MBB: Duke 74, Temple 54 Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[duke4ever19]

Good type of "grind it out" game for the team to go through, meeting a tough physical team (even though they won by a good margin).
There will be more like that in the future.

Also, I'm glad to see Okafor settle in a bit more in the second half.

Looking forward to seeing Dawkins vs. K tomorrow!

[Henderson]

Winning by 20 when the shots aren't falling means other aspects of the game are functioning well. That's a good sign.

[jipops]

Good type of "grind it out" game for the team to go through. There will be more like that in the future.
Also, I'm glad to see Okafor settle in a bit more in the second half.

Looking forward to seeing Dawkins vs. K tomorrow!

Very satisfying. It takes a good team to win this type of game comfortably. Okafor showed maturity in the 2nd half. Quinn was a catalyst on the perimeter.

[53n206]

What do you think about our D? I like them.

[NYBri]

More Grayson, less Matt, pls.

Solid win when shots didn't fall.

[mo.st.dukie]

What do you think about our D? I like them.

It was great for much of the game. Once we got a big lead our guys got a little too relaxed and it resulted in Cummings slicing through the defense and getting too many points in the paint.

[toughbuff1]

I loved our defense. And Winslow plays with such confidence.

[Henderson]

K just called the defense, "outstanding," especially in the second half, noting that it carried the team when they couldn't make a shot. He sounds very upbeat about the game tonight.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Winning by 20 when the shots aren't falling means other aspects of the game are functioning well. That's a good sign.

Agreed. Very similar to the '09/'10 season when we beat UConn in MSG handily despite a poor shooting performance.

This was a game we may not have won last year.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

My first good look at Duke this season...

Quick thoughts...
Solid at every position. No weakness.
Impatient on offense, but never behind so kept trying to put it away...and they did.
Cook seems to now be the Seth Curry of this team. He takes charge when it's needed.
Despite a tough game, Okafor looks to be as good as advertised to me. I think he needs to have Jefferson set him more screens to free him up down low so teams can't load up on him.
Tyus Jones looked pretty composed for a freshman, needs to take the lead more when the play gets ragged and settle them down.
Winslow looked good overall, like his aggressiveness.

[Furniture]

Good game. Not a great game but never in danger of losing. I thought the D was better in the first half...

[duketaylor]

Does anybody else think Winslow plays much like Shane? Very headsy bball on both ends.

[Clay Feet POF]

My first good look at Duke this season...


Tyus Jones looked pretty composed for a freshman, needs to take the lead more when the play gets ragged and settle them down.
.

I think he is deferring to Cook and Quinn is flourishing in that role. To me he seems to ready to take over if needed but is smart enough to know that this is Cook’s leadership role.

[Billy Dat]

Winning by 20 when the shots aren't falling means other aspects of the game are functioning well. That's a good sign.

Very satisfying. It takes a good team to win this type of game comfortably.

This was a game we may not have won last year.

I agree with these sentiments. This team seems as good offensively as some of the recent teams but also much better on defense, which is likely the primary difference.

It was great for much of the game. Once we got a big lead our guys got a little too relaxed and it resulted in Cummings slicing through the defense and getting too many points in the paint.

Yes, the only real bad stretch was from 7-4 minutes left in the game when we basically stopped playing on both ends. This team competes really hard on that end, and I credit Winslow for being the catalyst. The starting guards still get beat more than I would like, but with the big man lurking, Amile being solid and Winslow causing havok all over, we seem so improved and relishing stops.

Does anybody else think Winslow plays much like Shane? Very headsy bball on both ends.

I loved our defense. And Winslow plays with such confidence.

I agree he's heady, but his style doesn't remind me of Shane who always played very intellectual for lack of a better term. Winslow is smart, but the style is much more physically imposing. On the other end, I was so sad to only get one year of Jabari's rebound-and-lead-the-break routine but Justise is the heir apparent and his end-to-end runs have been the plays-of-the-game in the past 2 games. Plus, the kid just gets to the line! To me, he's been the most impressive player of the short season.

My first good look at Duke this season...
Quick thoughts...
Solid at every position. No weakness.
Impatient on offense, but never behind so kept trying to put it away...and they did.
Cook seems to now be the Seth Curry of this team. He takes charge when it's needed.
Despite a tough game, Okafor looks to be as good as advertised to me. I think he needs to have Jefferson set him more screens to free him up down low so teams can't load up on him.
Tyus Jones looked pretty composed for a freshman, needs to take the lead more when the play gets ragged and settle them down.
Winslow looked good overall, like his aggressiveness.

This is as close to a gush as I have seen from Wheat, a sure sign that this team is potentially a cut above recent vintages - or is it just that Wheat loves big man play so much? Either way, I think he makes a lot of good observations. Okafor had an off game for him, the Cook/Curry comp isn't bad - I hadn't thought of it but its interesting, and Jones assist numbers are nuts, and he unleashed several long passes on the break that were, dare I say, to give one back to Wheat - Kendall Marshall-esque? Marshall was great at that long, diagonal fast break pass that hit a man in stride around the foul line and Tyus threw a few of those today.

[Edouble]

Yes, the only real bad stretch was from 7-4 minutes left in the game when we basically stopped playing on both ends. This team competes really hard on that end, and I credit Winslow for being the catalyst. The starting guards still get beat more than I would like, but with the big man lurking, Amile being solid and Winslow causing havok all over, we seem so improved and relishing stops.

Meh, we did get off to a bad start. Although we were up by a comfortable margin (8 points or so), Coach K pulled all the starters. We could have been up by 16-17 if we had been playing with all out intensity to start the game, which is what we are going to have to do to win championships. Unless you have another explanation for Coach K pulling a Cal-swap.

I also wasn't crazy about the three-point-shooting-happy second unit's first appearance. Some of the shots were not great. Matt shot one wide open from the top of the key, but about six feet beyond the arc. Rasheed had a terrible dribble step back three point shot that he had no business taking.

I agree he's heady, but his style doesn't remind me of Shane who always played very intellectual for lack of a better term. Winslow is smart, but the style is much more physically imposing. On the other end, I was so sad to only get one year of Jabari's rebound-and-lead-the-break routine but Justise is the heir apparent and his end-to-end runs have been the plays-of-the-game in the past 2 games. Plus, the kid just gets to the line! To me, he's been the most impressive player of the short season.

This is as close to a gush as I have seen from Wheat, a sure sign that this team is potentially a cut above recent vintages - or is it just that Wheat loves big man play so much? Either way, I think he makes a lot of good observations. Okafor had an off game for him, the Cook/Curry comp isn't bad - I hadn't thought of it but its interesting, and Jones assist numbers are nuts, and he unleashed several long passes on the break that were, dare I say, to give one back to Wheat - Kendall Marshall-esque? Marshall was great at that long, diagonal fast break pass that hit a man in stride around the foul line and Tyus threw a few of those today.

Battier, Winslow is not. He's a two way guy, but from a completely different school, despite the fact that they are both Duke guys. To pull from the other thread, maybe a little more Ron Artest sans the issues upstairs.

I had the same thoughts of Jabari tonight with Winslow running the break. Jabari was a bit smoother. He tended to finish with a dunk or a strong layup, while I've noticed that Justise will sometimes finish with a harder delivery that smacks off the glass and makes my stomach drop for a second, often while he is fading to the baseline.

Wheat loves big men and Okafor has earned the hype. He did have an off night: 7-20, 8 boards, 2 blocks, and a steal. What an off night! He'll probably end up more in the area of 12 to 14 for 20 with more than two foul shots for a game.

[trinity92]

Haven't seen the box score yet, but Marshall had one of his better games, with several blocks and a bunch of meaningful minutes spelling Jah. I would be absolutely overjoyed to see him contribute like this on a more regular basis.

[Billy Dat]

Meh, we did get off to a bad start. Although we were up by a comfortable margin (8 points or so), Coach K pulled all the starters. We could have been up by 16-17 if we had been playing with all out intensity to start the game, which is what we are going to have to do to win championships. Unless you have another explanation for Coach K pulling a Cal-swap.

I thought the D was pretty good all game save for that stretch I identified, and I agree that we didn't come out as well on offense. But, I thought the Cal platoon swap was planned as a way to make sure he didn't overuse guys knowing we had to play back-to-back games on top of an already heavy cumulative load this week.

I love that Artest/Winslow comp!

[sagegrouse]

I thought the D was pretty good all game save for that stretch I identified, and I agree that we didn't come out as well on offense. But, I thought the Cal platoon swap was planned as a way to make sure he didn't overuse guys knowing we had to play back-to-back games on top of an already heavy cumulative load this week.

I love that Artest/Winslow comp!

Well, that's one explanation. The other is that K the Leopard has changed his spots and will play all ten players this year. So far, the low men are Semi and Marshall, averaging 9.3 and 12.5 MPG respectively. As far as I can tell, nine players have played really well and earned time on the floor. Grayson was a concern for some of you, but it looks like he is a really good player that will only improve. Marshall is a serious college center that will help us all season. Semi is the weak spot; he is forcing things on offense, and making some silly fouls on defense. He needs time on the floor to settle down -- we'll see if K agrees with that sentiment.

[mpj96]

Meh, we did get off to a bad start. Although we were up by a comfortable margin (8 points or so), Coach K pulled all the starters. We could have been up by 16-17 if we had been playing with all out intensity to start the game, which is what we are going to have to do to win championships. Unless you have another explanation for Coach K pulling a Cal swap

We've swapped out the starting 5 at 5 minutes in every game this year except Mich. St. that I recall.