On and off the subject....
This is kind of on the subject and off because like everyone the offense kind of worries me. But I have to say this team is playing better defense than I have seen a Duke team play since probably 2001. The weakside help is a lot better than last year and I have to say Smith / Henderson in particular seem to be able to stay in front of oposing guards better. In last nights game, particularly the second half it seemed the offense was there when we needed it to be. The GT guy who was 0-? from three hit one, Duke responded with one, he hit another and Duke responded again. It frustrates us when Duke makes a stop yet doesn't score, after all that's how leads are made. But it will be interesting to see against Georgetown how good a defensive team this really is. To be frank, if this team is clicking on defense AND offense in any given team there isn't a team in the country that can beat them. But we have seen entire games where the O or D was doing well and the other was less than stellar or it change from half to half.
Anyway, I was talking to a fellow Duke fan and he and I have noticed a trait over the last two and honestly last five or six seasons. Duke gets everyones best shot at home or on the road. But I often think the Duke teams of the last half decade often play to their opponents level. Against teams they could and probably should beat by 30 they win by 10 or 15. Like last night if the O had been working better it would have been a blow out. That would have given time for bench players to play and starters to rest. So many have pointed out how Duke gets tired at the end of the year and needs more quality depth. I think back to JJ and Sheldens senior year where they won so many games, but not by wide margins usually. I think from that time to now Duke has won most of the games they should win. But for whatever reasons it hasn't been the margins it probably should be. I for one hate seeing Duke slow the game up and take their foot off the gas when they get a big lead. I'd rather get five or ten minutes for some bench players to play at a normal pace than keep starters in an extra five or ten minutes and take a shot when the shotclock reaches 15 or 10 seconds. But hey, it's just opinion and I don't have one national title yet alone three.