MBB: Duke 111, Davidson 77 Post-Game Thread

[BlueDevilBrowns]

What did jay williams say?

He said on ESPN that Kansas would "destroy Duke inside".

[InSpades]

Part of being outrebounded is the fact we shot 70 percent from the floor. You can't rebound a made shot.

I don't know if I follow this logic... they definitely had more offensive rebound opportunities... but they also got a higher percentage of them. We lost the rebounding battle no matter how you look at it I think.

That being said... I could care less about the rebounding battle. We won the point scoring battle very handily. In fact, we did the point scoring thing exceedingly well . 1st time w/ 4 20 point scorers... well, ever. This is an NCAA tournament team we played and we dominated them mightily. We look like a very fun team to watch and will be very tough to beat. The defense will get better, the offense is already ridiculous. Though I doubt we'll shoot that well every night.

[JPtheGame]

How quick Jay forgets. When Jay was killing it for Duke he had a couple of guys between 6'6 and 6'8 to man the inside. Yes, Boozer is solid in the post on O but his defense...c'mon. Back then, Duke and Jay kept from getting killed inside by swarming the guards and overplaying the passing lanes. If Duke lets KU walk it up and dump it in, it will be a long night. Something tells me Duke won't allow that to happen too often.

[Billy Dat]

I haven't been this excited after a first game in years, and I definitely haven't been this excited about our team's potential since before Kyrie went down, and before that it was the moment we won the last National Championship. First game or not, when healthy, I strongly suspect we have a championship caliber team.

Honestly, I think having a big defensive anchor type center has become less valuable with the new rules this year. The new rules actually help our team a LOT. We have a ton of guys who are good at getting the paint and creating contact on layups. If the officials call all the games somewhat like they called tonight's game, we're just going to foul out guys who stay camped in the lane defensively. Rasheed had a clean block and got called. Hairston got whistled twice when he literally standing there with both hands up and the offensive player bumped into him on the way up. I feel way more confident in our chances against a major defensive big man if this is the way the calls are going to go from here on out.

Forget the 3 point shooting percentage for a second, we know that is not sustainable, it will likely be a season-high watermark. But, with kAzE's comment as a reference, the new defensive rules empower the sickest depth of dribble-drive talent we have ever rolled out. Prior to tonight, we saw it from Jabari, Hood and Jones. We knew Cook and Rasheed had it in them from last year, but tonight we saw it from both, especially Rasheed. But, we also saw it from Amile.

Having watched the two exhibitions, this was a large jump from those performances.

Jabari and Rodney dominated the first half. While Quinn played well in the first half, I was most impressed by the way he kicked us into gear in the second half. After a unimpressive flat first four minutes of the second, Quinn made a few plays on offense to break a scoring drought. Rasheed took the cue and starting driving with success. The increased pace picked us up on both sides of the ball and we never looked back.

I am excited because when the 3s aren't falling, we've got ways to make things happen on offense - driving and getting to the line. People keep saying that this is the most "Team USA" team that K has had at Duke since he became the National Team coach, and tonight I saw it. We spread and let guys go to work one-on-one rather than running a lot of screening action. The floor is open and our ability to face up and go one-on-one sparks defensive recoveries and help side movement and suddenly guys are open all over the floor, or the driving lanes are open. Davidson is no patsy and we steamrolled them.

I agree with everyone saying that this game can't be judged on rebounding stats or other box score anomalies. I also agree with those who say the defense will come. The concepts are there, we need more reps. Guys have to get used to Jabari trying to block shots and be ready to crash the boards while he is temporarily out of position. We went under too many high screens giving up open 3s, but that stuff will improve. The Amile foul trouble showed that Jabari can handle being the biggest guy on the court, he is a load.

I love that K went with a lot of depth.

We'll know a lot more after the Kansas game, but I am brimming with confidence after tonight. We have the pleasure of watching a different kind of Duke team than we have seen in a while, one with potential to really destroy high quality opponents. I can't wait for Tuesday, these guys are ready.

[devildeac]

Even if they are not playing in the afternoon?

What a delight!

[loran16]

1 comment: davidson's point total was not simply due to lots of possessions. They averaged over 1.1 point per possession which was bad.

That said most of that was free throws and Oboards. I expect the fts to be figured out eventually

[Billy Dat]

Interesting stuff from the presser:

K On biggest defensive improvements since exhibition games:
“We didn’t pick up full court, in the two exhibition games we were kinda all over the court, and we were using energy, and not getting anything for it. So we picked up at three-quarter court and just tried to lock in on people, and that’s how we practiced all week. That doesn’t mean we’ll never press, but we can’t press them, they get it in so fast. They scored in about two seconds that one play in the first half, and almost scored again.”

I didn't pay attention to this, I was too busy watching the team score, but I think this was a key adjustment and we managed to push the ball more off solid half court D. Maybe the Drury perimeter attack was better than Davidson's, but seemed more focused by not extended to full court.

Jabari on the return to his hometown of Chicago for the upcoming matchup with Kansas:
“I need to just keep the game plan and don’t go outside of what we want to do. I know I’ve got individual goals, but I have to put that aside. What’s more important is the team. There are no individual matchups, [just] Duke versus Kansas. I’m going to take my guys, and our captains – I’m going to lean on their backs – and we’re going to come out with a win.”

I love the confidence and don't care if it becomes bulletin board material. Tuesday is gonna be HUGE!

[Billy Dat]

Box Score Stuff:
-Jabari did what he did in only 23 minutes of PT
-Duke blocked 6 shots
-Rasheed had 7 boards
-We had only 4 turnovers as a team, Quinn had none in 34 minutes
-Andre had a Two Trillion

[A-Tex Devil]

I trust my gut. And my gut tells me that this is going to be an absolute blast of a team to watch. We may fall short since we are tiny. But I thought this might be a favorite team of mine and after one game in, I am certain this is my favorite team since 1999. Rodney Hood is awesome. I love that dude already.

[duke4ever19]

I trust my gut. And my gut tells me that this is going to be an absolute blast of a team to watch. We may fall short since we are tiny. But I thought this might be a favorite team of mine and after one game in, I am certain this is my favorite team since 1999. Rodney Hood is awesome. I love that dude already.

I have been nostalgic for the days when we played at the pace I saw tonight. It's going to be hard for me not to keep comparing this team with that of '99. I know it's not fair to them because they need to establish their own identity. I was lucky to see that '99 team up close as a kid on a few occasions. Like many have said, we don't have an Elton Brand on this team, but the athleticism at the other positions is comparable.

[Mcluhan]

Rodney Hood is awesome. I love that dude already.

Since he got one highlight between the two reels I watched, can you all describe his game a little bit for us?

[A-Tex Devil]

Since he got one highlight between the two reels I watched, can you all describe his game a little bit for us?

Look at box score. He may lead team in points, rebounds or assists on any given night.

And Hood and Parker are so similar that it's next to impossible to shut both down.

We are tiny and will get killed ok boards all year. But this is the most talented team I remember in a while. Like 2004 or 1999.

[Kedsy]

I realize foul trouble had a lot to do with this, but Amile, Josh, and Marshall combined for just 26 minutes, which means at least 14 minutes of small ball. (And I believe Amile and Josh played together for a couple minutes which means we played closer to 16 minutes of small ball.) Yeah, Davidson is a smallish team, but my guess is we'll play small 10 to 15 minutes every game.

Unadjusted ppp: our offense scored 1.56 points per possession, which is amazing; our defense gave up 1.08 points per possession, which isn't so good. Best thing to take from this game is we beat Pomeroy's #81 team by 34 points and at least defensively we have plenty of room for improvement. If our defensive efficiency improves, look out.

Also, while it's true we probably won't shoot 70% from the field or 62% from three-land all that often, the idea that we put up 1.56 ppp while shooting under 70% (68.8%, to be precise) from the line is almost mind-boggling.

[Acymetric]

I realize foul trouble had a lot to do with this, but Amile, Josh, and Marshall combined for just 26 minutes, which means at least 14 minutes of small ball. (And I believe Amile and Josh played together for a couple minutes which means we played closer to 16 minutes of small ball.) Yeah, Davidson is a smallish team, but my guess is we'll play small 10 to 15 minutes every game.

Preparing for Duke is like preparing for 2 or 3 different teams because of how versatile/interchangeable our guys are...only Quinn (who I see as purely PG even though he may not bring the ball up every time) and Marshall are really locked into positions. Everyone else is capable of playing 2 or more positions at any given time, and everyone else except Josh can probably competently guard 3 positions (not just briefly on a switch, but for a somewhat extended period). I've been excited about this team for a while and while we were definitely breaking guys in and working out kinks in the preaseason (and will continue to do so) I loved what we saw tonight.

[JPtheGame]

Rodney Hood reminds me of Scottie Pippen. Yes, Pippen was a much better defender but I don't know that he was a better defender at 20. Body type, Length, Diversity in his game, Quietly filling a box score, Playing seamlessly alongside a transcendent talent. Anyone want to second that emotion?

[kAzE]

We'll know a lot more after the Kansas game, but I am brimming with confidence after tonight. We have the pleasure of watching a different kind of Duke team than we have seen in a while, one with potential to really destroy high quality opponents. I can't wait for Tuesday, these guys are ready.

Yeah, I feel the same way. After tonight, and then looking in at Kansas' performance against Louisiana Monroe (Just a 17 point win over a team that went 3-17 in the Sun Belt last year), I can confidently expect us to come out with a win in Chicago. I think we can win by double digits. Yes, they have some size inside, but the new rules are going to make it tough for them to stop our dribble penetration without fouling. Also, their guards just don't impress me very much. I think if we pressure 3/4 court, they are just going to have a nightmare getting their offense set up.

Whoever they have Wiggins guarding may have a little bit a tougher time scoring, be it Hood or Parker, but Parker has got a pretty significant size advantage on Wiggins and Hood can just make ridiculous contested shots from absurd angles. I don't know how you are supposed stop those two guys. If Sulaimon and Cook can carry over some of that shooting touch from tonight, it's gonna be a win for us, and it won't be close.

[tommy]

Guys, I really think the handwringing over Davidson's offensive rebounding numbers is overwrought. I charted our defense and will be getting a more detailed analysis of our interior defense and rebounding up hopefully tomorrow, as it's getting late here now, but just kinda quickly on the defensive rebounding. I don't know if goduke.com or wherever might have Davidson with 14 o-boards, but ESPN had them with 13, and that's what matches closer to what I tracked. But what really did those plays consist of, and more importantly, what do they really say about our effort and/or ability on the d-boards?

First off, it should be noted that the great majority of their o-boards came while they were down anywhere from 15 to 35 points. Most of this game was extended garbage time. Now of course Duke is trained to play hard for 40 minutes no matter what, and I'm sure they did, but there is still human nature and I'm not sure that the guys played with exactly Final Four intensity during all of that second half, when Davidson got 10 of the 13 credited o-boards.

So here's what the 13 were:

1. At 10:41 of the first half (all the times are give or take a few seconds) Davidson missed a long jumper and it resulted in a long rebound that bounced over Marshall's head. Davidson then jacked up a 3 that missed. Legitimately counts as an OR, but it's not like we got outworked or out-heighted or outhustled on the board. Just a long bounce. Happens to even the strongest rebounding teams.

2. Nothing else until 1:35 remained in the half. Brooks missed the second of his 2 FT's, and Hood was beaten for the o-board. Kalinoski missed the follow shot and then Brooks followed again with . . .

3. His follow shot over Hood and Parker for the hoop. The play was kind of haphazard after Kalinoski's rebound of the free throw, but give Davidson credit for these. They hustled.

Second half:

4. At 1923 Brooks got credited with an OR but it's bogus, or maybe a better word would be meaningless. What happened was Kalinoski had his 3 pointer on the wing blocked by Thornton and the ball happened to come down and land in Brooks' hands 12' away from the hoop and facing away. It was a positive defensive play by Duke and hardly indicative of a failing of our defensive rebounding. This kind of play shouldn't count as an offensive rebound at all, but some sort of loose ball recovery or something.

5. At 1829, Sulaimon was beaten off the dribble down the lane, Jabari helped, helped force a missed shot, but his jumping out (as was necessary) left the guard Droney open for the easy put-back. Yes, it's a legitimate OR stat, but the root cause was not a lapse in our big guys' rebounding, but rather our guard being beaten by dribble penetration.

6. 1744 another bogus OR stat. On this one Kalinoski led a fast break and missed a driving shot. He followed his miss as it bounded over on the right baseline where he and Jabari scrambled for it, and Jabari got called for a foul in the tussle. Kalinoski got credited for an OR on that one. Again, more of a loose ball play to me.

7. The next one is two OR's. At 1737, Josh got a little lax in pulling down a defensive rebound and Kalinoski basically ripped it away from him low and threw it up and missed. . .

8. Kalinoski's missed shot, at around 1730, came back and he rebounded it again (and missed again and we finally grabbed it for good). These two definitely should count as legitimate OR's by Davidson.

9. At 1311, Hood was beaten on the drive but the shot was missed. Unfortunately, Rasheed did not block out well. Brooks grabbed the o-board and Rasheed fouled him on the putback. Brooks hit both FT's. I didn't note why our 2-guard was in a position to have to try to block out their big man, but that's where he found himself. Tough assignment.

10. At 1205, Davidson's man posted up against Hood, shot over him, but Marshall came over and blocked the shot nicely. Having left Brooks in order to do so, though, Brooks was able to get the o-board/loose ball and shoot it, but Marshall got over and contested that shot too, which was missed. Brooks gets credit for the OR, but this was perfectly good interior play by Plumlee.

11. At 737, (we're really in blowout mode now, up 25) Rodney was again beaten to the rack, Jabari helped and altered the shot but his man McAuliffe was therefore free for the easy putback. Same analysis as #5 above. Yes, it's a legitimate OR stat, but the root cause was not a lapse in our big guys' rebounding, but rather our perimeter player being beaten by dribble penetration.

12. See 11, but the time was 652 and replace "Rodney" with "Matt Jones." Otherwise, identical.

13. At 444, this time it was Matt who was beaten to the hoop, and the Davidson player's shot was rebounded by Czerapowicz over Thornton and Hood. He was fouled on his putback and hit both FT's. OK fine.

That's it. To me, the only ones that are the types of offensive rebounds that are any type of "concern," meaning they're plays where our interior players were either too small, not strong enough, not athletic enough, got out-battled, etc. -- meaning the types of plays that many Duke fans feared would be our achilles heel this year, were plays 2, 7, 8, 9, and 13. 3 sorta kinda counts but not really. That's only five (or at most 6) times in a fast-paced 40 minute blowout where Amile didn't play much, and hardly constitutes getting manhandled on the boards. If we were to have cut off dribble penetration better (and it was WAY better than the last two years), plays 5, 11, and 12 wouldn't have happened. Then there were the couple of plays that counted as OR's but probably shouldn't have.

Message: relax. Of course Kansas will be a whole different animal in this department, and they may in fact hammer us on the boards. They may hammer a lot of teams on the boards this year. But tonight, our performance in this area against Davidson was just fine.

[duke96]

Sounds like a great game to watch. Don't suppose anyone can point to a site to watch the replay?

[El_Diablo]

Sounds like a great game to watch. Don't suppose anyone can point to a site to watch the replay?

espn3.com

[flyingdutchdevil]

In high school, analysts compared Jabari to Carmelo Anthony. In the preseason, fans and analysts compared Jabari to Carmelo Anthony.

You know what? I think those comparisons are spot on. Jabari is such a threat because he can score from everywhere; 3pt line, mid range jumper, off the dribble, in the post, in transition - you name it. Melo is identical.

Now, hopefuly Jabari becomes a better defender. Melo is mediocre, and I think under K, Jabari will succeed. But he has a looooong way to go.