MOTM: Duke vs. Miami (Jan 22, 2014)

[JBDuke]

Who was Man of the Match in Duke's 67-46 win over Miami this evening?

[duke4ever19]

Amile "The Beast" Jefferson.

[weezie]

The Amile.

[OldPhiKap]

Amile. Solid game from end to end, both ends of the court.

[FerryFor50]

Loved Amile's game. But 17 points and 13 boards > 8 and 6. Parker and Jefferson both had 3 blocks.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Went with #14. Complete game. Best passer on this team. Just a delight.

Happy he found what he's looking for.

[devildeac]

17/15 > 8/7 for me but I cheered for Amile almost as much.

[OldPhiKap]

17/15 > 8/7 for me but I cheered for Amile almost as much.

True. But did anyone put in more effort than Amile, or scrap harder?

[MCFinARL]

Went with #14. Complete game. Best passer on this team. Just a delight.

Happy he found what he's looking for.

Voted for Amile, but have to agree with you that Sulaimon's passing is terrific.

[mgtr]

I went with Amile tonight. Now, which player is the most improved since November -- Amile or Rasheed. I would have to go with Amile, but Rasheed is a very close second. Also happy to see MP3 make several positive plays every game.

[devildeac]

True. But did anyone put in more effort than Amile, or scrap harder?


No argument there, that's why I cheered for Amile almost as much. I saw Parker diving for a loose ball or two, plus, I really liked that Jabari went to the glass. Hard.

[Newton_14]

True. But did anyone put in more effort than Amile, or scrap harder?
Agree. Stats be damned, I thought Amile was easily the MOTM tonight. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, this team is better when Amile attacks the basket and looks to score. I like it when he brings that mindset to the game. He is also figuring out how to out rebound bigger opponents with positioning, and timing. It was fun watching him snatch rebounds away from the bigger dudes tonight.

Outside of a few over zealous moments, that led to a turnover or bad shot, Jabari played a really good game as well. Nice to see him so aggressive on the boards too.

[devildeac]

Voted for Amile, but have to agree with you that Sulaimon's passing is terrific.

Would love to see that trend continue. IIRC, last game was 6:2 and this one was 4:1 for his A:TO stats.

[Indoor66]

Agree. Stats be damned, I thought Amile was easily the MOTM tonight. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, this team is better when Amile attacks the basket and looks to score. I like it when he brings that mindset to the game. He is also figuring out how to out rebound bigger opponents with positioning, and timing. It was fun watching him snatch rebounds away from the bigger dudes tonight.

Outside of a few over zealous moments, that led to a turnover or bad shot, Jabari played a really good game as well. Nice to see him so aggressive on the boards too.

The thing about Amile is that he attacks when the opening is there. He also is excellent at the relocation pass. I am always happy when he moves to the top of the key or above the free throw line - good things usually happen.

[richardjackson199]

Amile is not-so-quietly making a Zoubekian leap. But I voted Marshall for this game given his clutch role play in his limited minutes when it still mattered. I was never an MP3 believer until today. I love being proven wrong.

[Edouble]

I voted for Amile.

With 2:08, Amile made what could be the rebound of the game, snaking his way through two Miami defenders, puts up a shot, gets his own miss off the glass, and puts it in to put us up 10 before the half expires.

He then bursts Miami's bubble by scoring the first four points of the second half.

[throatybeard]

If you give a man a fish, you give him Amile. But If you teach a man to fish for loose balls, Amile rebounds a lot.

This isn't working.

[bedeviled]

This isn't workingAh, that's because you identified the wrong MotM. If you had guessed correctly, you would have realized that tonight's pun is: Jabaris set.

[rthomas]

Amile is like Dennis Rodman, except Amile is better looking, a better shooter, and not crazy.

[slower]

Amile was in Beast Mode. Love that guy.

But I really wanted to give some kind of props to Matt Jones for his fighting-for-the-ball body slam on Jekiri(?). Matt is an old-school Duke baller.

[Dev11]

But I really wanted to give some kind of props to Matt Jones for his fighting-for-the-ball body slam on Jekiri(?). Matt is an old-school Duke baller.

That move got me off the couch. We've had a lot of wing guards recently who I wouldn't exactly describe as big and tough in the way Matt Jones is big and tough.

[oldnavy]

Amile did the dirty work... he deserves MOTM although Jabari was a beast last night as well...

[Dukehky]

Amile was in Beast Mode. Love that guy.

But I really wanted to give some kind of props to Matt Jones for his fighting-for-the-ball body slam on Jekiri(?). Matt is an old-school Duke baller.

I voted for Matt too. I thought that rebound in particular really kinda put Miami back on it's heels a bit. Also, he made a 3 and played really really good defense on Rion Brown.

Also, Rasheed was great tonight too. A few dopey moves, but those are going to happen occasionally. I love Rasheed guarding the point when he is in with the second rotation. He is the best on ball defender on the team, and that leaves TT to do what he does best and get into passing lanes/prevent their best off the ball guard from getting the ball. Tyler is a very good off ball defender, not on the ball, which is why it's great to see Rasheed on the lead guard.

I'm not sure why people were so worried about Miami, they really aren't that good, and we beat them appropriately.

[flyingdutchdevil]

That move got me off the couch. We've had a lot of wing guards recently who I wouldn't exactly describe as big and tough in the way Matt Jones is big and tough.

All that Texas BBQ. Makes them boys strong!

With Sulaimon, Jones, and Winslow next year, they may need to open a tomato-based BBQ joint in Durham (that should get all the Carolina BBQ fans riled up ;))

[MChambers]

I'm not sure why people were so worried about Miami, they really aren't that good, and we beat them appropriately.

I take it you did not see the Notre Dame game? I worry about every game, especially with this young Duke team.

[CDu]

I voted for Parker. Jefferson played great, but he was a bit of an all-or-nothing guy last night. He made some absolutely huge plays, but was quiet for long stretches. Parker didn't have the "wow" plays that Jefferson had (I doubt I ever expected to say those words), but he made a ton more plays. 17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks in 32 minutes for Parker; 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks in 32 minutes for Jefferson.

I think Jefferson played great, but whenever a guy gets 15 rebounds and 3 blocks and leads the team in scoring, I'm going with that guy for the honor.

[jv001]

This was a tough vote for me. It came down to Amile over Jabari. The team seemed to play off his energizing work. I love the way he goes about his business. He has great basketball IQ and works so hard. Jabari had a great game and probably deserved the MOM honor just as much as Amile, but I could only vote for one. GoDuke!

[Edouble]

I voted for Parker. Jefferson played great, but he was a bit of an all-or-nothing guy last night. He made some absolutely huge plays, but was quiet for long stretches. Parker didn't have the "wow" plays that Jefferson had (I doubt I ever expected to say those words), but he made a ton more plays. 17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks in 32 minutes for Parker; 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks in 32 minutes for Jefferson.

I think Jefferson played great, but whenever a guy gets 15 rebounds and 3 blocks and leads the team in scoring, I'm going with that guy for the honor.

Every time? Hypothetically what if another guy had 18 rebounds, 4 steals, 10 assists, was second in scoring, but hit a buzzer beating, game winning three point heave from half court?

[CDu]

Every time? Hypothetically what if another guy had 18 rebounds, 4 steals, 10 assists, was second in scoring, but hit a buzzer beating, game winning three point heave from half court?

Point taken. Realistically speaking, the 17, 15, and 3 guy is going to have outperformed everybody else in nearly every game. If a guy did get 18 rebounds and 10 assists, I'd probably take him over the 17/15/3 guy regardless of that rebounding/passing machine's scoring or steals stats. But the likelihood of someone putting up 18 rebounds in the same game that a teammate gets 15 rebounds (assuming it isn't a 5-overtime game) has to be incredibly small. So, I think I can say with greater than 95% confidence that the 17/15/3 guy is going to get my vote in any game.

[rsvman]

Amile was awesome, but I gave my vote to Jabari. Just a solid all-around game. So happy to have him performing at this level again.

[OldSchool]

I'll take Amile, and you don't even have to give me the inch first.