Syracuse Basketball: Each Orange Starter's Biggest Area of Improvement in 2015

After a strong start to conference play, the Syracuse basketball team lost two straight games in which they had a real shot of winning.

The Orange played just about as well as they could have against North Carolina, but they still lost 93-83. The game before, a downright awful 8-of-19 performance from the free-throw line led to a 66-62 loss to Miami.

The schedule doesn't do the Orange any favors the rest of the way, and if they can't put together some impressive wins, there's a real chance the Orange could miss the NCAA tournament.

After getting a week off, the Orange will welcome Virginia Tech to the Carrier Dome on Feb. 3. Then Syracuse has back-to-back road games against Pittsburgh and Boston College. After that, Duke, Louisville and Pittsburgh come to the Dome.

Syracuse finishes out the year at Notre Dame, at Duke, home with Virginia and at North Carolina State.

For the Orange to make it through the rest of the ACC gauntlet, the players will have to make improvements across the board. Let's have a look at the biggest area each starter should focus on improving throughout the rest of the season.

Kaleb Joseph

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

Kaleb Joseph is the team's starting point guard, but the first time he does something that makes Jim Boeheim pull his hair out, Boeheim gives Joseph the hook.

What Joseph needs to work on most is his decision-making. He sometimes looks uncomfortable getting the Orange into their half-court offense, and his 2.7 turnovers a game can really bog down the offense. When every point is vital, Boeheim can't stand by and let Joseph give away possessions.

Joseph is kind of in a rough spot, because the best way to improve in this area is with more experience. So as the season wears on, Joseph should get more used to running the offense and making the correct decision. 

If Joseph can distribute the ball to the right player in the right spots, it can give the Orange a boost on offense they desperately need. He needs to avoid making the mistakes that cause Boeheim to take him out so he can get some more big-game experience.

Trevor Cooney

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Trevor Cooney has shaken off his slow start to the season and is hitting a respectable 36.8 percent of his threes. At 14.7 points per game, he is second on the team in scoring. He has hit some big shots for the Orange, and they have needed every one of them.

But the biggest aspect Cooney needs to improve is his shot selection.

Even though he is second on the team in scoring, he takes the most shots for the Orange. His 12.2 field-goal attempts per game slightly lead Rakeem Christmas' 11.9 shots, but Christmas should be the No. 1 option on offense.

Sure, the Orange are better off with a shot from Cooney than just about anything else they can get on offense. But if Cooney hits one or two shots early, he has a tendency to take the heat check. He'll take some off-balance threes or leaners in the lane that have little chance of dropping.

Again, Cooney is one of the team's best options, but if he is more selective with his shots, it can make the offense more efficient. And if he can hit more than 77 percent of his free throws like he is now, that would help as well.

Cooney hit 84.1 percent from the foul line last year, and the Orange need him to get closer to that mark this year lest they give away games like they did against Miami.

Michael Gbinije

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Simply put, Michael Gbinije needs to hit more free throws. The fact that he has hit just 48 percent from the charity stripe thus far has really hurt the Orange.

His 50 attempts from the line are on the smaller side of sample sizes, but he should still make more than 24 out of 50. Gbinije is adept at getting to the rim off the dribble, and he is strong and athletic enough to finish at the cup through contact. However, Gbinije bricks the and-1 free throw far too often.

Gbinije has a smooth shooting stroke (40 percent from three), so it's hard to fathom how he could be struggling so much from the free-throw line.

If Gbinije can figure out his free-throw woes, it could become contagious for the rest of the team. As we've already mentioned, the Orange need every point they can get. It's hard to expect a good shooter to struggle from the line for an entire season, so we will have to see if Gbinije can pick it up from the stripe.

Tyler Roberson

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

Tyler Roberson has emerged as a much-needed fourth scorer for the Orange. He has posted at least 10 points in three straight games, and he has given opponents someone else to pay attention to on defense.

However, Roberson is essentially a non-factor outside of five feet. Like Jerami Grant before him, Roberson could stand to improve his mid-range shooting. He looks comfortable shooting from the baseline, but generally he bricks jump shots from the elbow.

Sometimes Roberson still looks uncomfortable when he catches the ball outside the paint. Defenders generally give him room, but he still hesitates to shoot. If he is more assertive when he catches the ball, it will force defenses to give him more attention.

If opponents get closer to Roberson because he is a threat to shoot, it could give him an opportunity to use his athleticism and attack off the dribble. That can lead to fouls at the rim and opportunities for his teammates off of passes.

Roberson is becoming another scoring option for the Orange, but if he works on expanding his offensive repertoire, he can give the team even more on that end.

Rakeem Christmas

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

It's hard to come up with something for Rakeem Christmas to improve. He is easily the team's best player, and he's got to be in the conversation for ACC Player of the Year. He just doesn't get the attention he deserves because his team is struggling. But look:

Player A: 18.5 PPG, 9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.5 BPG, 67.1% FG, 57.9% FT

Player B: 18.4 PPG, 9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 2 BPG, 59% FG, 72.7% FT

Those are pretty similar stat lines, right? Player A has a slight edge shooting, but Player B is better from the free-throw line and with blocking shots. Christmas is Player B. Player A is Jahlil Okafor, who will probably be the first pick in this year's NBA draft.

Now, those numbers don't reflect the 22 and 17 Okafor slapped up against Notre Dame on Wednesday, so his edge in scoring and rebounding will go up a little bit. But these two are essentially neck-and-neck as the conference's best players.

The one thing Christmas could work on is his aggressiveness on defense. Make no mistake, the Orange need Christmas to protect the rim and be fierce in the center of the 2-3 zone. But the Orange can't afford to have Christmas hit the bench with foul trouble, so he has to be selective about when he is aggressive.

But other than that, Christmas is doing everything for this team. If he continues to play like he is, he will easily be the conference's most improved player, and he will have a serious case as the top player in the ACC.