Duke MBB vs. Miami Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game comments here.

[Karl Beem]

Tattoo removal might become a lucrative trade in Miami.

[dukestheheat]

Tattoo removal might become a lucrative trade in Miami.

agreed. man, some of our guys are going to need tetanus shots after this game today. i've not seen a game that physical in a long time, and we handled it quite well imo.

dth.

[DukeBlood]

3 Straight games Duke scoring 50+ in the 2nd half, and 4 out the last 5.

Nelson, Singler and Paulus all scored well.. Although Paulus was 4/11 from the Field(4/10 from 3).

Henderson struggled offensively but played good defense and grabbed a team high 7 boards.

Everyone really contributed. Great game, Very physical.. Maybe just the type of game we needed before UNC? Also, I believe are rebounding is getting better.. ESPN boxscore says we outrebounded them 34-29. Also says we only had 12 assists... Thats my only real bummer is alot of 1 on 1 slashing

Also, Is Smith on a shart leash? He came in at the end let his man drive by him(playing lazy defense).. Paulus came back in after 10 seconds of rest. Then Paulus commits a TO and a foul in a matter of a minute but yet Smith doesnt come in. Just thought that was interesting, Wonder if you all noticed the same.

[shadowfax336]

What do you do when Paulus and Nolan both have overall good games with a few rough patches...
Who do we want to glue to the bench today? (Since this is clearly a black and white issue)

[DukeDevil]

I'm almost sure Paulus broke his nose early in the game. Having broken mine 3 times I recognize the classic bump on the side of his nose. Even if he didn't, that hurt like sin the whole game, that's some tough play on his part.

This team knows how to tough it out, but I'm sick of this "beat the heck out of Duke" strategy by the other teams. In case nobody's noticed, IT'S NOT WORKING.

Kudos to ESPN for calling out that elbow to the chest/"oh I'm just scratching my ear innocently" incident. And Kudos to Singler (I think that's who got elbowed) for just ignoring it. I really love his attitude, everything seems to roll off him and he just smiles.

This team rocks.

[Saratoga2]

3 Straight games Duke scoring 50+ in the 2nd half, and 4 out the last 5.

Nelson, Singler and Paulus all scored well.. Although Paulus was 4/11 from the Field(4/10 from 3).

Henderson struggled offensively but played good defense and grabbed a team high 7 boards.

Everyone really contributed. Great game, Very physical.. Maybe just the type of game we needed before UNC? Also, I believe are rebounding is getting better.. ESPN boxscore says we outrebounded them 34-29. Also says we only had 12 assists... Thats my only real bummer is alot of 1 on 1 slashing

Also, Is Smith on a shart leash? He came in at the end let his man drive by him(playing lazy defense).. Paulus came back in after 10 seconds of rest. Then Paulus commits a TO and a foul in a matter of a minute but yet Smith doesnt come in. Just thought that was interesting, Wonder if you all noticed the same.

I've got to think that Nelson is the MOTM again after an excellent performance both ways. Singler also had a terrific game and Paulus did well despite having a lower shooting percentage. He also had a couple of silly fouls at the end, but it didn't matter then.

Henderson wasn't hitting his jumper well tonight and didn't hit when in close either. I disagree with you on his defense as well, since I thought he was out of position when Miami got several key baskets. You could see coach K was not happy with Henderson on the side line after those defenses lapses.

I am not certain, but I thought Thomas may have had a headache or something since he was takiing pills on the sideline and King got a lot of minutes and wasn't pulled, even when there were defensive lapses. He is a strong guy and could counter balance those Bigs from Miami.

It appears that every ACC game will see our bigs in foul trouble. It would be good to have Zoubek back to alleviate that issue, since sooner or later, both Singler and Thomas will foul out.

I haven't seen the stats yet, but I thought Scheyer had a very nice controlled game. He may have gotten 9 points and really steadies the team with his handle and passing. More and more he has been called on to mix it up with the bigs, so his foul total is much higher compared to earlier in the year. I would like to see him be more aggressive on the scoring end. With his free throw shooting, he could add points if he could drive.

Thomas did some good things tonight and he may be turning the corner with his offense. It would be great to get 6 or 8 points a game from him in 25 minutes of play.

A good game against a very physical team. Lots of fouls were called and lots more could have been called. The refs seemed more likely to give fouls for work inside than for perimiter bumps, although we did get quite a few of those. McClinton is kind of a thug based of the elbow he threw to start the game.

[Bob Green]

I am not certain, but I thought Thomas may have had a headache or something since he was takiing pills on the sideline and King got a lot of minutes and wasn't pulled, even when there were defensive lapses. He is a strong guy and could counter balance those Bigs from Miami.

Thomas appeared to tweak his back on a sequence were he grabbed an offensive rebound, twisted, and scored a basket.

McClinton is kind of a thug based of the elbow he threw to start the game.

McClinton lost my vote for All-ACC props with his chippy play tonight.

[2535Miles]

Aside from the 1st half shenanigans (elbows to the chest, bumps on the way to free throw line) I was pleased to see the hugs at the end of the game. Nice to see some sportsmanship after that past few games.

Duke continues to thrill me in the 2nd half. I'm thoroughly impressed with our ability to respond and adjust.

[dukerev]

This team is like Rocky. You can punch them in the head a dozen times (each round) and they still get up and play their game. Amazing composure by our guys, particularly Singler, Paulus and Demarcus today.

I thought that Miami was very physical, but not in a dirty way like NC State or VA Tech were. I wonder if the fouling on every single trip down the court was a strategy in trying to break up Duke's rythmn. (As an aside, any of ya'll that were at the game - how many fouls did you have? Lavin and Musberger each had 2 at halftime...like everyone else in the building it seemed).

The halftime adjustments the past several games have been phenomenal. Kudos to the coaching staff. Kudos all around, in fact.

9F, 9F, 9F, 9F

[Classof06]

I'm impressed with the way Nelson locked up McClinton and never really let him become a factor. Beyond his 21 points and great 2nd half, his defense on McClinton was what really stood out to me and is the reason why I think he is MOTM.

This is why I believe we should start Demarcus on Wayne Ellington come Wednesday. I think it would make it very hard for Ellington, who only averaged 3.5 points in 2 games against Duke last year. Pretty sure it was Demarcus who guarded him last year also.

[wisteria]

We played a good second half, which is like a trend now.

Beside being happy for another win, I can't help worrying about our foul troubles. Anyway you look at it, both Kyle and Lance are prone to fouls. And we are playing Tylor Hansbrough next week. I fear that Kyle, Lance, and Dave may all get fouled out halfway though second half.

Oh, and, who is this new Lance Thomas? Keep it up, lance!

[dukelifer]

Duke took care of business. That was supposed to happen. Except for Thomas's back tweak and Paulus's sore nose- Duke got a good game to ready themselves for the big game against UNC. Nelson continues to play hard at crunch time and is really improving form the line when it matters. Henderson was off today so we hope he follows this with a great game as he will be under some pressure at UNC from the fans given last year's incident. On to UNC.

[gw67]

In response to questions by shadowfax336, I would play them together for several minutes if they are both playing well. Today, while the outside shooting of Paulus and Smith was comparable the other stats weren't. I thought the time split of 25 minutes (Paulus) and 17 minutes (Smith) was about right considering how each was playing. Henderson did not shoot well but his rebounding was needed.

Shadow - What is meant by your comment that it is a black and white issue? Are you accusing Coach K of being racist just because he seemed to have a short leash for Smith and you happen to like Smith? I sure hope not!

This was a good sports day! Duke and Maryland won hard fought games and two Redskin favorites were chosen for the Hall of Fame.

gw67

[CDu]

Shadow - What is meant by your comment that it is a black and white issue? Are you accusing Coach K of being racist just because he seemed to have a short leash for Smith and you happen to like Smith? I sure hope not!

I don't mean to speak for shadowfax, but I read as a sarcastic jab at the idea that you have to choose one or the other. The discussion on these boards has made it seem as though you have to like one or the other.

If you were meaning sarcasm with your post and this was just in jest, sorry I missed it!

[dukestheheat]

I'm almost sure Paulus broke his nose early in the game. Having broken mine 3 times I recognize the classic bump on the side of his nose. Even if he didn't, that hurt like sin the whole game, that's some tough play on his part.

This team knows how to tough it out, but I'm sick of this "beat the heck out of Duke" strategy by the other teams. In case nobody's noticed, IT'S NOT WORKING.

Kudos to ESPN for calling out that elbow to the chest/"oh I'm just scratching my ear innocently" incident. And Kudos to Singler (I think that's who got elbowed) for just ignoring it. I really love his attitude, everything seems to roll off him and he just smiles.

This team rocks.

I thought it might be broken as well, and he sure has the swelling face to go along with it, but I sure hope it's not broken. Any word on the injury from the coaches' show?

thanks,

dth.

[Bob Green]

Shadow - What is meant by your comment that it is a black and white issue? Are you accusing Coach K of being racist just because he seemed to have a short leash for Smith and you happen to like Smith? I sure hope not!

gw67

I can't speak for Shadow, but I interpreted his post to mean "all or nothing," or "love or hate." Duke fans either love their point guard or hate him. It is one extreme or the other extreme.

[The1Bluedevil]

This is the 3rd game in a row teams have shot 50% or near that mark against Duke. I hope this isn't the case Wednesday.

[wisteria]

I hate to voice negativity after a win, but I can't help worrying a bit after the recent couple games.

Our D seems to be not as effective as before, allowing high-percentage shooting. It may be due to teams taking it down low against us, and today's sloppiness may be due to the quick turn-around of 2 games in 3 days. We are not forcing as many turn-overs in the last two games. And the early game struggles will be a big problem next wednesday. Our bench production dropped a lot in the past few games. We are still going 8 or 9 deep but I can't help noticing the starters accounting for most of the points. Nelson is playing like 38 minutes a game ( I don't have stat though).

I can't say that we are in our best shape right now. Going into Chapel Hill next Wednesy... I am a bit worried. I would be sincerely glad to be proven wrong, though.

[CDu]

I hate to voice negativity after a win, but I can't help worrying a bit after the recent couple games.

Our D seems to be not as effective as before, allowing high-percentage shooting. It may be due to teams taking it down low against us, and today's sloppiness may be due to the quick turn-around of 2 games in 3 days. We are not forcing as many turn-overs in the last two games. And the early game struggles will be a big problem next wednesday. Our bench production dropped a lot in the past few games. We are still going 8 or 9 deep but I can't help noticing the starters accounting for most of the points. Nelson is playing like 38 minutes a game ( I don't have stat though).

I can't say that we are in our best shape right now. Going into Chapel Hill next Wednesy... I am a bit worried. I would be sincerely glad to be proven wrong, though.

Well, there's certainly reason for concern going into Wednesday - UNC could very well beat us.

That said, there are maybe 5-6 teams total that I'd be really concerned about all year. We happen to face one of them at least twice. The nice thing is that this team has so many weapons that we just haven't seemed susceptible to the underdog upset.

We're going to win a LOT of games this year. There will be maybe 5-6 games all year that we won't be a clear favorite to win: UNC home and away, potentially UNC in the ACC tourney, and (if we're so fortunate) the elite 8 and the final four. We have flaws, obviously. But every team this year has flaws. It may be that UNC will exploit our lack of post strength. It may also be that we force turnovers on the wings and/or shoot the lights out from three.

When we face a UNC, UCLA, Kansas, etc, we're going to be at a disadvantage in the post. That's just the nature of the team we have this year. And in some of those cases, they're going to have an advantage at point guard. But I don't think there is any team that has better wing players than us. And I don't think anyone has as many scoring threats as us. So we have our advantages as well. It just depends on which team can exploit their advantages more.