Dukies in the NBA 2014-15 Edition

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

It was a real pleasure watching Mason tonight. At one point the announcer called him the "plumber". In the after game discussion the remark " his activity was huge" was made!
He even knocked down two clutch FT's. Well Done!

From ESPN's game notes:

Plumlee is averaging 18 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 68.2 percent in his last six games. He is the first Nets player to have 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game while shooting 90 percent or better since Mike Gminski on Nov. 13, 1987, at Chicago.

[MCFinARL]

Andre Dawkins was recalled by the Heat yesterday after a 42-point performance for their D-League team Sioux City, though he did not appear in their game against the Celtics last night. Let's cross our fingers he can get off the bench.

Edit: I see this was already posted in another thread about Andre specifically, but it might as well be noted here also.

[Henderson]

Andre Dawkins was recalled by the Heat yesterday after a 42-point performance for their D-League team Sioux City, though he did not appear in their game against the Celtics last night. Let's cross our fingers he can get off the bench.

Edit: I see this was already posted in another thread about Andre specifically, but it might as well be noted here also.

Great news for Andre! He's semi-fortunate to be in The Heat system, due to their injuries. I say, "semi" only because he's playing himself into the NBA, not just benefiting from Heat injuries. Plus I like Semi and will miss commenting on his game.

[NSDukeFan]

From ESPN's game notes:

That's impressive. Where did that Gminski guy go to school anyway? He sounds like he was pretty good.

[COYS]

That's impressive. Where did that Gminski guy go to school anyway? He sounds like he was pretty good.

At least Gminski didn't have to deal with the Hobbit-sized Wojo as his big-man coach.

In all seriousness, it's about time Mason was unleashed. I hate that it took injuries for him to prove himself (or should we say, proof himself all over again), but I'm glad he's finally getting a chance to shine. The numbers don't lie, and when Mason has been given playing time, he has consistently produced good results on the court. It shouldn't be a surprise that he's improved from last season (which was a great rookie year for him). Perhaps stardom isn't in his future, but he has demonstrated that he can be a very very good forward in the NBA. It's still a little too early to judge the 2013 draft, but, even considering the fact that Mason was one of the older players in the draft, I'll be surprised if people don't look back in five years and wonder how he was selected all the way down at number 22.

[sagegrouse]

Sore knee, injured first against the Thunder and reinjured during an awkward move in the 4th quarter against the Heat.

[DukieInBrasil]

I went to my first NBA game tonight and it was the Pelicans vs. the Spurs, which featured one of the all-time greats (Duncan), one of the best up-and-comers (The Brow) and a Duke alum (Rivers). It was an exciting game that never got more than 11 points difference, although the Pelicans were in control most of the game.
Duncan was great right out of the gate, Davis was a bit better down the stretch and with a monster stuff of TD himself! late in the game, too.

However, i was impressed by Austin Rivers. He scored 12 on 13 shots and a pair of FTs (1-2) and made a 3 (1-3) so it wasn't an amazing offensive show, but he dished out 5 assists vs. 0 turns, picked a couple of steals and some rebs. He played a lot more than the guy he subbed for, and was on the floor during the whole end stretch of the game when it was being decided. He ran the team well, too. He originally came in as the 2nd unit PG but also played quite a bit of PG or combo guard withe other starters late in the game. He never looked flustered or like he was trying to do too much, he looked calm and in control. He played like a guy you want running your team, like a decent PG. Not flashy, not dominant, just in control and willing to take advantage when the moment presented itself. I was impressed.

[Des Esseintes]

Zach Lowe, critiquing the Tobacco Road presence at Celtics-Nets:

Just finished Cs-Nets. What a 2-3 weeks for Plumlee. Nets entire crunch-time offense was spread PNR with him. Zeller still playing great.

Wonderful to see Mason righting the ship after starting the season slowly. He went for 14 and 12 in the win, his third straight double-double with a shooting percentage north of 60.

[JasonEvans]

Zach Lowe, critiquing the Tobacco Road presence at Celtics-Nets:

Wonderful to see Mason righting the ship after starting the season slowly. He went for 14 and 12 in the win, his third straight double-double with a shooting percentage north of 60.

I wonder, do you think, maybe, it might be possible, perhaps...

...He made Team USA on his merit versus being put there unfairly by his old college coach?

Naaaah! That's just crazy talk.

-Jason "Lionel Hollins should have realized what he had all season long" Evans

[CDu]

Sore knee, injured first against the Thunder and reinjured during an awkward move in the 4th quarter against the Heat.

Yeah, that was a freak play at the end of the game. With less than a minute to go, Irving drove to the basket and ran into Chris Andersen. In the collision, he turned his knee funny. Looked bad, in a similar way to the way his original injury a few weeks ago looked. Thankfully it is apparently not too serious (no MRI necessary). Irving had put together a decent game prior to that point (25 points on 10-19 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers). Hopefully he doesn't miss much (if any) more time.

Lost in the news of that injury was a terrific performance by Deng. As usual, he was tasked with guarding the opponent's best perimeter player (in this case, it just so happened to be the best player in the game playing in his first game back at his old haunts). He didn't shut down James, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. Deng made James work for his good numbers for sure. And on the other end, Deng was magnificent, going for 25 points (on 11-16 shooting), 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in leading the upset of the Cavs in a matchup of two teams missing their starting center. Deng is one of my all-time favorite players. He had a tough end of last season with the train wreck of Cleveland's season last year, and he hasn't had a great start to this year. But it was nice to see him turn back the clock with a great performance.

[Des Esseintes]

I wonder, do you think, maybe, it might be possible, perhaps...

...He made Team USA on his merit versus being put there unfairly by his old college coach?

Naaaah! That's just crazy talk.

-Jason "Lionel Hollins should have realized what he had all season long" Evans

Well, I love Mason, but that is in fact crazy talk. Taj Gibson, Derrick Favors, DeAndre Jordan, Amir Johnson are all better players with way more pelts on the wall than Mason. They weren't even invited to camp. Gibson and Jordan especially are defensive marvels that would have been more useful off the Team USA bench. That MVP candidate DeMarcus Cousins was at one point thought to be on the chopping block to make room for Mason is...not K's most explicable hour.

But yes, Hollins is a fool.

[jipops]

Well, I love Mason, but that is in fact crazy talk. Taj Gibson, Derrick Favors, DeAndre Jordan, Amir Johnson are all better players with way more pelts on the wall than Mason. They weren't even invited to camp. Gibson and Jordan especially are defensive marvels that would have been more useful off the Team USA bench. That MVP candidate DeMarcus Cousins was at one point thought to be on the chopping block to make room for Mason is...not K's most explicable hour.

But yes, Hollins is a fool.

One attempt at an explanation...

K wanted another big for insurance that would have no problem with little to no playing time due to his tendency toward short rotations. The ones you mentioned may not have gone along with this.

But yea, other than that it's pretty much inexplicable.

[ice-9]

That MVP candidate DeMarcus Cousins was at one point thought to be on the chopping block to make room for Mason is...not K's most explicable hour.

Turns out the Cousins-not-making-the-team was just media talk, and you fell for it. He was never in danger of getting cut.

[Des Esseintes]

Turns out the Cousins-not-making-the-team was just media talk, and you fell for it. He was never in danger of getting cut.

Thanks, Coach!

[ice-9]

Thanks, Coach!

You're most welcome!

[Kdogg]

That MVP candidate DeMarcus Cousins was at one point thought to be on the chopping block to make room for Mason is...not K's [I]most explicable hour.

USA basketball has shifted from having the best players to having the best team. The system of trotting out a team of All Stars doesn't work anymore. Not only do you need role players but you need stars to accept their roles. The knock on Cousins wasn't his talent it was his attitude. To his credit, he's shown growth and maturity. It took most of training camp to prove that to the coached.

[Des Esseintes]

USA basketball has shifted from having the best players to having the best team. The system of trotting out a team of All Stars doesn't work anymore. Not only do you need role players but you need stars to accept their roles. The knock on Cousins wasn't his talent it was his attitude. To his credit, he's shown growth and maturity. It took most of training camp to prove that to the coached.

USA basketball may not be "trotting out a team of All Stars," but it is "composing its team almost entirely of All Stars." This summer's squad, universally acknowledged as the youngest and least decorated of K's tenure, featured this core:

Stephen Curry (All-NBA 2nd team 2013, 2013 All-Star)
Anthony Davis (All-NBA 1st team 2013, in line to the throne for NBA's best player)
DeMar Derozan (2014 All-Star)
James Harden (All-NBA 1st team 2014, All-NBA 3rd team 2013, 2x All-Star
Kyrie Irving (2x All-Star)
Derrick Rose (2011 MVP, 2011 All-NBA 1st team, 3x All-Star)

Rounding out the bench were such scrappers as Rudy Gay (max contract), DeMarcus Cousins (max contract, 2015 MVP candidate), Klay Thompson (max contract, likely 2015 All-Star) Andre Drummond (stud of the future), Kenneth Faried (extremely famous actual scrapper), and Mason (Duke graduate, all-around excellent person, wonderful NBA backup center/below-average NBA starting center). Had Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Paul George, and Blake Griffin, all of whom were initially slated to be part of this team, not pulled out or gotten injured, the team might well have been composed entirely of dudes actual All-Stars and one guy guaranteed to make his first this year.

K has done fantastic work with Team USA. Part of that has been bringing in more talent, not less. Getting long-term commitments from the best players in the game has been key to his and Colangelo's vision for consistent elite performance. Mason is neither currently a great player, nor is he a guy, like Drummond this year or Davis in 2012, to incorporate now as a foundation stone for later teams. His inclusion was anomalous, and if he'd played college basketball at Villanova or Michigan State he would have been nowhere near the Team USA practice courts this past summer. Unless his best friend was on the squad or something. Again, I love K, and I love Plumlee. It was ridiculous for Mason to be on that team.

[tbyers11]

Had Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Paul George, and Blake Griffin, all of whom were initially slated to be part of this team, not pulled out or gotten injured, the team might well have been composed entirely of dudes actual All-Stars and one guy guaranteed to make his first this year.

K has done fantastic work with Team USA. Part of that has been bringing in more talent, not less. Getting long-term commitments from the best players in the game has been key to his and Colangelo's vision for consistent elite performance. Mason is neither currently a great player, nor is he a guy, like Drummond this year or Davis in 2012, to incorporate now as a foundation stone for later teams. His inclusion was anomalous, and if he'd played college basketball at Villanova or Michigan State he would have been nowhere near the Team USA practice courts this past summer.

I agree that Mason's inclusion was anomalous but I wholeheartedly disagree that he would have been nowhere near the courts even he wasn't a Duke player. Mason was near those courts as a member of the USA Select roster that scrimmaged the senior team. I think his inclusion on that team was totally legit.

With all of the players (listed above) pulling out, particularly the last-minute decisions by Love, Durant and the injury to George, the US National Team simply needed big bodies to scrimmage. They brought up Mason from the select team and called in Paul Millsap and Rudy Gay. From this point, reports said that Mason practiced so well that Millsap was sent home and Mason was kept on the team throughout the scrimmage and made the team when an excess of big men were included on the final roster.

I agree that there are more distinguished NBA players (Favors and DeAndre Jordan were good examples) than Mason but I don't think his inclusion was overwhelmingly K/Duke-dependent. K probably felt a comfort level with Mason but I think he was simply in the right place at the right time and would argue that any other member of the Select team could have found themselves in the same situation.

[Des Esseintes]

I agree that Mason's inclusion was anomalous but I wholeheartedly disagree that he would have been nowhere near the courts even he wasn't a Duke player. Mason was near those courts as a member of the USA Select roster that scrimmaged the senior team. I think his inclusion on that team was totally legit.

This is completely right, and thank you for the amendment. I forgot about the Select team entirely.

[sagegrouse]

K has done fantastic work with Team USA. Part of that has been bringing in more talent, not less. Getting long-term commitments from the best players in the game has been key to his and Colangelo's vision for consistent elite performance. Mason is neither currently a great player, nor is he a guy, like Drummond this year or Davis in 2012, to incorporate now as a foundation stone for later teams. His inclusion was anomalous, and if he'd played college basketball at Villanova or Michigan State he would have been nowhere near the Team USA practice courts this past summer. Unless his best friend was on the squad or something. Again, I love K, and I love Plumlee. It was ridiculous for Mason to be on that team.

Your research is good but your history is of the 40,000-foot variety and does not take into account the facts on the ground. The original 19-man USA squad included Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, all of whom withdrew (expiring contracts, I believe), leaving the team USA roster with too few big guys. It was natural to look at the 12 men on the Select Team, who were used in practices, to fill in. The big men there were Mason, Miles and Cody Zeller. Of these three, Mason was added to the squad from which the 12-man FIBA roster was selected. Sure, Mason was on the Select Team for a variety of reasons, including that he was willing to do it. Given the choice of moving up Mason, Miles or Cody, it seems like the coaches took a reasonable step. If KD, Blake and Love had withdrawn months ahead of time, then Mason probably would not have ended up on the team -- but at the last minute, he got a chance and took advantage of it.

No other big players were cut in favor of Mason. Those cut from the 19 included Korver, Chandler, Gordon Hayward, Bradley Beal, and Lillard. (Paul George, of course, was grievously injured.) (Altho' Parsons is 6-9, he is not a banger.) The USA potentially faced a large and strong Spanish team, as well as other large, muscular teams. It appeared prudent to the coaching staff to have another big guy, in case of foul trouble and for other reasons. Also, Mason runs like a greyhound, which fits in with the running style Team USA brings to the Worlds.

Anyway, here's my story and I am sticking to it: Mason lucked into being on Team USA because of the withdrawal of three certain team members just as training camp was starting. Your Duke-bias argument is a bit strained.

Kindly, Sage