GREENSBORO -- Florida State was tearing a hole through the soft middle of North Carolina’s defense when P.J. Hairston got hot, making the final score a poor indication of how much danger the Tar Heels were in during the first half.
That’s the yin and the yang of North Carolina at this point, the price paid to get the Tar Heels’ best players on the floor. It cost them in last Saturday’s loss to Duke when they couldn’t handle Mason Plumlee. It nearly cost them in Friday’s ACC quarterfinal against the Seminoles, but they escaped and put Florida State away, 83-62.
The change to the small lineup worked for North Carolina, there’s no doubt about that, but the past two games have thoroughly exposed its weaknesses. Roy Williams is committed to going down this path now, as well as Hairston and James Michael McAdoo have played since the switch, but clearly adjustments are needed, if not in time for Saturday’s ACC semifinal against Maryland then before the NCAA tournament begins.
Unfortunately, there’s a lack of obvious answers, which is how Williams ended up in this fix in the first place. For a coach who likes to have two workhorse big men, he has a dearth of them. There’s McAdoo, who had 12 points Friday, and … the list ends there.
Counting on your outside shooters to get hot is a dangerous thing. It’s far better to find some answers on defense, where Hairston has done a solid job defending opposing forwards but the Tar Heels have work to do as a unit, collectively.
Maryland has some muscle inside, and the Tar Heels will have to figure out how to deal with it.
If not Maryland, then someone else. If not Saturday, then soon.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or
Comments
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INSIDE ISSUES
Sat, 03/16/2013 - 10:04 — JPDOhioThe bigger issue is PJ Hairston's status. If he can't play, perhaps the inside issues are a problem. If he can, never mind. Then it just comes down to UNC hitting their shots.
Looking
Sat, 03/16/2013 - 09:19 — shharrisFor something to worry about when UNC won by 21? Ok, Dook lost partly because they missed too many 3s, but mainly because they could not keep MD from scoring at will. UNC gets plenty of stops, but even more importantly, more steals with this line up. Ol' Roy will get the bigs in against the big opponents if rebounds become an issue. Otherwise, having the most talented players on the floor seems to be working just fine. steve'73
This is written to talk
Sat, 03/16/2013 - 07:21 — unc722This is written to talk about a perceived weakness of UNC. Perhaps there is another way of looking at it. Instead of the media worrying about UNC's inside game, perhaps opponents should be more worried about UNC's outside game and ability to cause turnovers inside with its quickness. This seems to more than negate the strength/rebound advantage of most of its opponents. UNC doesn't match up well with Duke, but other than with Duke, UNC seems to do fine.