Few hours after the game, the lack of defensive adjustments by South Carolina really surprised me. No help defense on Clark drives even after Clark demonstrating that nobody on South Carolina could guard her individually? At least make somebody else beat you or make Clark finish over Boston, Amihere or Cardoso. Even the pick and roll defense - no attempts at double teaming to force the ball out of Clark's hands. I don't think it was Dawn Staley's best coaching effort and it's a bit disappointing to see after such a fine season from South Carolina.
I'm surprised they didn't just decide to let Marshall, Martin, and Warnock beat them shooting and flood to Clark on every possession. Let them beat you instead of letting Clark get 40.
I do wonder if they thought maybe their athleticism would wear down Clark and she wouldn't be as effective. They really need to just double her.
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Beal has not defended Clark well down the stretch. Blown by three times. She's a good defender, but her reputation is overblown.
She -- and SC's other perimeter defenders -- benefit so much from having a literal army of shot blockers behind them usually. Much easier to look good when, if you get beat, your teammate blocks their shot anyway. SC's pick and roll coverage was a mystery tonight. Play after play Clark either drove straight to the rim or dished to a rolling Czinano, and there really wasn't a defensive adjustment against it.
And no weakside help. The weakside corner defender just hugged that shooter despite the pick-and-roll working over and over again. It would have been worth a try to have the weakside corner defender sag enough to help on the roll.
Cardoso herself still has time to declare for the 2023 Draft – most likely junior we could see declaring, if i had to pick one. not expecting it of course, but i’m still hopeful.
Cardoso's flaws can be corrected, I think, as they are mental rather than physical. I think she could be a great pro, and better than Boston.
Yes, most of Cardoso's defensive flaws are teachable things. It's a bit of a project though as she does seem to lack natural defensive instincts (unlike say, Aliyah Boston). 6'7 with her length and mobility are hard to find and at the very least in the WNBA, she's good enough straight away to come off the bench and camp in the key and hit layups so she won't be entirely useless while teams try to develop her defense. She does use her body well on offense already.
Lauren Jackson was a subpar defender in her youth and eventually became one of the world's best in this department so massive defensive improvement is not a mirage. A lot of work, but achievable.