Mark Pope says the start of games is not the problem for Kentucky's slow starts

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is no stranger to getting down in a big deficit in games against power conference opponents in his time at Kentucky. In fact, in one-and-a-half seasons since arriving in Lexington, Pope has found himself down at least 10 points in 17 of their 35 games against power four teams. This season, that has included being down as much as 18 against Louisville, losing by 17 to Michigan State, 35 to Gonzaga, and down as much as 21 against Alabama.

What's with Kentucky's slow starts this season that date back to Pope's first season as head coach of the Wildcats? Pope was asked on his radio-show if Jaland Lowe would be starting moving forward, as fans continue to express frustration at the fact that he has not started in any game he has played in yet, combined with Kentucky falling behind early in games. Lowe is clearly a difference-maker, and fans want him on the floor to start the game so it's less likely the team falls behind. Here was Pope's response:

"We're trying to nurse J-Lowe through this as smartly as we can. I do think that starting is in his future. He's and he's getting stronger and stronger and stronger. He's actually making huge progress. It's really important for us that we keep him healthy through the duration of this year, and so as we kind of get his strength back to full strength, we'll be more and more daring with how we use him. ...We feel like the start of these games are really hard, but if you think about it, we're six minutes into the game (against Alabama), it's a two point game, and we're already fully into our second rotation of guys. And so it continues to be what we've seen in high major games, is it's not the start of the game (that's the issue), it's kind of that middle section where our rotation actually can end up being a lot of different places based on fouls and fatigue and matchups."

Whatever the reason, Kentucky fans know that having Jaland Lowe on the floor is better than not having him. The coaches know that, but they're continuing to ease him in, even though it seems like he's handling it well. The fact is, Lowe is going to play through it and do whatever it takes for his team to win. He is the engine of this team, and right now, he's team needs him on the court as fast as possible. By the way, Kentucky was already down 9-5 once he checked in. If fatigue and matchups is the problem, that boils down to a game-plan issue, because Alabama didn't have any problem like that. Kentucky should have rotation problems fixed by January, but they're having trouble finding what works early.

Going down early is a common trend for Kentucky, and it's concerning. They need their savior on the floor to start the game in point guard Jaland Lowe, which in turn could help the rotation.