Duke in the NBA - Hoping for Better

[sagegrouse]

Last year, taken as a whole, was a horrible one for the Duke NBA contingent. Duke had nine first line players in the league (either starters or playing lots of minutes). Primarily it was injuries that limited Maggette, Brand, Boozer, Dunleavy, and Deng in 2008-2009. Battier had some injuries in midseason but an overall good year. The “per game” stats were OK for this group; the problem was that there weren’t many games in which they played.


Player – 2009 games vs. Career Ave. Games
Brand – 29 vs. 64
Maggette – 51 vs. 64
Boozer – 37 vs. 62
Dunleavy – 18 vs. 71
Battier – 60 vs. 77

Dunleavy is still out of action after knee surgery but is expected back to practice next month. The others are all active during preseason.

The most positive development was a Lazarus phenomenon: the return to health of the oft-injured Grant Hill, who had an amazing year for a 15-year veteran and was the only Dukie to play in all his team’s games.

Hill – 82 vs. 52

Also on the positive side, Chris Duhon and Dahntay Jones got into much better situations as starters with the Knicks and Nuggets, respectively.

Duhon played 79 games – about his average – but his minutes went from 28 to 37 and he averaged 11.8 in scoring and 7.2 in assists.
Dahntay played 79 games for the Nuggets, much higher than his 54 game average during his up-and-down career. Dahntay will also be a defensive-minded starter for the Pacers this year.
For the other Blue Devils in the league – Shav, JJ, Shel, McBob, and Gerald – the challenge is to become a front-line player. JJ appears to be closest.

We are hoping for good basketball and good health for the Devils in 2010

Sagegrouse
‘Forgive me if I left anyone out’

[Matches]

Has DeMarcus Nelson hooked on with anyone this season?

[Oriole Way]

Has DeMarcus Nelson hooked on with anyone this season?

He's playing overseas.

I want to say Italy, but don't quote me on that.

[NSDukeFan]

Last year, taken as a whole, was a horrible one for the Duke NBA contingent. Duke had nine first line players in the league (either starters or playing lots of minutes). Primarily it was injuries that limited Maggette, Brand, Boozer, Dunleavy, and Deng in 2008-2009. Battier had some injuries in midseason but an overall good year. The “per game” stats were OK for this group; the problem was that there weren’t many games in which they played.


Player – 2009 games vs. Career Ave. Games
Brand – 29 vs. 64
Maggette – 51 vs. 64
Boozer – 37 vs. 62
Dunleavy – 18 vs. 71
Battier – 60 vs. 77

Dunleavy is still out of action after knee surgery but is expected back to practice next month. The others are all active during preseason.

The most positive development was a Lazarus phenomenon: the return to health of the oft-injured Grant Hill, who had an amazing year for a 15-year veteran and was the only Dukie to play in all his team’s games.

Hill – 82 vs. 52

Also on the positive side, Chris Duhon and Dahntay Jones got into much better situations as starters with the Knicks and Nuggets, respectively.

Duhon played 79 games – about his average – but his minutes went from 28 to 37 and he averaged 11.8 in scoring and 7.2 in assists.
Dahntay played 79 games for the Nuggets, much higher than his 54 game average during his up-and-down career. Dahntay will also be a defensive-minded starter for the Pacers this year.
For the other Blue Devils in the league – Shav, JJ, Shel, McBob, and Gerald – the challenge is to become a front-line player. JJ appears to be closest.

We are hoping for good basketball and good health for the Devils in 2010

Sagegrouse
‘Forgive me if I left anyone out’

Luol Deng was also injured for much of last year. You are forgiven as it was a pretty good overview.
Edit: Sorry, realized you included him. Hopefully I will be forgiven.

[sagegrouse]

Luol Deng was also injured for much of last year. You are forgiven as it was a pretty good overview.
Edit: Sorry, realized you included him. Hopefully I will be forgiven.

Yeah, you're right. I had the stats on Luol but forgot to include them. He played only 49 out of 82 games (vs. career average of 67 games).

sagegrouse

[theAlaskanBear]

I'm watching ATL v ORL, and JJ looks really good. Hit a 20 footer, active defensively, and has a couple of slashing-to-basket passes, one of which was to Carter for a SICK dunk. He is on a STACKED team though, and I dont think he will get much more playing time than last year, one Lewis is back.


If Deng stays healthy, he will have a good year. With Gordon gone from the Bulls, Deng will get plenty of chances to score.

Battier will be leaned on more than ever this year with the Rockets.

I think Duhon improves even MORE this year. He has a year under his belt in the D'Antoni system. His shot/scoring should be more consistent.

[FireOgilvie]

Gerald had a good game today with 10 pts on 4/6 shooting in only 13 minutes.

I've watched several preseason games and I'm extremely happy that we won't be seeing these backup refs any longer. They're absolutely horrible.

[RainingThrees]

The one thing that I have noticed is that Luol Deng still doesn't seem to have found his shot just like JJ Redick still can't find his shot. Its understandable with Deng since he just came off major surgery, but for Redick its his specialty.

[NSDukeFan]

I really enjoy following ex-Dukies in the NBA, and am really hoping JJ can find his stroke and be an even more valuable contributor for Orlando this year. I am also hoping to see Shelden get off the bench and get some solid minutes for the Celts. I am less hopeful about that as he seems to have hardly even played in the pre-season. I am also looking forward to another solid year (hopefully injury-free again) from Grant Hill playing with another favorite of mine, Steve Nash (both because of how he plays and the fact that he is a Canadian basketball hero.) I am certainly hoping Elton Brand can have an injury free year and get back to showing his all-star skills and hope for a recovery from Mike Dunleavy. I am also excited to see how G will perform this year and expect to see him as a solid contributor for the Bobcats.

What I am most curious about this year is what will happen in Houston. They have no potential all-stars this year, and I don't know if they will have anyone average 15 ppg. What they do have, however, is Shane Battier leading their defense and unselfish offense. They appear to have the talent of about the 14th or 15th best team in the West. Can good D and an unselfish offense led by Battier lead them to compete for a playoff spot?

[DukieBoy]

As part of their college tour, I went and watched the Pacers-Spurs exhibition game last night at Assembly Hall at IU. I noticed a couple things.

1) Mike Dunleavy owns one of the ugliest blazers I've ever seen. It was this bright yellow, glow in the dark, hideous thing. On a lighter note, after the game, all the Pacer players were signing mini basketballs and throwing them into the crowd. Dunleavy signed his and threw it directly in front of me. However, because I had thunder sticks in my hand, I only had one hand to grab with. I tipped it up, but the kid in front of me ripped it down. Damn thunder sticks

2) Tyler Hansbrough is still words I can't say (and not good words). During the game, us students in the "cheer block" would chant some of the players names on the bench. We chanted for TJ Ford, and he waved. We chanted Dunleavy, he waved, as did Travis Deiner. We chanted for Larry Bird, who was at half court, and he waved. Even Tom Crean waved. But when we came to Hansbrough (who I refused to chant for), he refused to acknowledge the crowd in any way. Such a tar hole.

3) Dahntay Jones still looks good. Sure it was preseason, but he had something like 15 points or something. Despite that, I don't think he starts because Brandon Rush has also improved very much. In the fourth quarter, the team was looking for Rush, despite Granger being on the floor, and Rush was draining shots.

4) What happened to McRoberts? He used to be such a talent. Now, he was lucky to get much playing time in the preseason. And an example of how much he's diminished. Late in the game, McRoberts was in and had an errant pass land in his hands on defense. No one was in front of him, so he took off sprinting, if you can call it that. Within 3 steps, 3 Spurs players had caught up to him and McRoberts had to pull it back. Such a wasted talent.

I ended up rambling on this, but this is just some of my thoughts from the game. It was a great time, as it was my first time in Assembly Hall, and I had great seats (12 rows up from court for $10)

[sagegrouse]

1) Mike Dunleavy owns one of the ugliest blazers I've ever seen. It was this bright yellow, glow in the dark, hideous thing.


There is a story behind the blazer. Battier gave it to him. When Shane was injured he came up with a red blazer and a Rockets logo to wear on the bench. When Mike went down, he came up with one for him in a different and gaudy color.

sagegrouse

[sutton]

I'm watching ATL v ORL, and JJ looks really good. Hit a 20 footer, active defensively, and has a couple of slashing-to-basket passes, one of which was to Carter for a SICK dunk. He is on a STACKED team though, and I dont think he will get much more playing time than last year, one Lewis is back.


If Deng stays healthy, he will have a good year. With Gordon gone from the Bulls, Deng will get plenty of chances to score.

Battier will be leaned on more than ever this year with the Rockets.

I think Duhon improves even MORE this year. He has a year under his belt in the D'Antoni system. His shot/scoring should be more consistent.


Actually it appears that JJ will get more minutes this time around as SVG has repeatedly said that JJ is going to backup VC at SG.

Plus his defense has improved to the point that he is considered one of the better perimeter defensive players on the team as noted by SVG.

And one other plus JJ has become one of the assist leaders on the team. He has made himself an important cog on this Magic team.

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If Deng stays healthy he will get big minutes. How well he plays really depends on his teammates helping him out and that is the mystery on the Bulls this year.

The Bulls showed great promise this pre season we shall see.

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Battier is in a situation that is tough, because right now they don't have a real center until they get Yao back whenever that is.

Right now the experts are saying that the Rockets are going to have a hard time making the playoffs. We shall see.

Better chance that Battier gets traded sometime this season.

__________________________________________________ _____________

As for Duhon he has to be a little upset that the Knicks were trying to pickup a pg to replace him.

Plus the Knicks were shopping him around as well. Duhon actually played well, but the Knicks were looking for something else it seems.

Duhon has to show the Knicks that they made the right choice or this will be the last season for him with the Knicks and who knows who will bid for him.

Right now with the economy still not humming it might mean that he won't get the kind of money that he got last time. We shall just have to wait and see what happens.

He does offer teams a great backup pg if he doesn't stay with the Knicks after this season, but I doubt he makes as much as he did with the Knicks. I do hope that I am proven wrong.

[dukemsu]

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If Deng stays healthy he will get big minutes. How well he plays really depends on his teammates helping him out and that is the mystery on the Bulls this year.

The Bulls showed great promise this pre season we shall see.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


I was at the UC last night and got to see Lu play fairly up close. His shooting touch is still missing in action, though he did run the floor well, rebounded and really bothered Arenas.

I don't think it's going to work out for Deng in Chicago. The media and most of the fan base has given up on him, and has painted him as a malcontent who doesn't like to play with Rose. I have no idea if that's true or not, I kind of doubt it. Lu wouldn't start that fight-I would think he knows that's a battle he can't win.

I hope Lu gets to a better situation. Or I hope that I'm wrong and he has a monster year in Chicago.

dukemsu

[theAlaskanBear]

I was at the UC last night and got to see Lu play fairly up close. His shooting touch is still missing in action, though he did run the floor well, rebounded and really bothered Arenas.

I don't think it's going to work out for Deng in Chicago. The media and most of the fan base has given up on him, and has painted him as a malcontent who doesn't like to play with Rose. I have no idea if that's true or not, I kind of doubt it. Lu wouldn't start that fight-I would think he knows that's a battle he can't win.

I hope Lu gets to a better situation. Or I hope that I'm wrong and he has a monster year in Chicago.

dukemsu

If this is true, I wonder if there is a Michael Jordan curse, where no Blue Devils will ever be successful with Chicago.

I think Deng will be fine...he just needs to knock the rust off. That said, he has a pretty hefty contract, so I can understand if the Bulls look to move him.

[dukemsu]

If this is true, I wonder if there is a Michael Jordan curse, where no Blue Devils will ever be successful with Chicago.

I think Deng will be fine...he just needs to knock the rust off. That said, he has a pretty hefty contract, so I can understand if the Bulls look to move him.

A Jordan curse? Hmmm. Chicago is a fairly Duke-friendly town, since it is the hometown of a certain Polish coach. But thinking about it, well, things didn't work out well for Duhon. I really think that it started to go downhill for Deng here when the Bulls wouldn't trade him as part of the package for Kobe (that was reported, though how accurate it was, who knows?). He's also a fairly quiet guy, and Chicago tends to like more firey, Ditka-esque figures for its sports heroes, with Walter Payton really being the only exception to that rule.

dukemsu

[theAlaskanBear]

A Jordan curse? Hmmm. Chicago is a fairly Duke-friendly town, since it is the hometown of a certain Polish coach. But thinking about it, well, things didn't work out well for Duhon. I really think that it started to go downhill for Deng here when the Bulls wouldn't trade him as part of the package for Kobe (that was reported, though how accurate it was, who knows?). He's also a fairly quiet guy, and Chicago tends to like more firey, Ditka-esque figures for its sports heroes, with Walter Payton really being the only exception to that rule.

dukemsu

I'm not saying Chicago isnt a Duke town...its just Duke players have not fared well.

Brand gets drafted by the Bulls, and as a result he gets traded and spends YEARS in Purgatory (LAC)!

Jay Williams has his accident.

Duhon is drafted into a guard heavy team, never gets a real shot.

Deng: Unknown, but injury issues. I have my fingers crossed for him!

[buzz]

I followed the Knicks situation closely this summer, and I think it was mostly a case of trying to find an additional point guard of equal or greater skill than Duhon. He played well early last year but got burnt out from too many minutes (40+ per game).

One of the Knicks draft picks this year was FSU's Toney Douglas. Before the pre-season, it wasn't clear to the Knicks staff whether or not Douglas was going to provide what the Knicks wanted as a backup PG. He has performed well recently, so the feeling about him is much better now. Not a surprise to ACC fans, of course. Expect Duhon to be a starter and play 25-30 minutes per game this year.

On the positive side, Duhon excels at the pick-and-roll, which the Knicks use a great deal. Unfortunately, he isn't going to secure a long-term, big money offer from the Knicks next year. Not gonna happen because of the cap and the free agency bonanza. The Knicks are desperate to shed Jared Jeffries' 2-year contract to make additional cap room for a second huge free-agency contract (i.e. - Lebron\Bosh). As a result, Duhon is a prime candidate to be packaged as trade bait later this year. Actually, the Knicks have a ton of guys with 1-year contracts, so any number of mid-season trade scenarios could unfold.

If Duhon ends up playing out the year with the Knicks, then he will have to wait for the big-name free agent(s) to be signed before he can expect an offer (assuming none of the free-agents is a PG). If the Knicks sign two big-name free agents, then expect them to extend Duhon a semi low-ball offer. Basically, whatever scraps they can afford. If the Knicks' dream of two free agents in 2010 doesn't fully come to fruition, I could see Duhon getting a more sizeable one year deal on the order of 5-6 million. The reason is that Jeffries (6+ mil) and Eddy Curry (10+ mil) will be off the books in 2011, and the Knicks can continue their 2 max contract dream then.



As for Duhon he has to be a little upset that the Knicks were trying to pickup a pg to replace him.

Plus the Knicks were shopping him around as well. Duhon actually played well, but the Knicks were looking for something else it seems.

Duhon has to show the Knicks that they made the right choice or this will be the last season for him with the Knicks and who knows who will bid for him.

Right now with the economy still not humming it might mean that he won't get the kind of money that he got last time. We shall just have to wait and see what happens.

He does offer teams a great backup pg if he doesn't stay with the Knicks after this season, but I doubt he makes as much as he did with the Knicks. I do hope that I am proven wrong.

[theAlaskanBear]

Great post Buzz. Yeah, the Knicks are definitely at a crossroads, and it will be interesting to see what happens.

If the Knicks pick up a PG to replace Duhon next year, it will have to be via trade. The 2010 PG free agent class is quite weak. Rafer Alston, TJ Ford, and Telfair are about it. And there is no way D"antoni starts a rookie PG, is there?

So I dont really see it happening, unless a big time trade goes down.

[buzz]

Agreed, theAB. Duhon only goes if a star-caliber trade occurs or if Jeffries' contract can be dumped somehow. Otherwise, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot, considering the shallow pool of 2010 FA PGs. Overall, I think the organization likes him and would prefer to keep their options open with him as long as possible. However, as was evidenced by the David Lee and Nate Robinson situations this summer, the Knicks aren't going to overpay either.

[Indoor66]

and the Knicks aren't going to overpay either.

Wow, that will be a first!

[buzz]

Yes, it would, but I'll give Donnie Walsh some props for the way he played it this summer. Now, we'll just have to wait and see if the big payoff he's hoping for comes to fruition.

[soccerstud2210]

this was a tweet from DukeBluePlanet on twitter. thought it was pretty interesting. Ucla and Duke tied for the most players in the NBA

@dukeblueplanet NBA Opening Day Most Alums in League: 1. Duke: 14, 1. UCLA: 14, 3. UConn: 13, 3. UNC: 13, 5. Arizona: 10, 5. Kansas: 10

[SilkyJ]

Duhon is drafted into a guard heavy team, never gets a real shot.


Duhon played in every bulls game as a rookie and STARTED 73 of 82 games, averaging 26mpg. The next year he was named a captain as a 2nd year player (pretty rare) and while he only started 38 of 70+ games, he played nearly 30mpg, and improved his scoring to nearly 9ppg plus 5apg.

In his third year there was a slight drop off as he started about 30 of 80 games and played 24mpg, and then the next year he was down to 23mpg, though I believe he was hampered by some injuries.

Nonetheless, he never averaged less than 23mpg and was a fixture in the rotation for 4 years. I'd say he got plenty of shots.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?playerId=2377

Silky "stats and links are way underutilized on this board" J