It's been a busy season for Auburn guard Samir Doughty.

He expected to be a starter at shooting guard. He's been a starting at shooting guard.

Yet the Tigers' plan to use true freshman Tyrell Jones as a backup point guard hasn't materialized the way Auburn expected — and that has forced Doughty to pull double duty during the past month. The senior rotates between point and shooting guard, which explains why he leads the team in points, shots, minutes and free throws.

He's busy. Very busy.

Yet the job hasn't been easy for Doughty. Though he's clearly the Tigers' best scoring option, the Philadelphia native has struggled to adjust his responsibilities in real time. And that's a problem because coach Bruce Pearl is growing frustrated with his team's inability to attack opponents thoughtfully in half-court sets.

"J’Von (McCormick) plays point. Samir plays two positions," Pearl said. "Part of our inability to execute … is also having (Doughty) having a full understanding of (point guard). That’s one thing our point guards could both do better — get us organized, get us in the right spots, give us a fighting chance to execute something when the break’s not there."

Pearl predicted this to some degree. He spent time during the preseason explaining that his 2019-20 team lacked the Final Four team's quickness and excellence in transition. The Tigers, as their coach predicted, have been approximately 10 percent less effective in both transition (1.129 points per possession in '18-'19 versus 1.024 this season).

To Pearl's surprise, though, the Tigers also have been approximately 10 percent less effective in the half court as well. Removing reliable scorers like Jared Harper, Bryce Brown, Chuma Okeke and Malik Dunbar has an obvious effect, but the problems go a bit deeper than that.

Pearl is frustrated by what he sees as a lack of strategic attention on the scoring end. The situation hit a crescendo at practice Friday when the starters failed to execute Pearl's calls during six consecutive possessions of a short, simulated scrimmage.

Each gaffe led to a series of windsprints. If his team won't pay attention to his calls, at least it'll be the fittest team in the country. Pearl places responsibility at the feet of his point guards, whose jobs entail sharp communication on the floor.

"That's what we're working on," he said Saturday morning.

Still, Pearl has more gripes. He's satisfied with the team's nine-man rotation, but believes his reserves should provide significantly more support. Forward Anfernee McLemore has been reasonably effective — the senior is shooting 74 percent from two-point range and 30 percent from three-point range — but guard Jamal Johnson, wing Allen Flanigan and wing Devan Cambridge have been all-or-nothing performers lately.

Pearl isn't satisfied with that.

"Those guys can all expand their roles. They can all become dominant," Pearl said. "The ones that do are the ones that are going to play a little more and make a big difference in our team. All four guys … have had great moments and have actually impacted us winning. They’ve all had moments where there has been some inconsistency. I’m looking for those guys to all be able step up and ultimately put us to where when we go to the bench we don’t drop off at all. At that point, we’d be a pretty good team."

Auburn resumes play Sunday at 3 p.m. CST against Lipscomb inside Auburn Arena. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.