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.

[superdave]

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.

Again, I would not worry too much about the Plums on the offensive end - big men dont get good looks against zones unless they are Shaq.

On the defensive end, there's a little too much gambling to reach for steals, block a shot or over-commit when helping and hedging. But it's game #1 and if we learned anything from last year it's that the big men can grow into their roles quite well in 5 months.

[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.

[_TheFakeJWill_]

D looked up and down at times. Over all the Defense looked great but every now and again, especially in the 1st half i seen many easy layups from Princeton. I have to note Kyrie looked like a stud on defense. The Plums have some growing up to do especially Miles IMO. Hairston look really good out there i thought. I can say this with confidence, if Seth and Andre are on we'd be the Lakers Ive watched many college games in the last couple days and WOW Duke looks good. GO DUKE!

[Saratoga2]

I just followed on gametracker, so it was hard to get a feel for defense. Clearly we have a lot of scorers. We will give up more points this year, just due to the higher number of possession we get and give. It also seemed that Princeton got more than their share of rebounds.

Will look forward to analysis of those who were able to watch the game real time.

[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.

[cptnflash]

I hate to be a killjoy, because it's true that our perimeter looks unbelievably awesome, but... I saw the same old Plumlees tonight, and that concerns me greatly. In 17 minutes, Miles had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and 3 fouls against Ivy League competition. Mason had a marginally better stat line, but still nothing to write home about. And both appeared to be out of position several times on defense, leading to the only easy buckets Princeton got all night. If they do not improve significantly from here, we will struggle against real competition.

That being said, holy **** is our perimeter good. I love the fact that on Kyrie's first two defensive possessions as a Blue Devil, he managed a block and a steal. He appears to be every bit as good as advertised. We are absolutely lethal from outside. Unguardable in some configurations. And Josh Hairston appears to be the new LT.

Did anyone see a reason to be more optimistic about the Plumlees? I may be suffering from confirmation bias, so please share if you feel differently.

[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.

[theAlaskanBear]

Again, I would not worry too much about the Plums on the offensive end - big men dont get good looks against zones unless they are Shaq.

On the defensive end, there's a little too much gambling to reach for steals, block a shot or over-commit when helping and hedging. But it's game #1 and if we learned anything from last year it's that the big men can grow into their roles quite well in 5 months.

Mason in particular show some improvement -- some nice passing; esp that drive and dish to Irving for the 3. Also had a couple of blocks. The Plumlees only had 6 combined attempts for the game, and shot 50%. It's going to be hard for them to stand out scoring-wise in this guard dominant lineup, but the rebounding must definitely improve.

Boy, did Irving look good. Final line: 17pts 9ast 4trb 2stl 1blk. Also, every player off the bench scored tonight, including first Duke points for Curry, Thornton, Hairston. Curry took awhile to get comfortable, but I loved that segment where he hits the baseline 3 from the far side, and on the next trip down he curls to opposite baseline and strokes a 3 there.

[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.

[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.

[_TheFakeJWill_]

I hate to be a killjoy, because it's true that our perimeter looks unbelievably awesome, but... I saw the same old Plumlees tonight, and that concerns me greatly. In 17 minutes, Miles had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and 3 fouls against Ivy League competition. Mason had a marginally better stat line, but still nothing to write home about. And both appeared to be out of position several times on defense, leading to the only easy buckets Princeton got all night. If they do not improve significantly from here, we will struggle against real competition.

That being said, holy **** is our perimeter good. I love the fact that on Kyrie's first two defensive possessions as a Blue Devil, he managed a block and a steal. He appears to be every bit as good as advertised. We are absolutely lethal from outside. Unguardable in some configurations. And Josh Hairston appears to be the new LT.

Did anyone see a reason to be more optimistic about the Plumlees? I may be suffering from confirmation bias, so please share if you feel differently.

All i can say about the Plums is that its the 1st game of the season. You never know if one might explode. Who would have thought that Zouds would be a beast that would be the missing piece to a NC last year. If a plumlee isnt playing well i have faith in Kelly as well. Plus Hairston looks really good also.

[Cockabeau]

Ok...people. time to grasp some fundamental, rudimentary basketball concepts-the pressure man-to-man combined with high volume of 3's=a drop in rebounding numbers.

Our defense was not solid or good-it was superb.

[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...