MOTM: Duke v Gonzaga (Nov 21, 2018)

[JBDuke]

Who was Duke's Man of the Match in their loss to Gonzaga?

[lotusland]

Was going to vote for Tre but the-checked stats and went with Zion. Tre had only 3 assists and 2 turnovers. Zion had 2 assist with 10 boards and 4 blocks.

[westwall]

My view was only from the 4th row (with no TV replays) but ithe MOM IS Jones! Played like an upperclassman!!

[OldPhiKap]

Norvell.

But Tre is the best option for me of the names listed.

[jv001]

I voted for Zion because of the stat line, but my eye test told me Tre. The young point guard more than held his own. Great defense and played well on offense as well. 17 points on 7-14 from the field. 3 assists and 2 turnovers. He had 4 rebounds to boot. But the missed break away dunk that cost us 4 points kept me from voting for Tre.
Zion= 22 points on 8-17, 10 rebounds, 6-6 FTs, 4 blocks. He also missed a dunk, but that's about all he missed.

GoDuke!

[Furniture]

Zion because of his stats and not Tre because of the dunk (tough love).

[jv001]

Zion because of his stats and not Tre because of the dunk (tough love).

Great minds think alike. But tough love is Bolden being a near perfect vote getter last night and tonight getting shut out. A bad match up for the young man. GoDuke!

[weezie]

I'm not buying the RJ ball-holder issue. He carried us back. He's got the purest shot on the team. He willed us back in.

Learning experience. Long flight home, plenty of time for reflection.

[OldPhiKap]

I'm not buying the RJ ball-holder issue. He carried us back. He's got the purest shot on the team. He willed us back in.

Learning experience. Long flight home, plenty of time for reflection.

I voted for Tre, but wholly agree with Weezie on this.

[Devilwin]

I voted for Tre, but wholly agree with Weezie on this.

I hate to disagree, but Cam has the purist shot on the team. I doubt if RJ's shooting percentage is in our top four. He is a tremendous athlete though.

[devildeac]

Mt. Zion for me with the 22/10. Can't really argue with Tre either.

[Furniture]

I hate to disagree, but Cam has the purist shot on the team. I doubt if RJ's shooting percentage is in our top four. He is a tremendous athlete though.

My eye test agrees with you...

[curtis325]

Zion is the default--gotta go with him.

Other choices are good too. Tough, close loss to an excellent team, but nobody seriously expected an undefeated season.

[ehdg]

Just think how Tre’s missed slam n lay up in the first half came back to haunt us big time! He makes both of those shots we win!

[Devilwin]

I agree Tre's decision to dunk instead of making a simple lay up was a bad one. But there were many reasons we lost, and there was plenty of blame to go around.
1. Defense was not what we had been seeing from this group. Gonzaga was constantly beating us to the ball and making uncontested put backs. A couple of times a Zag player rebounded and scored with two or three Duke players just watching him.
2. Jack has been a pleasant surprise, but he also contributed to the loss. He lost the ball out of bounds twice after grabbing the rebound, once he was all alone and just fumbled it out of bounds. And, committed two really bad fouls when we got the ball.
3. RJ took several ill advised shots, including three air ball threes. I will say he was a major factor in the comeback however, but the last few times we had the ball he maybe should have given it up. I didn't get that at all. Not to sound to down on the kid, he's a fantastic player, but hardly our best shooter.
4. Zion also missed a few shots he should have made. But I would rather have seen him driving than RJ at the end.

All in all, I believe they will bounce back from this loss. We lost to a much more experienced veteran club, and while we are maybe the more talented squad, the Zags played together better. And shot out of their minds.
Back to Tre and the missed dunk. I would submit the long range three he hit at the halftime buzzer more than made up for the missed dunk..

[Saratoga2]

I voted for Tre as his efforts came close to bringing us back from a big hole. The one thing that has become clear at Maui is that Tre can make a major conntribution to scoring, along with his excellent defense and floor generalship. There was a question in my mind before Maui as to whether he could give us points as his brother did before him.

Zion also was excellent and I could have voted for him. His hustle on the floor was exceptional and he played a lot of minutes for a guy as big as he is. He seems to me to be our best pro prospect, at least at this time of the season. Hope his outside shooting can develop. If it does, he will have it all.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Zion because of his stats and not Tre because of the dunk (tough love).

Ill ditto that, and add one more mention on Tre (who was mostly outstanding) - the time he scored then stole the ball on the one man surprise press - he tried to finish that new found possession himself. Not a great decision IMO. He got fouled, but I think he missed at least one of the FTs...that possession should have ended up with a dunk from someone. That said, a vote for Tre is certainly justifiable. Just going with the Z due to those two things.

Speaking of Zion, there's a dynamic I'm seeing that I don't think we're taking full advantage of, and I wonder if the DBR crowd agrees: It seems to me other players are so determined not to get posterized by Zion - not to end up on the wrong end of a Zion monster dunk - that they're playing "hackashaq" on Zion. Zion can pretty much get the entire opposition into foul trouble. But moreover, this should open up things for RJ and Cam - but that will require going through Zion first on a lot of possessions.

If someone were to ask me what to whisper in the ear of RJ and Cam, I'd say "let the hype on Zion work in your favor...watch for openings because of the focus on him..." I remember on that play when RJ went end to end on a dunk. Two Zags kind of laid off RJ to focus on Zion even though RJ had the ball. Thats what opened it up for RJ, who ended up with just one defender. I think this can happen a lot.

[NSDukeFan]

Zion is the default--gotta go with him.

Other choices are good too. Tough, close loss to an excellent team, but nobody seriously expected an undefeated season.

So your tattoo removal question in the game thread was...for a friend? I wasn’t expecting an undefeated season, but, like 2010-11 and 2016-17, I thought it was possible.

I voted for Tre (that guy is awesome), can’t argue with Zion (who would?) and really like weezie’s answer, though I would say he is the purest scorer as opposed to purest shot.

[jv001]

Since the subject was brought up:
RJ= fg%= 41% Three pointer= .32%. FTs= .62%

Zion= fg%= 65% Threes= .25% FTs= 69%

CAm= fg%= 42% Threes= 43% FTs= 94%Cam,

Tre= fg%= 47% Threes= 55% FTs= 60%

Jack= fg%= 48% Threes= 38% FTs= 78%

Marq= fg%= 67% Threes= 0 FTs= 50%

Javin= fg%= 78% Threes= 0 FTs= 67%

Alex= fg%= 47% Threes= 46% FTs= not shot one yet


So, I think that three pointers should not be shot by Marques, Javin and maybe even Zion. However the jury is still out on Zion.
Our best options at this point in the season should be Cam, Tre, Jack and Alex. RJ at 32% shows he can make that shot so don't stop shooting it young man.


It seems to me that Zion is the best option for inside scoring. He can finish or get fouled and he seems to be coming along with his free throw shooting. RJ is great at getting in the lane for baskets and should be good for the pass to the open man.

We have several options for end of game possessions. Certainly the ball should be in Tre's hands with his ability to drive and kick, Cam has shown he can drive the ball and is the best foul shooter on the team. RJ is another option. No matter who has the ball, they must play smart(good BB IQ).

GoDuke!

Marques and Javin are best used for dump offs.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

So, I think that three pointers should not be shot by Marques, Javin and maybe even Zion. However the jury is still out on Zion.
Our best options at this point in the season should be Cam, Tre, Jack and Alex. RJ at 32% shows he can make that shot so don't stop shooting it young man.


With due respect, Jack absolutely needs to be part of the 3 point shooting rotation. 38% is very respectable from 3, but that's a small body of work. Over time Jack should do even better than that. Obviously practice shooting is different than in game shooting, but when you are far and away the best practice 3 point shooter, then over time your game shooting should be strong, even if not the best.

[Furniture]

With due respect, Jack absolutely needs to be part of the 3 point shooting rotation. 38% is very respectable from 3, but that's a small body of work. Over time Jack should do even better than that. Obviously practice shooting is different than in game shooting, but when you are far and away the best practice 3 point shooter, then over time your game shooting should be strong, even if not the best.

I agree and Jack shoots much less.