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View Full Version : MBB: Duke 73, Syracuse 54 Post-Game Thread



JBDuke
02-28-2015, 09:03 PM
Put your post-game thoughts here.

Tripping William
02-28-2015, 09:04 PM
Justise > Christmas

bbosbbos
02-28-2015, 09:05 PM
In one word: Winslow.

In 1 sentence: he dominated the game.

fuse
02-28-2015, 09:05 PM
Glad for a game that did not artificially inflate my heart rate. :-)

BlueDevilBrowns
02-28-2015, 09:06 PM
Amazing how when Duke plays solid Defense, the game seems so much less stressful.

Who knew?

arnie
02-28-2015, 09:12 PM
Amazing how when Duke plays solid Defense, the game seems so much less stressful.

Who knew?
We seemed more active on D, but might be more that Orange guards not that quick. Still great performance by our starters.

weezie
02-28-2015, 09:14 PM
Have to rinse eyeballs after all that Lunarditology. Kinda stings.

Hope Quinn's ankle is OK soon.

Duke3517
02-28-2015, 09:17 PM
Syracuse gave in the last 10 minutes. Hopefully their program gets back to where they want to be next year. Great game by Justise. Once he gets a more consistent shot he will be a heck of a player at the next level.

Henderson
02-28-2015, 09:18 PM
The team improved its FT shooting 12% game over game.

brevity
02-28-2015, 09:19 PM
Lunarditology

Bracketeering?

BlueDevilBrowns
02-28-2015, 09:22 PM
Have to rinse eyeballs after all that Lunarditology. Kinda stings.


Yeah, he just finished predicting that Duke would fall from the top seed line if we lost to UVA in the ACCT championship game.

Putting either Villanova or Gonzaga in front of a 30-4 Duke team would be a travesty.

jipops
02-28-2015, 09:27 PM
Nice to see some help side D this time around. Wonder how long K will go with this lineup bringing Amile off the bench?

duketaylor
02-28-2015, 09:28 PM
So Lunardi is a semi-Duke hater, too. He doesn't seem to give credit for Duke winning at UVA much (and that was with Justin Anderson, yes) and says Nova, AZ can pass Duke. This comment was after our win tonight, not before. Well, he said it before also, so both. I'd say Duke's a near lock and Gonzaga is solid but not a lock, based on schedules, strength, and not purely records. The AZ @ Utah game tonight is huge, but still isn't for a #1 seed position, unless Az crushes Utah. Doubt that happens. Gonzaga plays later at BYU, prolly not a big deal there-but who knows.

Lunardi obviously doesn't factor in an entire body of work and true road games versus SOS for the entire year. Thus, I don't think he's terribly solid as determining what the committee looks at.

I think NCSU took a major hit today by losing at BC convincingly. Yes, they have some good/great wins, but they're piling up losses. Too many. I doubt they're done losing games before the Tourney selection show.

Miami had chances today and failed. UNC showed resolve. VT gave UVA problems and, again, UVA showed why they're a one-loss team.

Proudly, Duke showed, despite some glaring issues, FTs and defense, they're tough to beat.

GGLC
02-28-2015, 09:40 PM
Nobody should care one whit about what Joe Lunardi thinks. He certainly shouldn't be interrupting the game coverage to be interviewed for several minutes.

On a different note: we were very sloppy tonight, and I'm glad it didn't come back to bite us. Justise was incredible. I don't know what's happened to Amile.

Pghdukie
02-28-2015, 09:42 PM
Don't forget - Lunardi is selling an objective opinion. ESPN gets lots of views on bracketology. Viewership means $$$ for the Mothership. We, as Duke fans don't care much for Lunardi, because Duke is not a bubble team. A lot more fans are watching because their team may be in or out

SCMatt33
02-28-2015, 09:42 PM
God job by the defense. Even though Syrcuse had a poor shooting night, you have to give Duke defense some credit for that (especially when we blame them for big shooting nights by others) Duke held them to 54 points in 67 possessions by my calculation. That's just a shade over .80 points per possession. That's pretty good. I'll take that any day of the week.

Duke95
02-28-2015, 09:43 PM
Nobody should care one whit about what Joe Lunardi thinks. He certainly shouldn't be interrupting the game coverage to be interviewed for several minutes.

On a different note: we were very sloppy tonight, and I'm glad it didn't come back to bite us. Justise was incredible. I don't know what's happened to Amile.

This. + 10000.

That Lunardi guy is annoying. Interrupting the game to interview that twit is a joke.

MarkD83
02-28-2015, 09:45 PM
Lunardi obviously doesn't factor in an entire body of work and true road games versus SOS for the entire year. Thus, I don't think he's terribly solid as determining what the committee looks at.

My next comments are probably for another thread but here we go....There are so many stats and eye-ball tests that if you want to knock a team down or move them up you can just pick a stat. Instead of picking on Duke let's take UVA....

UVA is not a one seed because they can't score and lost to Duke at home who is an obvious 2 seed because they can't shoot FT or play D....(I know this is obviously wrong but if you want to knock them down you can.)

UVA definitely a one seed because they can play great D and only have one loss to Duke who is a definite one seed who has the best record against top 50 teams on the road....(OK there is the easy justification for UVA and the correct answer.)

Luckily Bracketology only lasts for 2 more weeks.

GGLC
02-28-2015, 09:52 PM
Don't forget - Lunardi is selling an objective opinion. ESPN gets lots of views on bracketology. Viewership means $$$ for the Mothership. We, as Duke fans don't care much for Lunardi, because Duke is not a bubble team. A lot more fans are watching because their team may be in or out

I would hope that the reason people are watching Duke play Syracuse is because they want to see Duke play Syracuse, not because they want a split-screen of Joe Lunardi's face during game action.

mapei
02-28-2015, 09:57 PM
I would hope that the reason people are watching Duke play Syracuse is because they want to see Duke play Syracuse, not because they want a split-screen of Joe Lunardi's face during game action.

Don't forget the torture of looking at whatever that is on top of Lunardi's head.

tbyers11
02-28-2015, 09:57 PM
I would hope that the reason people are watching Duke play Syracuse is because they want to see Duke play Syracuse, not because they want a split-screen of Joe Lunardi's face during game action.

Seriously, leave his drivel to halftime and pre-game. The close-ups of him coming back from commercial breaks scare me because he has to have the worst hairpiece that I have ever seen.

As to the game. Justise was everywhere. We got hot from 3 at the start of the 2nd half to put it out of reach. D was very solid. Syracuse didn't shoot well but a large portion of that was because we made them take tough, contested shots.

Nice not to have a defibrillator on standby for the last few minutes of a game.

Channing
02-28-2015, 10:02 PM
it is amazing how much better our d looks when the other team isn't shooting an other worldly percentage.

Marc81
02-28-2015, 10:03 PM
I would hope that the reason people are watching Duke play Syracuse is because they want to see Duke play Syracuse, not because they want a split-screen of Joe Lunardi's face during game action.

I know that was absolutely ridiculous. It's bad enough they make us listen to the dude but we have to look at him too and during the game. Come on ESPN!

NYBri
02-28-2015, 10:07 PM
Rakeem Christmas is the kind of player we all miss. A four year player who has matured into his talent and is looking as a first round pick. Congrats to him on a not-very-good-team that has taken itself out of post season of his great senior year. I wish him the best of luck.

Duke95
02-28-2015, 10:08 PM
Don't forget the torture of looking at whatever that is on top of Lunardi's head.

Pretty sure it's related to whatever is on Donald Trump's head.

Saratoga2
02-28-2015, 10:08 PM
Duke clearly had a better team than Syracuse. It showed in the Point guard matchup, which Duke was superior, the center again Dule was superior and then at small forward, where Justise (Duke) was miles ahead of Syracuse. Quinn's shooting was a little off tonight but he still was better than Syracuse has and Matt Jones had one of his best nights in Duke uniform. We played decent defense and scored well in transition. Now we need to practice FT shooting.

Quinn needs to take care of the ankle and it looks like Jahlil is pretty much fully recovered. Forget Lunardi and just go out and take care of business.

NashvilleDevil
02-28-2015, 10:09 PM
Here's why Lunardi is saying Duke will be a 2 seed even if they lose to UVA in the ACCT final. So when Duke is named a 1 seed he can say the committee got it wrong and this team over here should've been a 1 seed. Then he keeps his name in the next couple of news cycles until the play in games start.

slower
02-28-2015, 10:18 PM
Don't forget the torture of looking at whatever that is on top of Lunardi's head.

Pretty sure it's vulcanized.

FerryFor50
02-28-2015, 10:30 PM
Great game. Solid defense. Sloppy offense, however. Quinn was off all night. Like, badly off. Okafor keeps looking worse at the line. And the substitution pattern was weird. Very staccato at times, but overall, very short bench - even in a 19 point win. Starters all played big minutes. Even Quinn, who tweaked an ankle, logged 34 minutes. Seemed like a good game to get the other guys 15 min or so, particularly with Jah, Grayson and Cook with ankle issues.

Luckily I was able to be there, so I didn't need to hear Lunardi drone on.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B--yl6kU8AAQCjz.png

TKG
02-28-2015, 10:31 PM
Gbinije 5 - 20 from the field.

Andre Buckner Fan
02-28-2015, 10:33 PM
it is amazing how much better our d looks when the other team isn't shooting an other worldly percentage.


This.

Also, where'd all the pessimists go? After winning a great hard fought game in an enemy ACC arena, the sky was falling. Now all we want to talk about is Joe Lunardi's hairpiece? What a difference a couple of days makes...

FerryFor50
02-28-2015, 10:35 PM
This.

Also, where'd all the pessimists go? After winning a great hard fought game in an enemy ACC arena, the sky was falling. Now all we want to talk about is Joe Lunardi's hairpiece? What a difference a couple of days makes...

Agreed. I was never one of those pessimists. I think Mark's prediction that these types of threads will only last a few pages will come true again. Haters gon' hate. :)

uh_no
02-28-2015, 11:10 PM
what else is there to say that hasn't been said?

we played pretty well
winslow was dominant
quinn was off
Okafor is a bad FT shooter


There were at least 4 badly botched lobs for alley oops.

Tyus had one on i think the opening posession that airballed out of bounds
Tyus had another one on a break that went off the rim
quinn had one from the sideline that hit the rim
someone had one that got blocked

Justice did get a layup off one at one point though.

I think we need to go through the alley oop line during warmups just to be certain for next time.

Also okafor took a shot from almost the free throw line early in the game....he can't make that shot with no one guarding it...it's a bad shot in the flow of the game.

Quinn did a bunch of other stuff well despite poor shooting. overall the offense clicked, and I can only remember one three I was particularly disappointed in. Just didn't shoot well today, it happens (MUST BE TIRED LEGS GUYS AMIRITE if only we had depth!!!! /s)

Plumlee made several bad passes for turnovers (at least 2?). I love to see him in, but he's got a long way to go.

Two recruits were there and sat with the crazies near the end of the game:
Chase Jeter (committed #12 overall class of 15)
Jayson Tatum (#3 prospect of '16)

gam7
02-28-2015, 11:20 PM
Yeah, he just finished predicting that Duke would fall from the top seed line if we lost to UVA in the ACCT championship game.

Putting either Villanova or Gonzaga in front of a 30-4 Duke team would be a travesty.

I didn't hear it, but I'm guessing he did not say this in a vacuum. There must have been many assumptions that that prediction was based on and I'm guessing he probably mentioned what some of those assumptions were. Given the right assumptions, it is absolutely conceivable that this could happen. If his assumptions were that all of Duke (except for ACCT final), UVA, Wisconsin, Villanova, Gonzaga all go undefeated the rest of the way (which is possible), then we may be a #2 seed. A one-loss UVA and one-loss Gonzaga are locks for a 1. So, it would leave Duke, Nova, Wisconsin in the running for the last 1. I think we would have the edge over Wisconsin even if they win out. But, Nova would have a strong argument. I think we will end up as a 1, but all of the programs mentioned in this post have a strong argument. A win at UNC is no lock for us either. I think a tougher question is what happens if we lose at UNC and to UVA in the ACCT final. In this scenario and all the others win out, I think we're a 2.

Oh, and yay, we won. ;)

TKG
02-28-2015, 11:22 PM
Check out K's post press conference. Two interesting comments in the final 2 minutes: challenges officials to be more consistent in how they call games and called the quick rematches with both Syracuse and Carolina unfair. Acknowledged that is it done for television but called it unfair nonetheless.

Newton_14
02-28-2015, 11:33 PM
Agreed. I was never one of those pessimists. I think Mark's prediction that these types of threads will only last a few pages will come true again. Haters gon' hate. :)
Yep. I put the over/under at 5. :)

I thought our defense was outstanding tonight. I was fortunate enough to sit with FerryFor50 and thank God for that as I too missed out on the Lunardi nonsense. The guys were working their butts off on defense tonight from the opening tip, and they disrupted what Syracuse wanted to do on many possessions. Quinn had another excellent defensive game before he rolled the ankle.

I hate playing against the Syracuse zone, especially when they are allowed to basically pummel Jahlil on every possession. The kid honestly gets fouled every time he touches the ball even when he doesn't take a shot. I did think we moved the ball well though to get a lot of good looks, and Quinn having an off shooting night made the offense look a little off kilter, but we did attack the zone well, and we have a secret weapon not many recognize yet in Justise The Beast Winlsow (who in case you haven't noticed, has quite a bit of Laettner in him in terms of what I will call "good nastiness". :) The dude will not take any crap from anyone. Foul him hard and make the mistake of getting tangled up with him, and it won't end well for you :) ). He was just a beast tonight, and unstoppable. Like Jahlil, but in a different way, Winslow makes a lot of very difficult plays and he makes it look a lot easier than it is. He made one play tonight in the first half where he went out of bounds to save a ball, through it back into play, and a couple of Duke Players and Cuse Players were scrumming for it, when suddenly, quick as lightning, Winslow jumps back into the play, takes the ball and is gone up the floor dribbling and leading the break. It was unreal how quickly he recovered there. On top of the strength, finishing ability, and sneaky jumping ability, he has another gear of quickness that it is not obvious.

I can't say enough about Jahlil either though. I know he is struggling mightily at the line, but we are witnessing greatness in it's finest form in post play. His first basket tonight had a degree of difficulty of 10 on a scale of 1-10, and he made it look easy and graceful. He had 2 or 3 other buckets in the first half that were just ridiculous, and again, all this despite getting pounded on every time he touches the ball. Then in the second half when Cuse decided to basically triple team him, he goes to his excellent passing an assist game, cool, calm, and collective, scanning the floor for the open man. Incredibly talented passer. If we are being honest too, his defense on Christmas tonight was really good as well and he worked his butt off on the defensive end. If he had just shot it decently from the line, he would have had another crazy good night scoring wise. The FT thing is now a serious problem though. He has become the Soph/Junior version of Mason Plumlee unfortunately. I really hope he can find a way to battle through that and shoot some semblance of a decent percentage the rest of the season.

Solid team win. MP3 had a good night despite a few herky jerky moments, Matt was solid all night and hit two key 3 pointers, and Grayson gave good minutes. Another quiet night for Amile in very limited minutes, and FWIW, late in the 2nd Half during a TO right after Amile had declined to take it to the hoop when he was wide open, K gave Amile one of those "loving teaching moments with no screaming, evidently imploring him to attack the basket, and K high fived Amile after giving him the encouragement. Hopefully that will help Amile get back to being the player we all know he can be which is a great defending PF forward, team leader, Captain of the Defense, and honestly, a guy that threatens a double//double every night. The kid can score in a myriad of ways around the basket, on post moves, drives, and runners. How he lost his confidence is a mystery but it is obvious at this point. With the exception of the UNC game, he has become fearful of trying to score. He needs to break out of that shell and realize his talents and realize he is in fact a player.

Solid team win with great efforts on both ends of the floor. Well done Devils!

Go Duke!

uh_no
02-28-2015, 11:34 PM
Check out K's post press conference. Two interesting comments in the final 2 minutes: challenges officials to be more consistent in how they call games and called the quick rematches with both Syracuse and Carolina unfair. Acknowledged that is it done for television but called it unfair nonetheless.

unfair for cuse and carolina maybe :)

camion
02-28-2015, 11:41 PM
I didn't hear it, but I'm guessing he did not say this in a vacuum...


Yes he did if you count the one between his ears.

Troublemaker
02-28-2015, 11:47 PM
Check out K's post press conference. Two interesting comments in the final 2 minutes: challenges officials to be more consistent in how they call games and called the quick rematches with both Syracuse and Carolina unfair. Acknowledged that is it done for television but called it unfair nonetheless.

It was a VERY interesting/informative presser overall.

Justise has been playing with a fractured rib apparently and has been wearing protective gear.

Coach says that players don't get tired from playing big minutes in games, but from over-practicing. Repeats that Duke has been taking it very easy in practice this season.

Some rare chalk talk. Tyus was told to leave Cuse's PGs (when off the ball) to help clog up the middle. One-man zone type thing. Coach used the word "ice" for the first time in a presser, although it's been obvious since the preseason that's what Duke has been doing this season on ball screens. Jahlil played ice well in this game, according to Coach.

Furniture
02-28-2015, 11:49 PM
Don't forget the torture of looking at whatever that is on top of Lunardi's head.

At one point it looked like they were filming him at the local strip joint.

g-money
02-28-2015, 11:49 PM
I'm almost liking this kid more than I like T "money" Jones - and that's saying something. In addition to the highlight reel blocks and dunks, he does so many little things out there that don't end up in the stat sheet. The kid's just a winner.

What are the odds of an NBA lockout next year so we can keep these guys for one more season? Ha.

Newton_14
02-28-2015, 11:54 PM
Check out K's post press conference. Two interesting comments in the final 2 minutes: challenges officials to be more consistent in how they call games and called the quick rematches with both Syracuse and Carolina unfair. Acknowledged that is it done for television but called it unfair nonetheless.

I think Ferry will agree with me in that it was yet another game where ACC refs were really bad, including the one ref that I believe has been the best ACC ref for the past 3 or 4 years. (The grey haired ref tonight, not Roger Ayers or the bald guy). Just way too many obvious missed calls on both teams. We took two solid charges, 1 in each half, one by Grayson and one by Winslow, with both on Christmas driving. Both were called blocks. Both were called shooting fouls and Christmas did not even have control of the ball on his charge on Grayson, let alone made a shooting motion, and he barely had control of the ball when he charged into Winslow. MP3's first foul was crap. Evidently he fouled Christmas' shoulder with his chest. Then there was the Tyus drive where he got fouled but they called out of bounds on him, then on the Cuse possession immediately following that, the Cuse player drove, lost the ball out of bounds, and they called it out of bounds on Duke, giving Cuse the ball. It was nuts.

They called an offensive goal tending on Cuse that was wrong, and there were a few more iffy calls against them as well. But like I said, just another bad night at the office by ACC Refs. K was beside himself at several points.

FerryFor50
02-28-2015, 11:56 PM
I think Ferry will agree with me in that it was yet another game where ACC refs were really bad, including the one ref that I believe has been the best ACC ref for the past 3 or 4 years. (The grey haired ref tonight, not Roger Ayers or the bald guy). Just way too many obvious missed calls on both teams. We took two solid charges, 1 in each half, one by Grayson and one by Winslow, with both on Christmas driving. Both were called blocks. Both were called shooting fouls and Christmas did not even have control of the ball on his charge on Grayson, let alone made a shooting motion, and he barely had control of the ball when he charged into Winslow. MP3's first foul was crap. Evidently he fouled Christmas' shoulder with his chest. Then there was the Tyus drive where he got fouled but they called out of bounds on him, then on the Cuse possession immediately following that, the Cuse player drove, lost the ball out of bounds, and they called it out of bounds on Duke, giving Cuse the ball. It was nuts.

They called an offensive goal tending on Cuse that was wrong, and there were a few more iffy calls against them as well. But like I said, just another bad night at the office by ACC Refs. K was beside himself at several points.

What drove me crazy was calling some of those uncalled pushes as traveling violations. OF COURSE HE WALKED - HE WAS PUSHED!

FerryFor50
03-01-2015, 12:02 AM
What drove me crazy was calling some of those uncalled pushes as traveling violations. OF COURSE HE WALKED - HE WAS PUSHED!

Yeah, no foul here. :rolleyes:

4823

TruBlu
03-01-2015, 12:09 AM
Check out K's post press conference. Two interesting comments in the final 2 minutes: challenges officials to be more consistent in how they call games and called the quick rematches with both Syracuse and Carolina unfair. Acknowledged that is it done for television but called it unfair nonetheless.




I hate playing against the Syracuse zone, especially when they are allowed to basically pummel Jahlil on every possession. The kid honestly gets fouled every time he touches the ball even when he doesn't take a shot.


I'm a little surprised there haven't been more complaints on the threads about the officiating in this game . . . maybe because the game wasn't in doubt? My observations from being at the game was that there were some horrible calls against Duke, although I might be slightly biased. A couple of bad traveling calls when fouls on Cuse would have been a better call, the blocking call on Winslow are some examples. They did not change the output of the game, fortunately.

Agree with Newton that Jahlil gets beaten up on practically every offensive possession. He even gets fouled when he doesn't touch the ball. Christmas should have fouled out midway through the first half. I hope Jahlil doesn't bruise easily.

On a side note, Amile seemed to be more involved and intense in this game, although it didn't show up his stat line. (My apologies to those who don't like "eye tests".)

Also, I'm a little surprised that Jimmy didn't self-eject himself at the end of the game.

SCMatt33
03-01-2015, 01:13 AM
Interesting stat of the night: Duke got 16 offensive rebounds in 34 attempts tonight for a 47.1% offensive rebounding percentage. That's a really good night on the offensive glass. As expected, Jah led the way with 7 offensive boards. It was however a real team effort in this category as 7 of the 8 guys got at least one offensive rebound. The one guy who didn't...Amile Jefferson. That seems a bit surprising even with his recent dip in play. Still, good job by the team tonight attacking the glass. Really helped take the edge off of an off night for the half-court offense.

Duke 81 LA
03-01-2015, 01:49 AM
Rakeem Christmas is the kind of player we all miss. A four year player who has matured into his talent and is looking as a first round pick. Congrats to him on a not-very-good-team that has taken itself out of post season of his great senior year. I wish him the best of luck.

Wouldn't you say Quinn Cook qualifies as just that type of player, too?

uh_no
03-01-2015, 02:24 AM
Some rare chalk talk. Tyus was told to leave Cuse's PGs (when off the ball) to help clog up the middle. One-man zone type thing. Coach used the word "ice" for the first time in a presser, although it's been obvious since the preseason that's what Duke has been doing this season on ball screens. Jahlil played ice well in this game, according to Coach.

I actually noticed that with tyus.....on some of the really early posessions in the game, when the ball was in the far corner, he would drop down onto the far side of the lane. When i saw it I was almost going to explain it as "strong side man, weak side zone" because TBH, when I saw it my head kind of exploded...what kind of defense has the guard dropping into zone low on the block when the ball is on the other side of the floor....

I figured what the end goal was, but that didn't mean it didn't LOOK like the strangest thing. I'm glad I wasn't going nuts, and TBH, I don't think it's that bad of an idea, with the big IF the guards can recover fast enough.

Neals384
03-01-2015, 05:44 AM
Nice to see some help side D this time around. Wonder how long K will go with this lineup bringing Amile off the bench?

Rest of the season.

roywhite
03-01-2015, 07:13 AM
Justise Winslow = Swiss Army Knife.

Dude does a little bit of everything and is tough as nails. Haven't had too many guys like him -- maybe David Henderson or a Chris Carrawell, but more athletic. Justise has some days where he doesn't shoot a high percentage and still makes plays, but when he is hitting shots, he's a terrific complement to the inside/outside game of Jah and our 3-point shooters.

Bob Green
03-01-2015, 07:24 AM
what else is there to say that hasn't been said?

Your signature is missing the asterisk. :rolleyes:

dukelifer
03-01-2015, 07:25 AM
I'm almost liking this kid more than I like T "money" Jones - and that's saying something. In addition to the highlight reel blocks and dunks, he does so many little things out there that don't end up in the stat sheet. The kid's just a winner.

What are the odds of an NBA lockout next year so we can keep these guys for one more season? Ha.

Sad to say it but he is NBA ready and will likely be a first round pick.. Even J-Will and Stephen A Smith made mention of it. Of course he will need to be a much better shooter particularly in the midrange - as there are many guys in the league that possess his athleticism. His strengths are attacking the basket and stand still 3's. Right now he is a below average NBA talent and and above average college talent- but he has a solid to very good NBA future of he can expand his game.

Jackson
03-01-2015, 07:28 AM
Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this. I watched the game on ESPN and that segment during the first half interviewing Joe Lunardi made me crazy. Why does that network continue to do stuff like that? Total interruption of the game. There were at least three possessions by both teams that were minimized on the screen and ignored by commentators. So ready for the NCAA just to avoid stuff like that from ESPN. Other than that, great game after the letdown in Blacksburg on the defensive end. It never stops to amaze me how Okafor can hold a basketball like a grapefruit.

conmanlhughes
03-01-2015, 08:17 AM
I thought last night Okafor did pretty well on defense. He was helping on the pick and rolls, and it looked like he was boxing out on rebounds as well. Not to mention I thought he played very well against Christmas, and only had trouble with those crazy running hooks he kept making.

jv001
03-01-2015, 08:20 AM
I thought last night Okafor did pretty well on defense. He was helping on the pick and rolls, and it looked like he was boxing out on rebounds as well. Not to mention I thought he played very well against Christmas, and only had trouble with those crazy running hooks he kept making.

I thought Jah played great defense. Got to go to church. GoDuke!

fisheyes
03-01-2015, 08:52 AM
What are the odds of an NBA lockout next year so we can keep these guys for one more season? Ha.

Hmmmm....I wonder if we know someone who runs the NBA?
Hmmmm....I wonder if we could.........;)

NYBri
03-01-2015, 09:23 AM
Wouldn't you say Quinn Cook qualifies as just that type of player, too?

Absolutely. I have made that point about Quinn multiple times in other threads. I referred to Rakeem in this thread because it's the last time we'll see him.

duke74
03-01-2015, 09:42 AM
Hmmmm....I wonder if we know someone who runs the NBA?
Hmmmm....I wonder if we could.........;)

I went to school with Gary Bettman here in Forest Hills, but don't think he'd listen to me if I asked him. :(

TKG
03-01-2015, 10:23 AM
I went to school with Gary Bettman here in Forest Hills, but don't think he'd listen to me if I asked him. :(

Just spin it to him that it might help NHL TV ratings or something......

tbyers11
03-01-2015, 10:23 AM
Don't forget the torture of looking at whatever that is on top of Lunardi's head.

I find it hard to believe, but it appears that Lunardi's hair is real (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/mystery-solved--espn-s-joe-lunardi-is-not-wearing-a-hairpiece-231207101.html).

Guess he needs a new hairstylist not a new wig.

duke74
03-01-2015, 10:27 AM
Just spin it to him that it might help NHL TV ratings or something......

Good one....stupid me. Be nice to know the difference between the NBA and NHL...oops. Sorry all.

flyingdutchdevil
03-01-2015, 11:10 AM
I never thought the sky was falling after the VT game, but I absolutely did think that our defense was abysmal. And I don't think I was wrong about that.

The Syracuse game, on the other hand, showed a much more engaged Duke. Duke was playing some of the best defense of the season in that game! Happy to see that there is a switch we can flip to make our defense much better. Also, I really liked what I saw on the glass. On the offensive and defensive end, we played pretty well. He gave up some easy offensive fouls, but a much better showing than in the past. I think our rebounding strategy is, "everyone not named Quinn Cook go for the rebound and give the ball to Tyus Jones while Quinn Cook sprints down court". I really like this strategy.

Some more observations:

1)I got laughed at when I called Winslow a homeless man's Lebron. I don't think I'm that far off. With the exception of the amazing passing, Winslow can do it all. His ability to drive, shoot, rebound, and provide intangibles is rare in college basketball. Yesterday, we saw it all from Winslow.

2) Quinn Cook didn't have a great game, but he somehow ended up with 17 points. That's the sign of a great scorer; bad game on the surface, but the stats suggest otherwise.

3) Tyus is human. He had a 1.00 assist-to-turnover ratio. That may be his first 1.00 game this year (didn't check the stats).

4) Matt Jones had a great game, both shooting and defensively. I think the 4-out-1-in strategy is our best overall line-up. Winslow is so damn diverse!

5) MP3 is still struggling immensely on the offensive end. I thought it clicked a few days ago, but he seems to have regressed on the offensive end.

hudlow
03-01-2015, 11:25 AM
I find it hard to believe, but it appears that Lunardi's hair is real (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/mystery-solved--espn-s-joe-lunardi-is-not-wearing-a-hairpiece-231207101.html).

Guess he needs a new hairstylist not a new wig.


OK...next question.

Why does he part it just above his ear?

(Maybe he's not tall enough to reach any higher;) )

FerryFor50
03-01-2015, 11:48 AM
If anyone is interested, I took some photos of the game.

You can find them in this thread:

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?35436-Photos-from-Syracuse-Duke-2015

Dukehky
03-01-2015, 11:57 AM
Blue Devil Network's post game interview with Justise.

"It's senior night and we want to send Q out with a big win, you know it's our last game in Cameron as well... for the year (there was a pause), so we want to come out and play well."

I know it's gonna happen, and I know that he probably meant that it actually was the team's last game in Cameron for the year, but it did not inspire a whole lot of confidence in the return of any of our 3 musketeers.

Kedsy
03-01-2015, 12:15 PM
Tyus is human. He had a 1.00 assist-to-turnover ratio. That may be his first 1.00 game this year (didn't check the stats).

It's his fourth 1.00 a/to ratio of the year (none below 1.00). Elon, UConn, and Miami were the first three.

OldPhiKap
03-01-2015, 12:25 PM
Blue Devil Network's post game interview with Justise.

"It's senior night and we want to send Q out with a big win, you know it's our last game in Cameron as well... for the year (there was a pause), so we want to come out and play well."

I know it's gonna happen, and I know that he probably meant that it actually was the team's last game in Cameron for the year, but it did not inspire a whole lot of confidence in the return of any of our 3 musketeers.

Carpe Diem. And enjoy the ride.

devildeac
03-01-2015, 12:46 PM
Ok, many of us (yours truly included:o) w(h)ined about our drop in defensive efficiency/rating after the VT game from the 40s to the 80s, IIRC. What does this performance do to restore some of that? 70s? 60s?

Reisen
03-01-2015, 12:56 PM
How long is the wrong box score going to show on the front page?

94duke
03-01-2015, 12:59 PM
Ok, many of us (yours truly included:o) w(h)ined about our drop in defensive efficiency/rating after the VT game from the 40s to the 80s, IIRC. What does this performance do to restore some of that? 70s? 60s?

I just checked. AdjD is 69 now. AdjO is 2 (wisc is 1).

bbosbbos
03-01-2015, 01:08 PM
The problem is that our D is not consistent. We were a lot better than AdjD 69 in some games, but we were really poor against some teams.



I just checked. AdjD is 69 now. AdjO is 2 (wisc is 1).

bbosbbos
03-01-2015, 01:16 PM
Winslow added "for the year". We should know what he wants to say now.




Blue Devil Network's post game interview with Justise.

"It's senior night and we want to send Q out with a big win, you know it's our last game in Cameron as well... for the year (there was a pause), so we want to come out and play well."

I know it's gonna happen, and I know that he probably meant that it actually was the team's last game in Cameron for the year, but it did not inspire a whole lot of confidence in the return of any of our 3 musketeers.

Troublemaker
03-01-2015, 01:30 PM
I find it hard to believe, but it appears that Lunardi's hair is real (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/mystery-solved--espn-s-joe-lunardi-is-not-wearing-a-hairpiece-231207101.html).

Guess he needs a new hairstylist not a new wig.

I'm not convinced. It may be bobby pins and spirit gum holding that thing in place. I'd like to see more extensive tugging on it than what was show there.

Henderson
03-01-2015, 01:41 PM
I'm not convinced. It may be bobby pins and spirit gum holding that thing in place. I'd like to see more extensive tugging on it than what was show there.

I'm free pretty much all next week.

devildeac
03-01-2015, 01:53 PM
I just checked. AdjD is 69 now. AdjO is 2 (wisc is 1).

Thanks for checking. I figured it would improve but couldn't fathom how much. Guess we should have held them to 44 points;).

hudlow
03-01-2015, 01:59 PM
I'm not convinced. It may be bobby pins and spirit gum holding that thing in place. I'd like to see more extensive tugging on it than what was show there.


Could it be micropigmentation?

GGLC
03-01-2015, 05:47 PM
I'm free pretty much all next week.

Can't spork you, but excellent.

throatybeard
03-01-2015, 06:57 PM
I didn't hear it, but I'm guessing he did not say this in a vacuum.

I came pretty close to flunking physics, but had he done that I don't think we woulda heard him.

sagegrouse
03-01-2015, 08:49 PM
Blue Devil Network's post game interview with Justise.

"It's senior night and we want to send Q out with a big win, you know it's our last game in Cameron as well... for the year (there was a pause), so we want to come out and play well."

I know it's gonna happen, and I know that he probably meant that it actually was the team's last game in Cameron for the year, but it did not inspire a whole lot of confidence in the return of any of our 3 musketeers.

Did I misread this, or is someone forgetting Wake at home on Wednesday?

Newton_14
03-01-2015, 08:53 PM
Did I misread this, or is someone forgetting Wake at home on Wednesday?

The Wake game is the final home game as I doubt unc-cheat wants to play us twice in Cameron this season. :)

NYBri
03-02-2015, 08:12 AM
Did I misread this, or is someone forgetting Wake at home on Wednesday?

Justise was talking about the upcoming Wake game, which will be the last home game of the season.

gam7
03-02-2015, 03:33 PM
Blue Devil Network's post game interview with Justise.

"It's senior night and we want to send Q out with a big win, you know it's our last game in Cameron as well... for the year (there was a pause), so we want to come out and play well."

I know it's gonna happen, and I know that he probably meant that it actually was the team's last game in Cameron for the year, but it did not inspire a whole lot of confidence in the return of any of our 3 musketeers.

For whatever it's worth, I listened to it, and I heard nothing in his answer to suggest he meant anything other than it was this year's team's last game in Cameron...