
2. Gabe Brown’s disappearance led to others stepping up
At the beginning of the season, it was clear that this Spartan offense ran through Gabe Brown. However, in the last few weeks, that is starting to change. This is partly due to the fact that Brown has basically disappeared, only scoring if he gets to the free throw line or if the defense falls asleep for a play.
Brown has not been aggressive in looking for his shot and creating on his own. One of Gabe’s go-to moves was beating his defender going right and pulling up from the elbow. He has not been doing this lately, He has also been in a slump from deep, shooting a dismal 6-for-29 in the last six games. That’s just 20 percent for a guy who was shooting in the high-30 percent range.
However, with this disappearing act, Izzo has changed up who the offense runs through as of late. He has been giving the keys to Max Christie more often, and allowing him more opportunities to run through screens and get open looks off of those screens. Christie’s next step is to find that consistency every game.
Max has had some solid games, such as a team-high 16 points in the game against Michigan but then he has other games where he can’t find his shot. If Christie can find this consistency, he might just get the keys to the entire offense.
Christie is not the only player who has stepped up in the absence of Brown. Malik Hall has also been shining. Izzo has been putting trust in Malik to get a basket when the team needs it most. He was given the last shot of the half a few games ago. He then was the guy against Illinois Izzo trusted at the end of the game, it just did not turn out the way it was planned.
With 10 seconds left on the clock in this game against Maryland, it was once again Hall’s number being called to get the bucket. He drove into the lane played through the contact and put the ball in to make the game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds left.
Hall has been finding his consistency with Brown slumping. In his last five games, he has averaged 12.4 points while shooting 47 percent from the field and an efficient 55 percent from deep. This play from Hall could go a long way if he continues this consistency and if Brown gets back to what he was doing at the beginning of the season.