Phase II -- 2010-11

[Kedsy]

Duke has finished Phase I of the season undefeated and looking like the best team in the country. Now we enter Phase II, a stretch of four home games against significantly weaker competition than we’ve played over the past two weeks, although it’s also a period where the distractions of exams and the holidays have in the past made our team look less than sharp.

Barring catastrophe, the game outcomes in this phase (Bradley, St. Louis, Elon, and UNCG) are unlikely to be in doubt at anytime past the first few minutes, and therefore many of the questions we have about the team are simply not going to come up. For example, I’d be shocked if we have a chance to see how our young team will fare in tense late game situations, or who steps up as a leader when we really need it. I doubt we’ll discover whether Andre Dawkins can continue his surprisingly high level of defensive play against larger small forwards such as those on many ACC teams this season. We won’t find out whether Kyrie Irving can blast through the freshman wall (or will even encounter it) or whether Mason Plumlee has truly broken out.

But there should be a lot of fun things to watch in this next stretch of games anyway. Here’s what I’m going to be looking for:

(1) Will Duke stay healthy?

In just eight games so far, we’ve seen Kyrie come up limping twice and Mason twist an ankle. This is the deepest Duke team we’ve had in a long time, so we should be able to weather almost any situation (at least for a few games) but any major injury has the potential to slow our team growth, and for such a young team that would be a concern.

I’m looking for Phase II to be a time where we can heal our bumps and bruises and come out roaring for the ACC season.

(2) Will we cut down on the turnovers, and does it really matter?

So far this season we’re averaging 16.5 turnovers per game, a 45% increase over last year’s 11.4 tpg. It has been a hot topic in almost every post-game discussion, with some posters stating we’ll be in trouble against better teams if we continue to be so sloppy with the ball.

But is that really true? According to Pomeroy, we have the best adjusted offensive efficiency in the nation (121.8). So it’s hard to argue our current turnover rate is hurting our offensive efficiency to any great extent. That said, several turnovers in each game have appeared to be preventable with just a little more care, and I’ll be looking for that during this phase.

(3) How well will we diversify our offense?

In Phase I our offense came from all four major food groups. We scored in transition on the fast break, on three-point baskets, on dribble-drives, and on passes to our big men (although this latter category was almost exclusively to Mason Plumlee). However, other than the transition points there are questions about each category.

We currently have the 13th best 3-point shooting percentage in the country, and I doubt any team has as many deep threats as we do. When Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler are your fifth and sixth best percentage 3-point shooters, you know it’s a weapon to employ early and often. Still, there’s a difference between moving the ball around to find an open man who can shoot the ball in rhythm and taking the shot just because your man is a step or so away. It the first half against Butler we seemed to be “settling” for three point shots without exploring better options, and hopefully we won’t fall into that trap too often.

At any point in a game we have three or four guys who can beat their man off the dribble. But there’s a big difference between basing your half-court offense around dribble-penetration and simply trying to take your man one-on-one every time down the court. In several of our tougher games I’ve noticed our offense devolving into the latter, but I’m hoping to see more drive-and-dish during Phase II.

Finally, how will our bigs get their offense? Before the season started I expected to see mostly alley-oops and quick dishes after dribble penetration, but we haven’t seen as much of that as I’d hoped. Against Marquette we were successful dumping it down to Mason who set up as a traditional big man, but it seemed to slow down the other facets of our offense. The good news is we don’t need a whole lot of O from our bigs, but I would like us to find a decent rhythm down there and get some easy buckets.

(4) Seth Curry, please come home!

Seth scored in double figures our first three games and was MOTM against Miami (OH), but since then has largely disappeared from the box score (and from the court in the last three games, averaging only 11.3 minutes). He seems to have lost a little bit of his swagger and this phase is the perfect time for him to regain his confidence. He should get more court time over the next four games, and I’m looking for some big things from Seth.

Miles Plumlee has played well defensively and Ryan Kelly has showed us a good overall game, but I’m looking for both of them to step up over the next four games as well. Hopefully at the end of Phase II all three of these guys will be confident enough to step up in the phases to come.

I also expect to see a fair amount of Josh Hairston over the next four games, and I have been wondering whether he can get to the point where he can contribute 5 to 7 minutes in big games. But I think the possibility is remote enough that I wouldn’t include it as one of my big questions for Phase II.

(5) How will the meaningful minutes be distributed?

We argued about “big” vs. “small,” but everyone agreed this was Duke’s deepest team in years. I think most of us expected we’d see three stars plus four or five guys also getting “starter’s minutes.” But it hasn’t really panned out that way. Instead, what we’ve seen appears to be one predominant lineup and three role players (including a role-playing starter who doesn’t even see starter’s minutes). Here’s the minute breakdown over the past five games:

Kyle: 35.0 mpg
Nolan: 33.0
Kyrie: 32.4
Mason: 31.0
Andre: 24.0 (but 30.0 in last two games)
Seth: 16.4 (but 10.5 in last two games)
Ryan: 13.8
Miles: 12.4

I would hope last year put to rest the “tired legs” theories, but even so I’m not sure whether Andre and Mason can continue their stellar play at over 30 minutes a game. I’d be happier if the top of the rotation were playing 3 or so fewer minutes and the 6 through 8 guys playing 5 or so more.

But we’re not really going to be able to tell about that in Phase II. Against this sort of competition, Coach K undoubtedly will give good minutes to the bottom of the rotation (including Josh and Tyler, both of whom I hope will shine). What I’m looking for is Seth, Miles, and Ryan in the game while it matters.

(6) Deeeeeeefence

What will determine whether this year’s team is merely a good one or one of the all-time greats will be defense. So far we’ve looked pretty good and forced a lot of turnovers, and according to Pomeroy we have the 5th best defensive efficiency in the land. It’s hard to imagine any of our Phase II opponents avoiding the turnovers, but there are still several areas where we can improve. So far this year we’ve given up a fair number of backdoor layups and a surprising number of open three-point looks. I’d like to see both of those cut down through better rotation and communication, and these (especially communication) are the areas that we can and should work on during Phase II.

Also, it’s more difficult to rebound defensively when you’re pushing the perimeter and hounding the passing lanes the way we are this season, but it would be nice to see some improvement in this area, as well. So far Andre and Kyrie have been excellent rebounders for their size. I’d like to see that continue and also for Miles and Ryan to step up in that department.

And one more thing I’ll be looking for on the defensive end is what sort of pressure we apply. Coach K promised us full court and three-quarter court pressure, but what we’ve seen has been more token pressure until the opponent gets into the half court. Against Butler we went full-court for a few minutes and it seemed effective. Phase II might be a good time to practice that a little more.

(7) When will Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler settle into their new roles?

The emergence of Kyrie Irving as a superstar has pushed Nolan and Kyle into different roles. There doesn’t seem to be any jealousy or animosity, which is wonderful, but so far I think we’ve seen a huge difference, both as far as what’s being asked of them on the court and also psychologically.

With all the acclaim for Kyrie as possibly the best PG in the nation, it’s somewhat surprising that Nolan has just one fewer assist than the dazzling freshman. It’s great that Nolan has been distributing the ball so well, but last year he was the one who broke people down when we needed it and it seems like he may be attempting to show he can do everything Kyrie can. Unfortunately I don’t think that’s true. Yes, he can get by his man almost every time, but once he gets into the lane he sometimes stops to think and this leads to occasional moments where he’s in the air and not sure what will happen next, with the result often being an awkward shot or turnover. I expect these moments to become fewer and farther between as Nolan settles into his new role and his chemistry with Kyrie increases. Phase II would be a good time for this comfort to grow.

Kyle this year looks like a pro among little leaguers much of the time, but sometimes he appears a bit awed by Kyrie’s raw athleticism. Against Oregon, Coach K made very clear it was “Kyle’s game,” and we all saw how well that worked out. In the other games, however, I’ve sensed that Kyle felt he needed to defer to his teammates for much of the game, weakening one of our greatest weapons. And then he seems to wake up and say “I’ve got to take over,” which sometimes leads to him scoring 9 points in a row but other times takes the form of less-than-wide-open three-point shots or a head-down drive into the middle of the lane. When Kyle forces the other team to key on him first and foremost, we are a better offensive team. Phase II will give him more time to figure that out.

(8) Will we develop a “killer instinct”?

In almost every game so far we’ve lost focus and intensity for at least some portion of the game. Butler caught us unprepared and knocked us back for much of the first half. Tom Izzo noted in the post-game interview that we had several opportunities to put Michigan State away but never really did. The Marquette and Kansas State game featured similar moments when we built up 10 or 12 point leads and then relaxed and let them back in the game.

The 2002 Duke team seemed to have the habit of relaxing and then turning it on when they needed. That attitude came back to bite them against Indiana in the NCAA tournament, and is my biggest fear with the current team. Here’s hoping we keep the intensity and develop a killer instinct in Phase II.


This is my first attempt at a Phase report, and I apologize for the length. Hopefully I’ve at least touched upon most of the high points.

[jipops]

Health and Defense seem to be the big keys here. I mentioned Seth in the toe thread but I guess it is more appropriate here.

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 get more back court time and gain a confidence boost.

The defense does worry me a little with this group. Sure we're 5th on kenpom for defensive efficiency but we seem to be slowly tracking worse as the season progresses. A few weeks ago we were 2nd, then 3rd, now 5th. We seem to give up higher shooting percentages and more uncontested looks than last season. I know the defense is different and by pressuring passing lanes we're going to give up those looks but in the last string of games with the exception of Oregon, our opponents have shot ~45% or greater. Maybe the greater turnover % negates this a little but it does seem like this team has a harder time getting stops. Will we still be in the top 10 in defensive efficiency by the middle of January? That will be something to watch I think.

[loran16]

Minor complaint: Seth saw only 7 minutes against MSU after some rough early play. Seth saw 14 minutes against Butler. Still not large, but far closer to his average. And averaging the two together to come up with 10 minutes is a bit misleading, given that the drop is largely caused by one game.

[Lord Ash]

Thanks so much for taking the reins on Phase II, Kedsy... it is appreciated, and a very good piece at that!

I am also curious to see how Seth performs in this phase... he will likely get more minutes as the games are less "dangerous" and I anticipate him stepping up to the plate. However, given that we will likely see Kyle and Nolan LESS over this phase, I will be curious to see how they (especially Kyle) perform. As you mentioned, I am also curious to see how Ryan and Miles develop.

As for the killer instinct, I feel that will come more "easily" as the bulk of the team settles into their roles comfortably.

[Bob Green]

Great job Kedsy, the DBR community appreciates your effort. In regard to discussing health and depth, I'll quote Coach Krzyzewski, during the Colgate Post Game interview in response to the question: Will Duke use depth against tougher competition?

"Not exactly,...You can't get a ten-man rotation, but you can have ten guys ready to play. I mean you can, but then you're not using your key guys well enough. Nolan and Kyle have to get major minutes for us to be really good."

Phase II is the time to work on having "ten guys ready to play." We should see lots of minutes from the reserves over the next four games.

[Kedsy]

Minor complaint: Seth saw only 7 minutes against MSU after some rough early play. Seth saw 14 minutes against Butler. Still not large, but far closer to his average. And averaging the two together to come up with 10 minutes is a bit misleading, given that the drop is largely caused by one game.

Well, it's true that the Michigan State game skews the average a little, but 14 is only close to his overall average because of the last 3 games. In our first five games, Seth averaged 21.4 minutes. In our last three he's averaged 11.3. So, to me, it seems more like a trend than a one game anomaly. A trend that I hope and expect to reverse soon.

As for the killer instinct, I feel that will come more "easily" as the bulk of the team settles into their roles comfortably.

I hope you're right. The personalities of our leaders this year (Kyle, Nolan, Kyrie) seem a lot more intense than our leaders in 2002 (JWill, Dunleavy, and Boozer), so it would seem we're more likely to keep the intensity than they were. But you never know.

[loran16]

Well, it's true that the Michigan State game skews the average a little, but 14 is only close to his overall average because of the last 3 games. In our first five games, Seth averaged 21.4 minutes. In our last three he's averaged 11.3. So, to me, it seems more like a trend than a one game anomaly. A trend that I hope and expect to reverse soon.

I'm not disagreeing there might be a trend, I'm saying using a 2-game average, where the two games include an extreme result in one game, is a bad measure of anything. A better point is just to say the trend or show multiple games. Averaging small samples...not so much.

EDIT: Three game average isn't much better, but I remember you using 2 game average when I read the post initially. Did you edit that?

[Kedsy]

I'm not disagreeing there might be a trend, I'm saying using a 2-game average, where the two games include an extreme result in one game, is a bad measure of anything.

OK, I agree with that. The only reason I mentioned the 2 game average was because Andre averaged 30 mpg in those same two games.

[Saratoga2]

(1) Will Duke stay healthy?

(2) Will we cut down on the turnovers, and does it really matter?

So far this season we’re averaging 16.5 turnovers per game, a 45% increase over last year’s 11.4 tpg. It has been a hot topic in almost every post-game discussion, with some posters stating we’ll be in trouble against better teams if we continue to be so sloppy with the ball.

Turnovers for 8 games are as follows:
Nolan 26; Kyrie 22; Kyle 14; Andre 4; Mason 19; Seth 6; Fyan 7 and Miles 11.
Adding the TO and shots taken gives an idea of how many possessions we had in the 8 games and that comes to 534 plus 132 for 666. That is 83.25 possessions per game, plus probably some others when we ran out the game without a shot etc. While our TO are higher this year, I think are possessions are also higher and the TO are not out of line in that regard. I think Nolan and Kyrie can improve theirs and probably Miles as well.

(3) How well will we diversify our offense?

Looking at 3 point shooting percentage and shots taken, we have the following:
Nolan 0.323 on 10-31
Kyrie 0.452 on 14-31
Kyle 0.333 on 14-42
Andre 0.528 on 19-36
Maason 0.000 0n 0 for 1
Seth 0.455 on 10-22
Ryan 0.545 on 6-11

Looking at those numbers, it would appear we should be running Andre off screens ala Redick, while Seth has been better than it has seemed of late and Ryan can get a shot from the perimiter loosely guarded. Nolan and Kyle are bound to have a lot of attempts due to minutes played, but so far they haven't been efficient.

Finally, how will our bigs get their offense? Before the season started I expected to see mostly alley-oops and quick dishes after dribble penetration, but we haven’t seen as much of that as I’d hoped. Against Marquette we were successful dumping it down to Mason who set up as a traditional big man, but it seemed to slow down the other facets of our offense. The good news is we don’t need a whole lot of O from our bigs, but I would like us to find a decent rhythm down there and get some easy buckets.

I would like to see our bigs develop alternative shots from in close. A jump hook with touch or a turnaround jumper. Looking at Sullinger? of Ohio St and you see he has more alternatives than just dunking. Mason in particular doesn't seem to have touch on his shots.

(4) Seth Curry, please come home!

Seth scored in double figures our first three games and was MOTM against Miami (OH), but since then has largely disappeared from the box score (and from the court in the last three games, averaging only 11.3 minutes). He seems to have lost a little bit of his swagger and this phase is the perfect time for him to regain his confidence. He should get more court time over the next four games, and I’m looking for some big things from Seth.

Seth still is shooting the 3 better than Nolan or Kyle but has slumped a little of late. These next games should give him more PT and maybe he can regain his feel for scoring.

(5) How will the meaningful minutes be distributed?

6) Deeeeeeefence

What will determine whether this year’s team is merely a good one or one of the all-time greats will be defense. So far we’ve looked pretty good and forced a lot of turnovers, and according to Pomeroy we have the 5th best defensive efficiency in the land. It’s hard to imagine any of our Phase II opponents avoiding the turnovers, but there are still several areas where we can improve. So far this year we’ve given up a fair number of backdoor layups and a surprising number of open three-point looks. I’d like to see both of those cut down through better rotation and communication, and these (especially communication) are the areas that we can and should work on during Phase II.

I agree that the open 3's, especially when an opposing guard drives and draws defense to him, we sag way off opening up wide open 3's. I don't know if that is a calculated risk of a breakdown in communication. On the back door cuts, it doesn't appear that our bigs are rotating and providing help defense. Coach K has time during this stretch and lots of tape to show our guys what they are doing wrong. My guess is things will improve in both of these areas in Phase II.


And one more thing I’ll be looking for on the defensive end is what sort of pressure we apply. Coach K promised us full court and three-quarter court pressure, but what we’ve seen has been more token pressure until the opponent gets into the half court. Against Butler we went full-court for a few minutes and it seemed effective. Phase II might be a good time to practice that a little more.

Agreed

(7) When will Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler settle into their new roles?

The emergence of Kyrie Irving as a superstar has pushed Nolan and Kyle into different roles. There doesn’t seem to be any jealousy or animosity, which is wonderful, but so far I think we’ve seen a huge difference, both as far as what’s being asked of them on the court and also psychologically.

With all the acclaim for Kyrie as possibly the best PG in the nation, it’s somewhat surprising that Nolan has just one fewer assist than the dazzling freshman. It’s great that Nolan has been distributing the ball so well, but last year he was the one who broke people down when we needed it and it seems like he may be attempting to show he can do everything Kyrie can. Unfortunately I don’t think that’s true. Yes, he can get by his man almost every time, but once he gets into the lane he sometimes stops to think and this leads to occasional moments where he’s in the air and not sure what will happen next, with the result often being an awkward shot or turnover. I expect these moments to become fewer and farther between as Nolan settles into his new role and his chemistry with Kyrie increases. Phase II would be a good time for this comfort to grow.

Yes, I think Nolan does not have the same point guard skills to create as well for others. When he drives into a crowd, he sometimes seems to lose focus on what he is trying to accomplish and can have turnover issues. He is however a terrific offguard and can penetrate and score very well if he gets receives the ball in a good spot. The two together can provide a devastating one two punch in games.

Kyle this year looks like a pro among little leaguers much of the time, but sometimes he appears a bit awed by Kyrie’s raw athleticism. Against Oregon, Coach K made very clear it was “Kyle’s game,” and we all saw how well that worked out. In the other games, however, I’ve sensed that Kyle felt he needed to defer to his teammates for much of the game, weakening one of our greatest weapons. And then he seems to wake up and say “I’ve got to take over,” which sometimes leads to him scoring 9 points in a row but other times takes the form of less-than-wide-open three-point shots or a head-down drive into the middle of the lane. When Kyle forces the other team to key on him first and foremost, we are a better offensive team. Phase II will give him more time to figure that out.

Kyle is of course a terrific talent and does many things very well. At times though he can become overaggressive and try to drive with his head down into a crowd. He also can pick up reaching fouls and blocking fouls due to his aggressiveness. With the point guard skills that Kyrie possesses, I would like to see Kyle move off the ball more
and receive the ball in scoring position rather than try to drive into scoring position.(8) Will we develop a “killer instinct”?

In almost every game so far we’ve lost focus and intensity for at least some portion of the game. Butler caught us unprepared and knocked us back for much of the first half. Tom Izzo noted in the post-game interview that we had several opportunities to put Michigan State away but never really did. The Marquette and Kansas State game featured similar moments when we built up 10 or 12 point leads and then relaxed and let them back in the game.

In a number of games, substitutions have broken our rythmn when we were building a comfortable lead. Also, opposiing teams, such as MSU altered their approach and we had to adjust. I think we will be fine in this regard.
The 2002 Duke team seemed to have the habit of relaxing and then turning it on when they needed. That attitude came back to bite them

I embedded my thoughts in your excellent phase II analysis. Hope it is readable.

[sagegrouse]

Great job, Kedsy!

What you said. I might emphasize continued development of the big men. We've cut down on fouls and gotten some offense. It hasn't been consistent, and I look for Mason to become a scoring threat every game.

Defense needs to consistently improve, and I believe it should, as only Kyle and Nolan played starter's minutes last year.

sagegrouse

[quota]

Two topics that weren't discussed that I think are going to be key in the next phase and that I'll be watching for: the battle for minutes (and starts) between Miles and Ryan Kelly, and the continued emergence of Mason as a legitimate inside presence.

[gam7]

Duke has finished Phase I of the season undefeated and looking like the best team in the country. Now we enter Phase II, a stretch of four home games against significantly weaker competition than we’ve played over the past two weeks, although it’s also a period where the distractions of exams and the holidays have in the past made our team look less than sharp.

Excellent job Kedsy! Just one comment for now - looks like the first three games of the phase are home games, but the UNCG game is in Greensboro.

[Duvall]

Excellent job Kedsy! Just one comment for now - looks like the first three games of the phase are home games, but the UNCG game is in Greensboro.

And it's even a precious TRUE ROAD GAME, because the Coliseum is UNCG's only home court.

[superdave]

Two topics that weren't discussed that I think are going to be key in the next phase and that I'll be watching for: the battle for minutes (and starts) between Miles and Ryan Kelly, and the continued emergence of Mason as a legitimate inside presence.

I tend to think the big man minutes will wind up being allocated based on who is in foul trouble. Mason has a done a good job of avoiding them in certain games, but not in others.

[Namtilal]

Excellent analysis.

My interest in this stretch is for us to find your rhythm in the half-court. We have so many weapons, but i feel that we are not even coming close to how efficient we can be when we put them together as a team. You mentioned this with Nolan and Kyle being unsure how to assert themselves.

We need the ball in Kyrie's hands, and we need Nolan and Kyle to be a threat in every halfcourt play. This will spread the defense and disrupt things to get us more easy baskets. I think we're taking shots that are too high of a degree of difficulty right now. We're good enough to make a lot of them, but winning 9 in a row in March and April is all about shot selection.

[The Gordog]

I embedded my thoughts in your excellent phase II analysis. Hope it is readable.

Ryan 0.545 on 6-11
Andre 0.528 on 19-36
Seth 0.455 on 10-22
Kyrie 0.452 on 14-31
Kyle 0.333 on 14-42
Nolan 0.323 on 10-31

Those are some serious weapons. If we can get more kick-out 3-pt. attempts we get even harder to beat.

[Bob Green]

Mason has a done a good job of avoiding them in certain games, but not in others.

Since fouling out against Colgate in 13 minutes, Mason has kept the fouls under control:

Marquette: 32 minutes, 2 fouls
Kansas State: 33 minutes, 3 fouls
Oregon: 29 minutes, 2 fouls
Michigan State: 35 minutes, 0 fouls
Butler: 26 minutes, 2 fouls

Hopefully, Mason has turned the corner. Miles Plumlee is our big who is struggling with foul trouble of late. Over those same five games:

Marquette: 10 minutes, 1 foul
Kansas State: 12 minutes, 4 fouls
Oregon: 19 minutes, 5 fouls
Michigan State: 8 minutes, 4 fouls
Butler: 13 minutes, 2 fouls

The most fouls Ryan Kelly has had in a single game this season is three.

[MChambers]

Very Jumbo-like. Hey, wait a minute. Are you Jumbo?

[superdave]

(1) Will Duke stay healthy?
(2) Will we cut down on the turnovers, and does it really matter?
(3) How well will we diversify our offense?
(4) Seth Curry, please come home!
(5) How will the meaningful minutes be distributed?
(6) Deeeeeeefence
(7) When will Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler settle into their new roles?
(8) Will we develop a “killer instinct”?

Turnovers- I do expect turnovers to drop as Kyrie gets more game experience and as Kyle and Nolan learn to play off of him better. But I'm not sure they drop drastically for others unless they improve considerably over the course of the season because we're going to try to run a lot. But yes, turnovers do matter do matter because it is an indication of who can play the quicker pace and who is locked in a focused.

Half Court - Our half court offense needs some attention. I was disturbed by all the missed lobs into the lane, for one thing, the past week. Either get that play right or figure out how to get the big the ball a better way. Also, we should steal the butt-pick alley oop from the guys down the road.

I do expect us to tweak the offense to get Kyle the ball either on the move or in post up situations more. We'll look more like we did vs. Oregon in the half court come February. We tweaked things similarly last year during the conference games.

I'm worried about what I see in Nolan's play because I think he probably picked up some bad habits during the summer when games are looser and less D is played. Nolan needs to return to his core skills a bit and play a little more disciplined in the half court.

Most defenses have holes in them that lead to easy buckets. Kyrie and Nolan should grow in looking for them and exploiting them. We grew into that last year (think offensive rebounds for kickout 3s, Miles/Lance hitting 10 foot jumpers the D conceded to them). I suspect our ability to penetrate will be the key to most of our easy buckets in the half court this year. Reading the D and figuring out how to exploit the holes are the next steps.

Seth - I think the next month is important for Seth. I understand he had stomach issues this past week, which aint fun. I also look at his continually strong +/- stats and see that he's still contributing to the team even his scoring has dropped. But I think the development and definition of his role is essential to him being a big contributor vs. a role player. He's capable of big things and smart enough to know how to get that. I also think his D is good enough that it wont cost him any playing time as it has others in the past. He needs to settle into his role and know what to expect every time he steps onto the court so that he does not play anxious.

D - Are we going to be good or great defensively?

We have not completely bought into the Team D concept yet. We're not switching and rotating consistently well. Our backside has been left exposed at times and we're not covering 3s as well as we should with our quickness. Guys heads get turned the wrong way at times which absolutely kills you and leads to silly fouls.

Also, our big guys need to realize how exactly their role fits with the gambling we're going to do on the perimeter and accept that. When we settle down from the excitement that comes from being more athletically gifted than almost everyone we face, we'll settle into better Team D. I'm not sure how well this team is communicating out there at this point, but it is a huge factor in playing as well defensively as Coach K teams can. I hope the communication gets better because they have the tools to be great.

Killer Instinct - It's directly dependent on a couple of things:
1- Focus.
2- Guys settling into their roles.
3- Communication and discipline on D.

[Kedsy]

Excellent job Kedsy! Just one comment for now - looks like the first three games of the phase are home games, but the UNCG game is in Greensboro.

You're absolutely right. My bad.

Two topics that weren't discussed that I think are going to be key in the next phase and that I'll be watching for: the battle for minutes (and starts) between Miles and Ryan Kelly, and the continued emergence of Mason as a legitimate inside presence.

These are two important questions, but I don't think we're going to be challenged enough to get the answers during this phase. Everyone should get plenty of minutes over the next four games and even if Mason dominates every game I doubt we'll be able to tell if it's "real" yet.

I would guess the Mason question is going to be a big one for Phase III. As far as minutes, I don't really see it as a battle between Miles and Ryan. Neither is going to drop out of the rotation and neither is going to get much above 20 minutes in any game. The actual struggle appears to be between Miles and Ryan on one side and Mason and Andre on the other. If Mason and Andre each continue to play 30+ minutes then Miles, Ryan, and Seth will all be stuck on the wrong side of 15. As I said in the review, I'd personally prefer the top five minutegetters to be seeing 3 or so fewer minutes which would allow Miles, Ryan, and Seth to at least get into the high-teens.