Dukies in the NBA 2012

[JNort]

I think Luol is making a strong case for being the third best small forward on the planet behind KD and LeBron. If Luol didn't play with the MVP of the league, he would be getting a lot more attention.

Yea SF is super competitive in the NBA right now.

1. Lebron
2. Durant
3. Melo
4. Iggy
5. Rudy Gay

4 and 5 can basically be interchangeable. 6th best you couldnt go wrong with any of the following: Loul, Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, Danilo Gallinari and Danny Granger

[loldevilz]

Yea SF is super competitive in the NBA right now.

1. Lebron
2. Durant
3. Melo
4. Iggy
5. Rudy Gay

4 and 5 can basically be interchangeable. 6th best you couldnt go wrong with any of the following: Loul, Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, Danilo Gallinari and Danny Granger

Rudy Gay is incredibly overrated. Remember that Memphis actually got better when Battier replaced Gay. I would also say that Luol and Pierce are better than Iggy. Iggy simply isn't a good shooter, but he is a good defender like Gerald Wallace also is.

[JNort]

Rudy Gay is incredibly overrated. Remember that Memphis actually got better when Battier replaced Gay. I would also say that Luol and Pierce are better than Iggy. Iggy simply isn't a good shooter, but he is a good defender like Gerald Wallace also is.

I think for now until someone can consistently prove it you have to keep Iggy and Gay above the others but the way Loul is playing now it wont take long. Gay and Iggy are focal points to their team were as Loul gets to be the 2nd man to DRose so that kinda hurts Louls exposure.

[nmduke2001]

Yea SF is super competitive in the NBA right now.

1. Lebron
2. Durant
3. Melo
4. Iggy
5. Rudy Gay

4 and 5 can basically be interchangeable. 6th best you couldnt go wrong with any of the following: Loul, Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, Danilo Gallinari and Danny Granger

Rudy Gay is incredibly overrated. Remember that Memphis actually got better when Battier replaced Gay. I would also say that Luol and Pierce are better than Iggy. Iggy simply isn't a good shooter, but he is a good defender like Gerald Wallace also is.

I agree with loldevilz. The reason I put Luol over Melo is that Melo is a high volume shooter and he is basically allergic to defense.

[JNort]

I agree with loldevilz. The reason I put Luol over Melo is that Melo is a high volume shooter and he is basically allergic to defense.

I have a feeling every NBA coach would take Melo over Loul.

BTW: Melo attempts 19 shots a game, Loul 13 that is not an overly large difference. Melo is also the guy who faces all the pressure while still shooting a very good % (46 to Louls 47).

[1 24 90]

Luol is one of the best defensive SFs in the league, if not the best. His offense is quite good, but he needs the attention to be elsewhere. Luol is one of the best second bananas in the league (ie second star on a team). When Luol is the number-one option, I don't think he'll be as good.

There is a very strong chance that Luol gets an All-Star bid, which should happen consider the way that he is playing.

Side note - with Luol, Hendo, and Irving, Duke has a really exciting group of young players.

I would like to add JJ to this list.

[JNort]

I would like to add JJ to this list.

Heck yeah JJ has been solid so far this year! Also Josh McRoberts had been filling into his new role very nicely.

[jimsumner]

I have a feeling every NBA coach would take Melo over Loul.

BTW: Melo attempts 19 shots a game, Loul 13 that is not an overly large difference. Melo is also the guy who faces all the pressure while still shooting a very good % (46 to Louls 47).

You're probably right. But as good as Anthony is, he has to have the ball in his hands to help his team. A lot. He can shoot you out of a game as easily as he can shoot you into one.

Deng, on the other hand, can help a team without getting a lot of shots.

Make no mistake, Anthony is an elite NBA scorer. But championship teams need versatile, glue guys like Deng every bit as much as they need high-volume scorers like 'Melo.

It appears that Deng is playing himself into an all-star caliber player, while helping his team win at a high percentage. That's a pretty good combo.

[JNort]

You're probably right. But as good as Anthony is, he has to have the ball in his hands to help his team. A lot. He can shoot you out of a game as easily as he can shoot you into one.

Deng, on the other hand, can help a team without getting a lot of shots.

Make no mistake, Anthony is an elite NBA scorer. But championship teams need versatile, glue guys like Deng every bit as much as they need high-volume scorers like 'Melo.

It appears that Deng is playing himself into an all-star caliber player, while helping his team win at a high percentage. That's a pretty good combo.

Completely agree! I was just in disagreement that Loul is the 3rd best SF in the league. I think he has proven to be very good but more in the 5 to 12 best SFs.

[jimsumner]

Completely agree! I was just in disagreement that Loul is the 3rd best SF in the league. I think he has proven to be very good but more in the 5 to 12 best SFs.

Right back at ya. I agree that top three might be stretching it a bit.

[Acymetric]

J.J. tore it up today as a starter with 21 points (2nd on the team behind Ryan Anderson) going 8-12 and 3-6 from 3 in 37 minutes. In addition to being the 2nd highest scorer he had the 2nd best +/- on the team. He's getting the start because Richardson is injured but hopefully earns more time with play like this. Way to go JJ!

[doctorhook]

Kyrie with 25 and 7 assists winning on the road against Charlotte.

[jimsumner]

Kyrie with 25 and 7 assists winning on the road against Charlotte.

Duke has had two rookies of the year, Grant Hill (tied with Kidd) and Elton Brand. It's early but Kyrie Irving could be well on his way for number three.

[COYS]

Duke has had two rookies of the year, Grant Hill (tied with Kidd) and Elton Brand. It's early but Kyrie Irving could be well on his way for number three.

The win for Kyrie and the Cavs also got Cleveland to .500. That's incredible given their roster. The season is long (even the lock-out shortened season is way longer than Kyrie's 11 game college season last year) so there's no guarantee that he won't have some more bumps along the road, but what he has done so far is really impressive. Despite the love for Rubio, I think an objective observer would have to put Kyrie in the ROY top spot if the season ended today.

[nmduke2001]

Duke has had two rookies of the year, Grant Hill (tied with Kidd) and Elton Brand. It's early but Kyrie Irving could be well on his way for number three.

EB shared the 2000 ROY with Steve Francis. Maybe Kyrie will get it to himself.

[g-money]

The win for Kyrie and the Cavs also got Cleveland to .500. That's incredible given their roster. The season is long (even the lock-out shortened season is way longer than Kyrie's 11 game college season last year) so there's no guarantee that he won't have some more bumps along the road, but what he has done so far is really impressive. Despite the love for Rubio, I think an objective observer would have to put Kyrie in the ROY top spot if the season ended today.

It's starting to look like the prognosticators may have missed the mark when they declared Kyrie a good but not great NBA prospect. What makes his play even more amazing is that he hasn't really even filled out his frame yet. With 15 pounds of muscle and gradual improvement in other areas, he could become a top 5, dominant NBA PG.

Keep it up young man!

[COYS]

EB shared the 2000 ROY with Steve Francis. Maybe Kyrie will get it to himself.

It's hard to believe Steve Francis was ROY as recently as 2000. It seems like he's been gone from the NBA for ages. His promising career was a strange train wreck of injuries and crazy antics. He's now plying his trade in China.

Anyway, as for Kyrie and the ROY of the award, it's worth noting that Kyrie is top 5 among NBA point guards so far this season in terms of John Hollinger's PER (behind the insider wall, I'm afraid), sitting behind Chris Paul (#1 among points) and D Rose (4th) but ahead of Nash, Rondo, Westbrook, Lawson, and Parker (as well as Rubio, obviously). It's very early in the season and it remains to be seen whether or not Kyrie can maintain this level of efficiency for an entire season. Nevertheless, his current PER of 22.41 is actually slightly better than Chris Paul's incredibly impressive rookie PER of 22.14, which was one of the best (if not THE best) performances by a rookie point guard in the past 15 years. For comparison's sake, Rose's rookie year PER was in the 16's, which is significantly below Kyrie's. I think those who believed Kyrie's lack of Derrick Rose or John Wall athleticism would keep him from stardom are likely going to need to reconsider their assessment. Any rookie who posts a PER above the league average of 15 is already doing great. A rookie that can maintain one of the highest PERs for their position in the league while playing extended minutes for a team that was truly terrible last season is something special. He's got a ways to go before we can write Kyrie down as having a truly exceptional rookie year, but he is off to an incredible start. Right now, turnovers and perhaps a slightly lower assist rate are the only two big things holding him back from being better. Both of those are almost certain to improve with experience. Kyrie will never be Lebron, but Cleveland fans should be ecstatic about their most recent #1 pick's play so far.

[UrinalCake]

What's even more amazing is that he had almost no preseason training camp after months of uncertainty about the season, and his foot wasn't back to 100% until just a couple months ago.

[MCFinARL]

What's even more amazing is that he had almost no preseason training camp after months of uncertainty about the season, and his foot wasn't back to 100% until just a couple months ago.

True--although in fairness, he is also playing against defenders who had almost no preseason training camp as well. So that might balance out.

[UrinalCake]

True--although in fairness, he is also playing against defenders who had almost no preseason training camp as well. So that might balance out.

Yeah, but being a rookie puts him at a particular disadvantage.