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  1. #261
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Palatine, IL

    Duke - UNC Game Blog: The Fight for #1

    Game Blog is up! Check it out here:

    http://5on5.blogspot.com/2008/03/5-d...fight-for.html

    I love Nolan Smith's post-game interview:

    “Who knows what would’ve happened if we’d played our game for the full 40 minutes?” Then, he finally cracks a big smile when a reporter asks about a possible rematch with UNC in the ACC tournament finale: “Yeah, of course! You know, somebody beats you, of course you want a rematch.”

    Bring it on, Carolina! This ain’t over!

    Plus, some post-game thoughts (kinda long, but this game deserves it):

    So, I guess I have to admit: Carolina is kind of a good team. For the entire first half and key stretches of the second half, they made Duke’s offense become completely unrecognizable to me. Guys got frustrated, we kept getting our shots blocked, limited to one and done, and couldn’t drive and kick out as much as we wanted to. They always seemed to have 2 or 3 guys near the goal that could swat away or severely challenge shots. We dug ourselves into such a hole (15-29) – and this was in Cameron! We were playing catch-up, in Cameron! Unreal!

    I mean, what happened to the crisp execution of the first UNC game in Chapel Hill ? In that game, you could clearly recognize Coach K’s strategy: limit Hansbrough’s free throws, double-team him, let him get his 30 and 20 or whatever, and shut down everyone else. It didn’t work here. In the first opening minutes, we committed 4 or 5 fouls right off the bat, Green and Ellington got whatever they wanted, and that was that. They knew to expect our drives and stayed home to contest our shots, they also switched on ball screens so that someone was always on our shooters (taking a page out of our book!), and they refused to play along with our defense and commit turnovers. Ken Pomeroy is right. Just like Tennessee , when your offense feeds off of turnovers to be successful, then you’re gonna run into trouble when you face very good teams that refuse to be turned over. Last night, we got turned over, not the other way around, to the tune of 10 in the first half, while botching pretty much all of our fastbreak opportunities. No wonder our offense stalled. My hat’s off to Carolina . They made us look, at times: slow, unathletic, and unprepared. This was a very disciplined Duke team that knew what was at stake, and they made us disintegrate into chaos.

    Those last 2 minutes were the longest in my life. You simply cannot go down by 14 to a team like Carolina , and expect an easy way to climb back up. Your work’s not done when you tie. Your work’s not done when you go up by 2. We spent all our energy getting back to 68-66, and then they just spurted away again. We had a great chance, and we blew it. Don’t give me “emotions drained us”. You’ve been a competitor for 4 years, Nelson. You know better than anyone how to turn emotions into deadly weapons. No, the minutes played drained you. 35 minutes? Singler with 37, Scheyer and Paulus with 32, and G with 29? Meanwhile, Lawson motoring at the end only played 23, and Green blocking 7 shots only played 25. Both were fresher at the end, and it showed. If Lawson hadn’t gotten that steal . . if Green hadn’t gotten that tip-in . . if, if, if. Sigh.

    Remember the NC State game, where we were able to storm back because Nelson played a phenomenal last 8 minutes? That’s because he came in with fresh legs, having only played 19 minutes up to that point, for 27 total. We lost the LSU game in 2006 because our starters were exhausted by the end, while their starters were fresh due to foul trouble having kept them on the bench. I am not asking for McClure to play 30 minutes – but might he have kept Green in check? He only played 4 minutes, but I thought he did a great job, blocking a shot, then grabbing a hotly contested rebound and starting the offense that got a wide open 3 from Greg Paulus. I am also worried about Kyle. He has clearly hit the freshman wall, and though he won’t acknowledge it, he is clearly exhausted from having to guard big, burly opposing centers all the time. Sure, we play team defense . . but that means 80% on Kyle and 20% on the team. His 3 point shooting for the last 7 games now have been 33% or less, he is driving less and less, and getting blocked more and more. 37 minutes in big games are not helping . . especially when Lance was only good for 12. I hate playing the “if” game, but if our starters were fresher in that LSU game . . . who knows what would’ve happened?

    Still, we are an amazing 26-4 . . #7 in the country . . a consensus 2 seed. Astonishingly cool, especially when you consider how we finished last year. Now for the good stuff!

    1. Defense by Kyle and G. Although both had bad shooting nights, they didn’t let that affect their defense on Hansbrough, as this super duo teamed up for a tremendous containment job: not letting him get to the foul line even once! And limiting him to 8 of 21 from the field!

    2. Greg Paulus stepped up HUGE when Nelson couldn’t. I think if there’s anyone who can turn emotion into positive dagger-like energy offensively, its Greg. His four 3-pointers in the first half single-handedly saved us from getting embarrassed, and he even burned Lawson for a floater in the lane – and one! I loved that play. 15 points, 2 assists and 0 turnovers in 32 minutes – great stats. He always seems to show up in tough environments, especially late in the season, and I hope he continues this trend into the post-season!

    3. Jon Scheyer is a gamer, and he has a heart as big as a lion. He scored on a variety of drives and 3 pointers, and it was he who tried to get the last shot for us, a 3 on the perimeter against a bigger Hansbrough whom he got to bite on his head fake – but just couldn’t sell it as well to the officials, who, frankly, weren’t buying anything that night. He’s improved so much from last year . . can’t wait to see more!

    4. Another guy who is improving by leaps and bounds: Brian Zoubek! He put a huge smile on my face with those put-backs – oh, to see the look on Hansbrough’s face when he did that! Classic! He looked out of his league in the first few minutes, picking up 3 quick fouls – but then adjusted and made up for it in the second half, when he played solid, smothering D on Tyler, plus grabbing those bonus buckets. Big Z is gonna make some noise next year, but if he can continue to give us a solid 10 or 15 minutes this year, even if it’s just to keep the opponents honest . . we can go far.

    5. I do hope that the rocking, celebrity-packed atmosphere, and the stellar teamwork and energy we had to expand on locking down Hansbrough, screamed to Greg E on how much we need him in 2009. You’ll have a senior Zoubek to help you, but you’ll also get plenty of playing time and TV exposure. Ditto to Josh Hairston from 2010!

  2. #262
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Palatine, IL
    Paulus wasn't always this way, was he? A shoot-first point guard? When he came to Duke in '05, he was known for great vision and passing, and there were some passes when he penetrated deep into the lane for easy dishes to Shelden that were just out of this world. Basically gave it to Shelden on a silver platter!

    Now, that was befitting the personnel, because he had to find the 2 star seniors. Then last year, he broke his foot - and played on a bad wheel all year long. He really struggled . . terrible turnovers . . and Coach K said, "hey, don't forget your shooting. You can still help out the team with your shooting."

    Then, before you knew it, he was shooting lights out from 3, and the team came to depend on him for offense more than for passing. Plus, Josh loved to pass, so he really ran the offense sometimes. Greg did what was needed for the team, and also what worked for him. When you're hurting in one area, then the right thing to do is to focus on the positives and work on showcasing your strengths.

    So now we come to this year. Greg is healthier, definitely, but now the offense is different. Instead of feeding the post, or finding one guy, the offense is more spread, drive, and kick/shoot, plus pick n' rolls with Singler. He doesn't have to be the pass-first PG b/c:

    1) there are other guys like Nelson/Henderson who are able to get into the lane quicker than him, and
    2) he's become one of the best 3 point shooters now, so he needs to stay home and shoot.

    With 4 guards in and 1 out, Coach K really wants all his guys to be the ball-handler, or the creator, or the shooter. He rightfully doesn't want to depend on one guy, and he's doing what suits his personnel. We also don't have a big that needs it handed to him in the post . . unless Zoubek plays more minutes. I think these are all reasons why Paulus isn't the "traditional" pass-first PG that we've come to expect.

    These are just my observations. Granted, I haven't seen more than a handful of games from 2005-6 . . so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I may have also strayed off topic . . your post was great, and really long!

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