MBB: Duke 97, Princeton 60 Post Game Thread

[Bob Green]

Discuss the game here. A very nice debut for the 2010-11 Blue Devils.

[Gthoma2a]

I have a feeling that the perma-grin that is on my face right now is not going anywhere anytime soon. We look great! Andre looks to have grown up, Mason is doing pretty well (a few mistakes, but eh, it is early). Hairston looks like he could find a place in the rotation with his pretty good D, but so could Kelly. Nolan looks incredible. Kyle is the leader, but even with him out for a minute or two, we look good. Seth calmed midway during the game. Kyrie showed that he can score, but his ability to control the pace, and lead the offense are his strengths. Oh, and his defense was ridiculous. He was a mad dog out there at times. We have a very good team, though. Anyone else thinking we did well?

Kong, I think that once we calmed down, we played fast, and well, with all lineups.

[Lord Ash]

Not too shabby.

On the plus side... Nolan and Kyle look positively unstoppable. Loved seeing Kyle go into the crowd for the ball.

Kyrie was solid solid solid... he really has great handles and can take it RIGHT at his defender(s) and still score. Very active, long D too.

Really loved seeing Seth get buckets later in the game... during the earlier pieces of the game I wondered if Seth would get his time and make it count, and he did.

Ryan looked very solid... he is a GREAT backup center, and I wonder if he will start at some point this year. Loved him hitting that three.

Glad to see Dre hit a few.

Glad to see Josh and Tyler both get some play, and both look good for the most part.

I liked that we largely kept the pedal down. I don't want to see this team let up at ALL; we need to be used to playing hard on D and on O from our starters down to the 10th guy off the bench, so we need to keep that consistent... even when we are up big, we need to play at max speed so the backups are ready to play at top speed and intensity.

Loved the tribute, and the "safety school" chant

On the not-as-plus side...

Dre was a bit quick to shoot at times... however, not sure that is a BAD thing, given how good of a shooter he is.

The Plumbros still have a little work and growth ahead of them. The hands are still a bit suspect, and there were times on D that they (particularly Miles) looked like they got lost. Mason did look like he got more comfortable later on.

Overall a good start... this team has a lot of growing yet to do.

[77devil]

MP shaved the beard. We're doomed.

[quota]

Only one quibble: we got outrebounded.

Other than that, it was a gem of a game to watch. 53% from 3 and 91% from the free throw line.

This team can shoot.

[Bob Green]

Only one quibble: we got outrebounded.

That will happen a lot this year as we return to a defensive style based on high intensity pressure on the perimeter.

[Oriole Way]

That will happen a lot this year as we return to a defensive style based on high intensity pressure on the perimeter.

Agreed.

This will happen a lot more now that Duke's defensive emphasis is to create turnovers, and that has been a constant trait of some of Duke's best teams since 1997. It wasn't until the past two seasons, and last season particularly, that Duke became a half-court oriented, superior rebounding team. I believe seeing Duke last season as a great rebounding team will prove to be a brief exception to the norm.

Getting beat on the boards, which will happen regularly going forward against teams with good frontcourts, will not be a problem as long as Duke is forcing turnovers and creating extra possessions for its offense. I have a feeling Coach K will mention this several times this season to the media, including after losses.

[Cockabeau]

I am officially a believer in TT. I had my doubts but that kid can ball...there is something about him.Mason with 4 assists...wow. Curry isn't really a facilitator but a brilliant shooter and solid handler who can defend also.

[roywhite]

Great first official game for Kyrie. He is a complete package as a PG...can drive, dish, shoot, pass well overall, hit his FT's, and plays excellent pressure defense.

Loved seeing major improvement in Andre's overall floor game; played good defense, and, yes, he can still hit the 3. Seth looked better in the second half; the ball was moving well and guys were hitting shots.

Small quibble...want to see Mason, Miles, and Ryan clamp down on rebounds; maybe they can channel Zoubs.

The fun has begun.

[Indoor66]

Only one quibble: we got outrebounded.

Other than that, it was a gem of a game to watch. 53% from 3 and 91% from the free throw line.

This team can shoot.

This year you should look at the combination of rebounds and opposing team turnovers to get a feel. You cannot play high risk - high reward defense and also get lots and lots of rebounds. You have to give up something!

[Spam Filter]

I'd worry more about rebounding percentages than number of rebounds, we forced so many turnovers that it would certainly have hurt our total number of defensive rebounds.

I think the only thing that might keep Kyle from winning NPOY will be our depth and our tendency to win a lot of blowouts this year.

This is a game that he could have scored 30, and probably would have were it last year's team, but we have so many weapons that he'll struggle to average more than 16-17 pts per game.

[Indoor66]

I'd worry more about rebounding percentages than number of rebounds, we forced so many turnovers that it would certainly have hurt our total number of defensive rebounds.

I think the only thing that might keep Kyle from winning NPOY will be our depth and our tendency to win a lot of blowouts this year.

This is a game that he could have scored 30, and probably would have were it last year's team, but we have so many weapons that he'll struggle to average more than 16-17 pts per game.

I agree with your post - but Kyle is the grease for the wheel. He is the reason it can all happen. He can still win NPOY if Duke goes far - and I expect them to go far.

[theAlaskanBear]

I'd worry more about rebounding percentages than number of rebounds, we forced so many turnovers that it would certainly have hurt our total number of defensive rebounds.

Princeton missed 27 shots. Duke grabbed 20 defensive rebounds. A bunch of the guards had 3 and 4 rebounds a piece so it was a team effort.

Duke had 7 offensive boards on 29 misses. I don't know if these are good percentages (what is normal?) or not, but doesn't seem bad at first glance...

[BigZ]

I thought Josh was a lot bigger, he looks more like a small forward than a power forward. I thought he was built like Lance but he is def smaller.

[Listen to Quants]

Princeton missed 27 shots. Duke grabbed 20 defensive rebounds. A bunch of the guards had 3 and 4 rebounds a piece so it was a team effort.

Duke had 7 offensive boards on 29 misses. I don't know if these are good percentages (what is normal?) or not, but doesn't seem bad at first glance...

KenPom has D1 rate in 2010 at close to 33%, Duke did well on offense by grabbing around 40% (seventh in D1). Duke's defensive rebounding was not nearly as spectacular, they allowed 32% of the boards to go to the opponent. Miles P. and Z were both excellent defensive rebounders but Z was miles ahead, te he, as a O rebounder.

[uh_no]

KenPom has D1 rate in 2010 at close to 33%, Duke did well on offense by grabbing around 40% (seventh in D1). Duke's defensive rebounding was not nearly as spectacular, they allowed 32% of the boards to go to the opponent. Miles P. and Z were both excellent defensive rebounders but Z was miles ahead, te he, as a O rebounder.

i won't lie, at the game it seemed like there was a lot of not boxing out...now obviously that's vague and they are a big team, but I'm guessing the staff will work on this in the coming weeks

[Neals384]

i won't lie, at the game it seemed like there was a lot of not boxing out...now obviously that's vague and they are a big team, but I'm guessing the staff will work on this in the coming weeks

Agree. Boxing out seems to be a lost art. Other posters have commented on our Big's needing to be stronger on grabbing and controlling boards - boxing out helps with that too.

[JayZee]

Agree. Boxing out seems to be a lost art. Other posters have commented on our Big's needing to be stronger on grabbing and controlling boards - boxing out helps with that too.

I agree with this. Shelden and Boozer in particular seemed always to be in the right place for rebounds, and much of this had to do with their box out skills IMO.

I'm wondering if there is a combination of the last year's strategy of using the bigs for screening and rebounding and just the overwhelming talent on the perimeter that will keep us from more aggressively using the Plums on offense.

I did notice on the first? play after half, we aggressively posted up Mason and he delivered a quick bucket. I'd like to see some more aggressive calls to setup the plums, especially the way JayWill used to deliver to a perfectly positioned Boozer for a dunk. If this team can force others to guard the middle, the perimeter will just be that much more open.

[Delaware]

Overall the team looked like it has a ton of potential, but as K has said, it is early and will take time for the team to gel. But the upside is clearly there to see. We will have to get used to watching a "different game" vs. last years team... faster pace, higher scoring, more highlights... but more turnovers, some missed assignments on defense leading to easy baskets, some mini runs by the opposition. Just will take some getting used to.

Kyle did not force anything, sat for a while with fouls and still looked great. Looks to me like he will hit every shot he takes. When he pops to the foul line area against a zone he is killer. After having to play very little at the "4" last year he will have to adjust to moving back and forth this year. His couple of cheap fouls I think were due to that. But he has every shot in the bag and is tireless.

Nolan was also impressive... he can get to the rim, hit the mid range/floater and the three.

Kyrie obviously played well, but I thought he forced a few shots and was hunting his shot too much early in the game... in the 2nd half he clamed down. But... 9:1 A/TO, pressure D and perfect from the line... can you say dynamic PG!

Dawkins and Curry ... it's early, but it looks to me as if one or both of them could get hot in any game. And both won't go cold for a full game. One or both should be in double figures every game.

Plumlee's and Kelly... all three look to need some stonger hands/toughness in traffic when grabbing rebounds. Since we have so much firepower from the 5 guys above, the natural tendency of these three might be to shoot the ball quickly, try to do too much when they do touch the ball, etc. All three can be great help side defenders as the season progresses. With the pressure style, it will be easy for everyone say they are playing poor (or getting lost on) defense, when in actual fact this will be somewhat of a consequence of the style. These three will be the area of largest growth with the team over the year.

Hairston and TT look like they could both contribute at different times during the early season... both seem to enjoy their roles and relish the defensive intensity.

[uh_no]

Hairston and TT look like they could both contribute at different times during the early season... both seem to enjoy their roles and relish the defensive intensity.

to me, hairston looked the best of the bigs tonight...unless the plumlees pick it up, I can see him snagging one their starting spots or more minutes at least