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  1. #1

    How to handle the best Bigs?

    Hi,

    I'm very excited about this year's team! They're fast, eager, deep, and talented. They're going to be a lot of fun to watch. I think that many teams are going to have a very hard time matching up with our team. IMO, this is going to be a very high scoring team.

    Obviously, the concern will be defending the best Bigs. How do you think we could best handle this issue?

    -Jeffrey

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Washington, DC
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Hi,

    I'm very excited about this year's team! They're fast, eager, deep, and talented. They're going to be a lot of fun to watch. I think that many teams are going to have a very hard time matching up with our team. IMO, this is going to be a very high scoring team.

    Obviously, the concern will be defending the best Bigs. How do you think we could best handle this issue?

    -Jeffrey
    When going against teams with solid bigs, it's hard to distinguish offensive from defensive strategy. The cliche 'best defense is a good offense' certainly comes into play here. If we're running up and down the court we can tire the bigs out. Also if we do a good job with the press we can make it harder for other teams to set up in their normal half-court offense.

    From a purely matchup perspective, I think we bring in Z a little more for his size and rebounding. If/when he's healthy, McClure certainly plays a key role. Singler and King are certainly adequate defenders down low but if they're defending too much down low they risk foul trouble.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Hi,

    I'm very excited about this year's team! They're fast, eager, deep, and talented. They're going to be a lot of fun to watch. I think that many teams are going to have a very hard time matching up with our team. IMO, this is going to be a very high scoring team.

    Obviously, the concern will be defending the best Bigs. How do you think we could best handle this issue?

    -Jeffrey
    It depends on the team we're playing. Are the guards weak outside shooters? We can double down. Is the second big not an offensive force? We can double big-to-big. I think a constant theme, regardless, will be heavy ball pressure on the perimeter to disrupt entry passes.

    Let me add this. There are very few bigs around the country who truly concern me as scoring threats. By that, i mean there just aren't a ton of guys who you can dump the ball into the post and say "Go score." So, even if some teams have a size advantage, it might actually give us an edge if they force-feed a big who isn't a natural scorer.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Hi,

    I'm very excited about this year's team! They're fast, eager, deep, and talented. They're going to be a lot of fun to watch. I think that many teams are going to have a very hard time matching up with our team. IMO, this is going to be a very high scoring team.

    Obviously, the concern will be defending the best Bigs. How do you think we could best handle this issue?

    -Jeffrey
    The strength of this year's team on defense is the ability to apply pressure on the perimeter: create turnovers and disrupt the other team's offense. So, I think one answer is to make it as difficult as possible for the opponent to make easy entry passes into their bigs. Beyond that, I think you will see Duke double team quite often by rotating someone over from the weak side.

    Rebounding could also be a sore spot against teams with really good inside players, with the opponent getting multiple shots at the basket. As in the past, there's a trade-off between aggressive defense and good rebounding position. If Duke isn't forcing TOs, then the rebounding becomes really important. Hopefully, Dave comes back healthy and Zou gets to 100%. And, fortunately, we have 2 freshmen who don't seem to mind banging inside for rebounds.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by VaDukie View Post
    When going against teams with solid bigs, it's hard to distinguish offensive from defensive strategy. The cliche 'best defense is a good offense' certainly comes into play here. If we're running up and down the court we can tire the bigs out. Also if we do a good job with the press we can make it harder for other teams to set up in their normal half-court offense.

    From a purely matchup perspective, I think we bring in Z a little more for his size and rebounding. If/when he's healthy, McClure certainly plays a key role. Singler and King are certainly adequate defenders down low but if they're defending too much down low they risk foul trouble.
    Agree. Stated a different way, how are teams with solid bigs going to match up with Duke? I don't see Tyler guarding Singler out on the perimeter for example. If K goes Singler, Scheyer, Paulus, Henderson, and Nelson, he forces their bigs to guard outside. Then we either drain a trey or run right past them. If Duke can dictate the pace and flow of the game, they can force big teams to play small in order to keep up. Reminds me of 96-97 when we had Chris Carawell playing center, and Dave Odom had to sit Duncan down and go small because HE had matchup problems. Another example was in 2001 when Duke beat UNC and Brendan Haywood TWICE playing Reggie Love and Casey Sanders at center. I believe we also won the ACC Tourney and made the Final Four without a serious post presence that year. The key is dictating the tempo and forcing the matchups in your favor.

    I think the keys to our defense of the bigs this year will be 1) our ball pressure and 2) our rebounding. If we can pressure the entry pass, we negate the players on the inside b/c they nan't get the ball, and if we can rebound effectively, we reduce the number of posessions the other team has to work with. If we can do those two things effectively, we'll be fine, and I won't worry about our lack of a true center.

    On a side note, I'm more worried about the 17 turnovers (many unforced) from last night's game. That's a bad habit Duke needs to break out of, and soon.
    "There can BE only one."

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Highlander View Post
    Reminds me of 96-97 when we had Chris Carawell playing center, and Dave Odom had to sit Duncan down and go small because HE had matchup problems.
    That game has become a bit of an urban myth. Duke won 73-68 at Wake. But Duncan played all 40 minutes and scored 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting.

  7. #7
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    Washington, DC
    Quote Originally Posted by Jumbo View Post
    It depends on the team we're playing. Are the guards weak outside shooters? We can double down. Is the second big not an offensive force? We can double big-to-big. I think a constant theme, regardless, will be heavy ball pressure on the perimeter to disrupt entry passes.

    Let me add this. There are very few bigs around the country who truly concern me as scoring threats. By that, i mean there just aren't a ton of guys who you can dump the ball into the post and say "Go score." So, even if some teams have a size advantage, it might actually give us an edge if they force-feed a big who isn't a natural scorer.
    I'd agree very much on the lack of dominating bigs nationwide, although obviously one of them resides a few miles down the road. I will be very intrigued how we try and neutralize TH (force him to chase Singler around the outside? double up and see if Lawson really has a jumper?).

    I think the difference between a good season and a great one (San Antonio?) is our ability to dictate the style of play. I like our chances against anybody if they're forced to play our game.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jumbo View Post
    That game has become a bit of an urban myth. Duke won 73-68 at Wake. But Duncan played all 40 minutes and scored 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting.
    God Bless GoDuke's all time results page (guessing that's where you got it).

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Highlander View Post
    Another example was in 2001 when Duke beat UNC and Brendan Haywood TWICE playing Reggie Love and Casey Sanders at center. I believe we also won the ACC Tourney and made the Final Four without a serious post presence that year.
    Boozer was back in the S16 and the Region Final.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Vermont
    I agree with Jumbo's point about there not being a huge number of high scoring big guys, but I'm a bit more (preliminarily) concerned about teams getting second, third and fourth scoring chances against us. Our help defense can, at times, leave guys wide open for offensive rebounds. In any case, we'll know soon enough...

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Atlanta, GA (Buckhead)
    Serious question: When did people start calling basketball's big men, "Bigs?"

    I've been around basketball a long time but only recently have heard this term - and I've heard it quite a bit this year.

    I don't mind it; just find it interesting.

    -EarlJam

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by EarlJam View Post
    Serious question: When did people start calling basketball's big men, "Bigs?"

    I've been around basketball a long time but only recently have heard this term - and I've heard it quite a bit this year.

    I don't mind it; just find it interesting.

    -EarlJam
    Kind of like the "elbow".

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Indoor66 View Post
    Kind of like the "elbow".
    Huh?

  14. #14
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    Feb 2007
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    Durham

    The Z-word

    Yeah, I agree that there are very few bigs in CBB that we'll have to worry about, but there's one we'll have to face 2 to maybe even 4 times a year in Hansbrough.

    When you look at UNC, I think you have to say there's a very real possibility you'll see Duke (GASP!) zone the Tar Heels at certain points in the game. The knock on UNC is their ability to consistently hit perimeter shots, and though I still don't think Duke's post presence is a huge issue, it is against UNC. Even if their bigs don't have great games, I do worry about what someone said earlier, and that's 2nd, 3rd, etc. chance points.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by EarlJam View Post
    Serious question: When did people start calling basketball's big men, "Bigs?"
    I think when WBB made its way into the public discourse to the degree that it seemed silly to enough people to be calling Lisa Leslie a "big man." So when we nouned "big," we had a nice gender-netural word. Secondly, "big" is also versatile enough to cover PF and C, which seem to have more to do with each other in today's college game than SF and PF do.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Jumbo View Post
    Let me add this. There are very few bigs around the country who truly concern me as scoring threats. By that, i mean there just aren't a ton of guys who you can dump the ball into the post and say "Go score."
    Hi Jumbo,

    I agree but let's talk about the best Bigs which, certainly, put's UNC in the discussion. What would you do against T.H.?

    Seems nobody wants to say a four letter word around here. Will there be a place and time to use a zone this season?

    -Jeffrey

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Classof06 View Post
    Yeah, I agree that there are very few bigs in CBB that we'll have to worry about, but there's one we'll have to face 2 to maybe even 4 times a year in Hansbrough.

    When you look at UNC, I think you have to say there's a very real possibility you'll see Duke (GASP!) zone the Tar Heels at certain points in the game. The knock on UNC is their ability to consistently hit perimeter shots, and though I still don't think Duke's post presence is a huge issue, it is against UNC. Even if their bigs don't have great games, I do worry about what someone said earlier, and that's 2nd, 3rd, etc. chance points.
    Hi,

    Thanks... somebody else was willing to say it.

    -Jeffrey

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Seems nobody wants to say a four letter word around here. Will there be a place and time to use a zone this season?
    Who is this Nobody? I'd love to meet him. The use of zone is one of the most common discussions on the board.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by throatybeard View Post
    Who is this Nobody? I'd love to meet him. The use of zone is one of the most common discussions on the board.
    Hi,

    I'll tell ya who Nobody is:

    Nobody is the best candidate for President.
    Nobody is a totally honest candidate.
    Nobody will honor all of their campaign promises.
    Nobody will never be influenced by any of their large campaign contributers.

    Want to know more about Nobody?

    If not, then please let my thread continue even if you feel these topics have been frequently discussed!

    -Jeffrey

  20. #20
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Want to know more about Nobody?
    No, on second thought, I think I saw an artist's rendering of him in a Family Circus cartoon

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

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