4 things of note in Missouri’s win over Iowa State
Jordan Barnett and Michael Porter Jr. starting at the Forward spots. Since Missouri signed MPJ I have wanted them to do this. I think MPJ is comparable to some of last seasons lottery picks or projected lottery picks, Jayson Tatum, Miles Bridges, Josh Jackson, and Jonathon Isaac. All four of those players started at power forward for their respective teams last season. Starting MPJ at the 4 creates a huge mismatch for any team that plays two traditional big men. He is so fast that he can go around any larger players and so big he can shoot over any smaller ones. An added benefit that Missouri has is that both Porter Jr. and Barnett can guard either forward spot. Barnett was actually quite effective as a small ball 4 last season.
Michael Porter Jr. missing all but the first two minutes of the game with a hip injury. Described by one staff member as a “tweak” Porter Jr.’s injury does not seem serious. Perhaps Coach Martin is just being cautious and treating MPJ like the 76ers treat Joel Embiid. None of the coaches seemed especially concerned by this but it is worth keeping an eye on going forward.
How Mizzou played after MPJ left. Mizzou beat Iowa St. by 15 despite only two points and as many minutes from its preseason All-American candidate. With MPJ out one of Missouri’s few upperclassmen, junior Kevin Puryear, stepped up scoring 17 points on 6-7 shooting in 29 minutes. Mizzou also showed a renewed interest in defense playing an aggressive trapping style of man-to-man defense. They forced 13 turnovers (8 steals) and blocked 4 shots. On offense they shot at a very efficient rate, 53% from the field and 44% from 3. However, they turned the ball over 17 times (7 steals) far too often and at times looked lost and was hoisting up garbage shots at the end of the shot clock.
A focus on size in the starting backcourt. Starting Kassius Robertson (6’-3”) and Cullen VanLeer (6’-4”) at point guard and shooting guard, respectively, seemed like a curious choice considering Robertson has spent most of his career at the 2 and VanLeer has not shown the same offensive abilities as some of the guards who came of the bench, like Jordan Geist or Terrence Phillips. What they do have however is size. They are Missouri’s largest possible backcourt combination and fit with Coach Martin’s (previously mentioned) renewed focus on defense. On offense, however, they are a different story. VanLeer played 15 minutes and took all of one shot, which he missed. Robertson played better but still had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, 2:3. It should be interesting to see if Coach Martin sacrifices some defense for improved offense in the starting lineup later this season.