I don't have any news but didn't see a thread about this (mods please merge if there is one)...
Has anyone heard anything about Kyrie's status after injuring his toe in New Jersey?
I don't have any news but didn't see a thread about this (mods please merge if there is one)...
Has anyone heard anything about Kyrie's status after injuring his toe in New Jersey?
From what I was told, he re-aggravated an old injury and it is believed to be sprained. It's something he can play through, but with a less than daunting stretch of games upcoming I wouldn't be surprised to see him either sit out a game completely or play shortened minutes.
Kyrie missing time could be a very good thing for this team come springtime.
If Irving needs a game off, now is the time for it to happen. Bradley has been struggling. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Tyler Thornton run the point with the first team as he could gain experience, which could prove invaluable later in the season.
With Irving sitting out, I would be comfortable with a starting line-up of Thornton, Smith, Singler, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Dawkins, Miles Plumlee, Seth Curry would fill their normal roles in the rotation and, with the struggles Bradley has been experiencing, I would expect Hairston to play a bunch of minutes as well.
Another option, which is probably a more conventional option, would be to start Dawkins who has certainly earned the honor with his play this season: Smith, Dawkins, Singler, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly.
The overriding consideration at this point should be to rest up the minor bumps and bruises in order to enter January and the meat of the schedule with good team health.
Bob Green
As usual, I think Bob has this one completely correct...
Maybe have a situation where Tyler could play point for 20-25 min for these games, and have Dre or Nolan (or even Seth) get 5 minutes here and there at the point. We are going to need to identify our "emergency" point guard options for any contingencies which may develop down the road. I would hate to see this team's title hopes go down the tubes because of one key injury.
Two years ago, who would've predicted Jon would've been thrown into the point guard role (more out of matchup necessities than injury)...it was nice to know that he could handle it as we went into last season.
Whatever the condition of Kyrie's toe, I feel like this and the next string of games against lighter competition could give Seth a big opportunity to gain a confidence boost. Kyrie shouldn't need to log any heavy minutes and may be able to rest the toe which could provide more back court time for Seth. This could be significant as we head into ACC play. We would be that much better to have another guard give us reliable offense off the bench besides Andre. Obviously Seth is capable of doing that, it just doesn't seem like he has been able to get into the flow yet, since he is no longer the guy with the ball always in his hands, and his confidence may have taken a bit of a hit as a result.
"Just be you. You is Enough."
I don't disagree with this idea...but i would be shocked to see it happen. Even if Irving's toe continues to bother him he will see 20+ minutes in these upcoming games. K plays to win every game and puts the players on the court that have earned it (as long as they can play). Every year our players have injuries we don't normally hear about and no one notices because they keep playing.
There's a big difference between saying you're fine and actually being fine, as anyone who watched Kyrie limp heavily to the back after his interview with Doris Burke can attest. Kyrie is a competitor, I wouldn't expect him to admit weakness, of course. I was quite surprised to see Kyrie back in a game that appeared to be in the bag after the pain he appeared to be in, but I trust they're going to take very good care of him lest this become a nagging situation.
By the way, I'd love for this to be an opportunity to get Curry some touches and get him going, as opposed to Thornton. It was of course a very different situation, but Curry averaged 20 points per game two years ago, including two very strong games against ACC competition. This isn't a guy who I would expect to basically go scoreless in any game this season, and yet here we are. As skilled as Curry is, It would be in Duke's best interest to have him fully functional for a potential title run. I view it as imperative to get him acclimated to the flow of the game.
I love Thornton, but I think you're right. I don't think he'll be an integral part of our lineup this year, no matter how things shake out. I think the potential payoff would be much higher from getting Seth going - not to mention he's expected to start opposite Austin Rivers in the backcourt next year, so we could do worse things than give him some experience running the team.
The one thing that worries me is that Seth appears to be a slightly shaky ballhandler. It's weird, because he has such great touch, but he seems to have to look down while dribbling a lot and kind of loses the ball a fair amount. I think it might just be him adjusting to the speed of the game, but he's just not snapping the ball off the ground with confidence like Smith and Irving. Hopefully that improves, both this year and over the summer.
ETA: This could also be a great opportunity for Nolan to audition for the pros. By default, I'd guess he'll be the primary PG over the next few weeks. Can he make the most of it?
It would be nice to give Kyrie's toe time to heal properly, but it would be even nicer for Seth to regain his stroke and find his shot, which has been MIA since he led us in scoring about a month ago. Fortunately we haven't really needed him to hit three's yet, but we're sure going to going forward, and two or three in each of the last couple of big games would certainly have created some separation and taken the pressure off when the contests were still in doubt.
Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!
Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
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If Kyrie had to miss time, this is the best time of the year for that to happen. It also comes at a time when we need Seth to get it going again. As Ozzie said, we haven't needed a big game from Curry yet, but we're will when the ACC season begins. So I say: Smith, Dre, Kyle, Mason & Ryan start, but more time for Seth. Andre has earned the start but a 3 guard lineup with Kyle at the PF will see major minutes if Kyrie does indeed miss time. Go Duke!
He is wearing a boot on campus today and I am pretty sure his toe is broken. Toe much better than a foot and downtime should be manageable.
Have you heard that his toe is broken, or are you inferring that from the boot? I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think a boot is often used to protect a sprained toe, just as it is used to protect a broken one.
If he's wearing a boot today, in either case, I doubt he'll be playing Wednesday. As others have noted, an opportunity for the team to work with Nolan and Tyler running the point, and for Tyler and Seth to get more game time, which will help us in the long run. But any injury is unfortunate, and I wish Kyrie the best in getting over this injury.
He's not playing Wednesday. He'll be shut down for a few games.