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  1. #41
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    20 Minutes From The Heaven That Is Cameron Indoor
    Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post
    Miles has finally overcome his mental block of being unable to translate practice dominance to game dominance. He was always a practice beast at Duke by all accounts but only rarely flashed his total package of skills in games, e.g. this game against UNC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMuHtJyNfUY While the result of that game was not good for Duke, Miles played excellent. He showed virtually all the skills that are now on display with Phoenix. Deft footwork and post moves (up and unders, hook shots, drop steps), faceup drives, quick rim-rolling after setting a pick, finishing dumpoffs on penetration, offensive rebounding, physicality (his body changed tremendously from frosh to senior years), even the Duncan-esque bank shot from mid-range that has been surprising Suns fans. At Duke, he was a dominant rebounder (ranking 7th in the country in OR% his senior year) and the coaches developed him into a very good help defender, and those things are major pieces of his success right now, along with translating those offensive skills from practice to games.

    Phoenix's spread system has certainly helped as well. Miles always played better in space when paired with Ryan Kelly rather than in congestion when paired with his brother Mason. Phoenix has Channing Frye and the Morris twins to serve as stretch 4s, giving him plenty of room to operate on the pick-n-rolls and faceup drives and back-to-basket moves.
    This is a really great assessment. The talent was always present, especially the physical gifts, and unlike Mason, Mile always had a nice mid-range jumpshot, and personally I think he could have developed a 3 point shot at the college level if he had tried to. There were numerous references from the staff and players about Miles dominating in practice from his Soph year on. Had Mason not been on the team and we had made the concerted effort to get Miles the ball on the block as we did with Mason, I have no doubt he would have averaged more points his Jr and Sr year.

    It is just really great seeing Miles flourishing now in the NBA. I had hoped he would stay at Indiana, but maybe Phoenix was the better fit for his game anyway, so go Suns!

    Merry Christmas to Miles and DBR! Keep doing your thing big fella. I am sure Wojo is very proud.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    San Francisco
    Five possibilities:

    1. K and his staff did a great job of preparing Miles for his NBA career.

    2. K and his staff did an inadequate job of utilizing Miles' talents at Duke.

    3. Miles wasn't ready to be a star at Duke; he's just now realizing his potential in the NBA.

    4. None of the above.

    5. All of the above.

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by Bay Area Duke Fan View Post
    Five possibilities:

    1. K and his staff did a great job of preparing Miles for his NBA career.

    2. K and his staff did an inadequate job of utilizing Miles' talents at Duke.

    3. Miles wasn't ready to be a star at Duke; he's just now realizing his potential in the NBA.

    4. None of the above.

    5. All of the above.
    Big men often take some time to get their coordination and basketball instincts. #3, without a doubt in my mind. If Miles were capable of steady double-doubles at Duke, he would have done so regularly. Instead, he had six double-doubles in 135 games. By year -- 0, 3, 1, 2. He averaged a perfectly balanced 4.8/4.8 over four years (6.6/ 7.1 his senior year). He is doing twice that well at Phoenix.

    Go Miles!
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  4. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    Big men often take some time to get their coordination and basketball instincts. #3, without a doubt in my mind. If Miles were capable of steady double-doubles at Duke, he would have done so regularly. Instead, he had six double-doubles in 135 games. By year -- 0, 3, 1, 2. He averaged a perfectly balanced 4.8/4.8 over four years (6.6/ 7.1 his senior year). He is doing twice that well at Phoenix.

    Go Miles!
    I agree with the Grouse on this one. #3 all the way. He has matured. Everyone runs his own race, EVERYONE!

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    I thought my fantasy team was going in the tank after I lost Derrick Rose for the year, but I grabbed MP2 and Trey Burke off waivers and now I'm just cruising. GO MILES!

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by kAzE View Post
    I thought my fantasy team was going in the tank after I lost Derrick Rose for the year, but I grabbed MP2 and Trey Burke off waivers and now I'm just cruising. GO MILES!
    MP1, I believe. Give the eldest his due!

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Quote Originally Posted by Acymetric View Post
    MP1, I believe. Give the eldest his due!
    Ah, crap, bad typo there, thanks for pointing that out. Obviously, I meant MP1

  8. While I think the biggest factor is just general maturation, point guard had a little to do with it. Miles didn't play with a PG that liked to fast break or play the pick and roll here at duke. With the brief exception that was kyrie.

  9. #49
    The draft "experts" were laughing when Miles was drafted in the first round, saying it was one of the biggest reaches in years.
    It's great to see him playing so well.. Got a perfect team to play with too, Dragic and Bledsoe zooming up and down the court and giving him good opportunities to get easy baskets, and he's got the athleticism to thrive with those guys. Suns are great to watch.

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Bay Area Duke Fan View Post
    Five possibilities:

    1. K and his staff did a great job of preparing Miles for his NBA career.

    2. K and his staff did an inadequate job of utilizing Miles' talents at Duke.

    3. Miles wasn't ready to be a star at Duke; he's just now realizing his potential in the NBA.

    4. None of the above.

    5. All of the above.

    It's 1 and 3. For those Duke haters who claim he was "wasted" while at Duke: if that's true, then he was also "wasted" at Indiana last year. The truth is that he has developed slowly and it has taken him until now to put everything together. We saw it happen with Danny Green (whose development was more emotional than physical) and countless other players, especially big men, who take a while before they're ready.

  11. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Deeetroit City
    Quote Originally Posted by gep View Post
    I noticed that Miles has a Zoubeard ...
    How about Josh?

    Josh-McRoberts-300x298.jpg

  12. #52
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Mount Kisco, NY
    The quotes from Miles' teammates are awesome


    “It’s much easier to play [with a guy like Miles],” (Goran) Dragic said. “I just go to the middle of the paint and try to keep my head up to see who is going to cut. Miles does a great job of finding that open spot and open space. If the pass is open, we can throw him a bounce pass. If it’s not, we can throw him a lob because he is so athletic. He’s got very nice touch. No one gives him a compliment about that. He’s so athletic that he can really get any shot he wants. Miles is still young. If he continues to improve and work hard, he’s going to be one of the top centers in this league someday.”

    “We knew it,” (Gerald) Green said. “You could see the potential. It’s like this, you would never know if someone is good if they don’t play. You could sit Michael Jordan on the bench for his career, and you would never know he’s that great. I’m not comparing the two. But Miles has been absolutely fantastic for us. He does the little things for us as far as protecting the basket. He’s always here working out. He’s dedicated to his body and to his team. He’s so focused right now. He wants to be the premiere big in the league, and he’s on his way. Right now, he’s learning every day. Every practice he’s dominating. Every game he’s dominating. Even when he’s not scoring, he’s still dominating. He’s a true center in this league, and I’m just glad to be playing alongside of him.”

  13. #53
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Lancaster, PA
    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Dat View Post
    The quotes from Miles' teammates are awesome


    “It’s much easier to play [with a guy like Miles],” (Goran) Dragic said. “I just go to the middle of the paint and try to keep my head up to see who is going to cut. Miles does a great job of finding that open spot and open space. If the pass is open, we can throw him a bounce pass. If it’s not, we can throw him a lob because he is so athletic. He’s got very nice touch. No one gives him a compliment about that. He’s so athletic that he can really get any shot he wants. Miles is still young. If he continues to improve and work hard, he’s going to be one of the top centers in this league someday.”

    “We knew it,” (Gerald) Green said. “You could see the potential. It’s like this, you would never know if someone is good if they don’t play. You could sit Michael Jordan on the bench for his career, and you would never know he’s that great. I’m not comparing the two. But Miles has been absolutely fantastic for us. He does the little things for us as far as protecting the basket. He’s always here working out. He’s dedicated to his body and to his team. He’s so focused right now. He wants to be the premiere big in the league, and he’s on his way. Right now, he’s learning every day. Every practice he’s dominating. Every game he’s dominating. Even when he’s not scoring, he’s still dominating. He’s a true center in this league, and I’m just glad to be playing alongside of him.”
    Great article. Thank you for sharing. I'd spork you, but I am required to spread the love.

    I am delighted for Miles success. He did not hang his head while sitting the bench in Indiana. Instead he used it to grow his game so that he was ready when he got an opportunity. Nice to see him succeed and be a integral part of a team that is winning.

  14. #54
    Not that I'm petty, or anything like that, but I LOVE pointing out to my UNC friends that, in a shorter period of time, Miles has significantly surpassed Beaker (... err... I mean Hansbrough) as an NBA player. That absolutely drives them bananas because it flies in the face of Duke can't develop big-men.

    The common retort is that Miles only became good in the NBA, so clearly there was no development at Duke. My response is that (a) I guess there was no development at Indiana either, and he just magically became a good player overnight and (b) Beaker's (...I mean Hansbrough's) offensive percentages went down in just about every category (except PPG and FT%) from his freshman year to his senior year, so he must have regressed as a player at UNC.
    My Quick Smells Like French Toast.

  15. #55
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.
    I thought that Miles would learn to soften his body, and thus his hands, and play with changing pace, by playing one-on-one before games and during practices in the pros. The rip that he had "bad" hands, which seemed to be reflected in his inability to finish inside, particularly off of offensive rebounding, was a general tension throughout his body, a "strong and effortful are better and stronger and more effortful are better still" concept that Miles held firm to. I thought that playing against pros with his same physical attributes but much more sophisticated styles on a daily basis might well lead to a radical change for the better. Also, practicing with and watching amazing talents with great physical attributes play with much less force but produce much more explosiveness, better timing, coordination, variation and control, would inspire exploration of those realms on his own. Not everyone can grow in the ways that he has, whatever the reasons behind it. Impressive!

  16. #56
    Miles with 21 and 12 tonight with 8 minutes left against Philly.

  17. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Van Nuys, CA

    Cool

    Smoking hot Plumdog Millionaire! 22 pts 13 boards 3 blocks
    http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489318

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