If the country had inaugurated a new president this weekend, a “honeymoon” period would have started – the window of opportunity where the commander-in-chief can ride the coattails of victory to enact his or her rule and demonstrate to the country what the future holds.
We didn’t elect Ben Howland to be UCLA’s coach and we certainly don’t get a say in his policies (I’m not sure his assistants do either). This year he campaigned on change – that he could change his ways on offense, loosen the reins on his young horses and let them run.
This paradigm shift has been successful – we just saw a weeks-long display of why during the Bruins’ 10-game winning streak.
This honeymoon period is closing and the Bruins’ identity is solidified. With just eight scholarship players, seven of whom get significant playing time, there’s little room for tinkering now. For better or worse, UCLA is what it is.
Saturday’s loss to Oregon only served as a reminder of UCLA’s shortcomings, which hadn’t been exposed in some time. The Bruins were no match for the Ducks, who left Pauley Pavilion with a 76-67 win.
The showdown for first place in the Pac-12 was also a matchup of two of the fastest offenses in the conference. The first half was a non-stop, end-to-end relay race, with every baton pass going to the anchor leg.
UCLA was comfortable. Kyle Anderson was more than halfway to a triple-double and Shabazz Muhammad came off the bench and went on a scoring tear.
The Ducks kept up, trailing by three at the half, before deciding not to let the Bruins dictate the flow of the game any longer. Oregon showed all kinds of pressure after the break. From a full-court press to a 2-3 matchup zone to strict man-to-man defense, the Ducks cycled through defenses to throw the Bruins off.
Suddenly, the Bruins couldn’t find that rhythm. Their jumpers kept clanging off the rim, including open looks from the usually steady Muhammad and Jordan Adams, resulting in a scoreless drought of more than five minutes. The Ducks grabbed most of the Bruins’ misses and on the other end pulled down plenty of their own to control the game until the end.
Having all five players on the floor capable of running the floor and shooting jump-shots makes for a unique kind of team. It also means that UCLA is at risk of losing games like it did on Saturday.
Shooters sometimes go cold. So do entire teams full of them. Adams and Muhammad had yet to have poor shooting games at the same time until Saturday, when Adams didn’t hit a field goal in the game and Muhammad didn’t hit one in the second half.
“We’re a jump-shooting team,” Howland said Saturday. “We missed some wide-open jump shots but (shooting) is what we do.”
Shooters are also not always rebounders, explaining why the Bruins gave up 13 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points.
“It’s my fault,” added Howland. “We haven’t done a good enough job teaching blockouts.”
Howland has been doing a lot of teaching on the fly this season, even jumping onto the court during games like a coach in a youth league to direct the Bruins.
Sometimes the teaching can’t happen quickly enough. With conference games usually played Thursdays and Saturdays coupled with Howland’s one-game-at-a-time mentality, it leaves only Friday to prepare for the second opponent. It didn’t help that Muhammad was late to that Friday practice and was benched for the start of the game.
There’s plenty of time now to prepare for No. 6 Arizona on Thursday. The Bruins will have to figure out how to win games their way and avoid a repeat of this loss.
There’s less time left in this honeymoon period, though it’s already clear what the Bruins are: talented but full of imperfections. Not much is changing between now and the postseason.