in 2nd and didn't match his first half productivity and Arizona loses are fans happier?

[Spaceman Spiff]

So if ristic played more in 2nd and didn't match his first half productivity and Arizona loses are fans happier?

The backup is always the most popular guy on the team among fans.

[splitsecond]

We have athleticism and talent only second to UK and yet Miller makes the team play the offense of a system more typical of mid-major ball.

Love what Miller brings on Defense, but I wish he would be more flexible with this offensive schemes. We have the horses...turn them loose.

At least he's benching SJ when he starts playing boneheaded AAU allstarz ball, so thats saying something.

I know Kentucky rings up some big numbers sometimes, but we actually are averaging more PPG than they are. I wish would hammer out more 100 point games but that's just not Miller's style.

[Merkin]

UCLA goes on a 13-0 run to start the game.
Miller puts in York and Ristic, and the bleeding stops.

UCLA starts the second half hot and the Cats's starters are unable to score.
Miller puts in York, but leaves Tarc in.
UCLA continues to score, UA is still unable to score, until UCLA goes 17-0.

[Chicat]

UCLA goes on a 13-0 run to start the game.
Miller puts in York and Ristic, and the bleeding stops.

UCLA starts the second half hot and the Cats's starters are unable to score.
Miller puts in York, but leaves Tarc in.
UCLA continues to score, UA is still unable to score, until UCLA goes 17-0.

Then what happened?

[azgreg]

UCLA goes on a 13-0 run to start the game.
Miller puts in York and Ristic, and the bleeding stops.

UCLA starts the second half hot and the Cats's starters are unable to score.
Miller puts in York, but leaves Tarc in.
UCLA continues to score, UA is still unable to score, until UCLA goes 17-0.

Then what happened?

I went to the fridge and got another beer.

[Spaceman Spiff]

UCLA goes on a 13-0 run to start the game.
Miller puts in York and Ristic, and the bleeding stops.

UCLA starts the second half hot and the Cats's starters are unable to score.
Miller puts in York, but leaves Tarc in.
UCLA continues to score, UA is still unable to score, until UCLA goes 17-0.

Then what happened?

In the prequel, Zeus goes for 13 and 4 in the first ten minutes.

[gumby]

So if ristic played more in 2nd and didn't match his first half productivity and Arizona loses are fans happier?

But he would! How do we know? Because he just did, and the second half always goes like the first. Like that one game where Stanimal scored zilch and then scored 18. Oh, wait. What was Miller thinking putting him in!

And so it goes.

BTW, there will be no avoiding an epic meltdown after the final loss this year. Fingers will get pointed. How do I know this? Every other year! Except one.