I'm not buying this. Was there any moment after we jumped out to a 26-4 lead that you thought the outcome was in doubt? Was there any moment against Miami after the Nolan 13-2 run that you thought the outcome of that game was in doubt?
Because, in my mind, if the outcome isn't in doubt then we did pull away.
Seth averages 20.5 minutes a game, and tonight he played 24. It doesn't seem to me that he was benched for an inordinate length of time nor that he's in anybody's "doghouse."
I was a bit disappointed in Miles picking up so many fouls so early, but to my eyes only one of them seemed especially avoidable. I actually thought Miles played reasonably well when he managed to stay on the floor. And I don't think there was any kind of regression out there, he just got caught on his fouls tonight.
I think when you get that big a lead that early, it's difficult to keep up your intensity. The team clearly seemed to take their collective foot off the gas pedal, especially on defense, but I wouldn't be so hard on them. They may have blown UAB out the first few minutes and then coasted the rest of the way, but the game was never in doubt and it was a good win.
Kyle missed a lot of shots in the 2nd half tonight (he actually shot pretty well during the brief time when it mattered), but I didn't feel he was struggling at all. He took two shots that I thought were ill-advised, but overall I thought his game was strong tonight.
We were all thinking that Mason's "problem" was he didn't have Kyrie setting him up these past few games. But maybe he just has to have plays run for him (as he did in his big game against Marquette and again tonight) and isn't as good when he has to freelance.
Or maybe he wasn't really having problems the past few games; he just wasn't scoring. Scoring isn't everything, and I think a lot of times many of us seem to (erroneously) equate scoring with how well a player plays.