MBB: Clemson @ Duke (Jan.5th, 8:00 pm ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[MChambers]

Finally we can return to discussing this wonderful Duke basketball season! Clemson comes to Cameron Saturday. Clemson is #34 in KenPom and #47 in T-Rank, but probably is a bit underrated, with two of its better players, Reed and Thomas, having missed time with injuries earlier this season. Both are back and starting now, so Duke will get the Tigers' best shot.

Statistically, this seems like a typical Brad Brownell team, with decent offense and defense and a slow tempo. Interestingly, the one weakness that stands out in T-Rank is opposition 3%, where Clemson is #319, with opponents making 38% of their long distance shots. This may not be the best Duke team to take advantage of this weakness, but maybe Clemson's defense is an opportunity for Duke to practice against a packed-in defense.

[OldPhiKap]

Clemson has a beautiful campus.

They recruited Zion pretty heavily so that will be an interesting dynamic. He is from the Upstate.

[Pghdukie]

It will seem odd that Blossingame is finally gone. Seemed he was there forever.

[duketaylor]

Is this not the longest winter break for Duke hoops in, like, forever? I cannot remember a 16 day break.

[Troublemaker]

It will seem odd that Blossingame is finally gone. Seemed he was there forever.

Jarron Blossomgame was already gone last season :-) He was drafted by the Spurs and played with their D-league affiliate last season (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaron_Blossomgame)

[UrinalCake]

We have a habit of starting off cold, and against this level of opponent we can’t afford to go 5 minutes before hitting a shot or to start off 0-10 from three. So I’ll be looking for whether we can knock down a couple shots right out of the gate. Conference season is here and we cannot take any game for granted, even at home.

[loran16]

Pomeroy has Duke as 16 point favorites to start ACC season, with a projected score of 84-68. Clemson is ranked #34 in Pomeroy, so pretty good, but they're pretty good without being particularly dominant in any particular facet of the game: They're #41 in Offense, #34 in Defense, with their only top ten notable statistical ranking being defensive rebounding (which they come in at #10).

So this will be unlike the TTU or Gonzaga games, in which Duke struggled against an opponent with an elite unit. Clemson also is incredibly 2 point focused, with them being worse than Duke at shooting the 3, and are turnover prone on offense, which Duke should thrive off of. Like Duke they're a team full of wings - their most common recent lineup is 5 guys from 6'4" to 6'9" - so again, unlike TTU there aren't any size discrepancies which should prove matchup difficulties - they're basically a lesser version of....us.

[duke09hms]

Pomeroy has Duke as 16 point favorites to start ACC season, with a projected score of 84-68. Clemson is ranked #34 in Pomeroy, so pretty good, but they're pretty good without being particularly dominant in any particular facet of the game: They're #41 in Offense, #34 in Defense, with their only top ten notable statistical ranking being defensive rebounding (which they come in at #10).

So this will be unlike the TTU or Gonzaga games, in which Duke struggled against an opponent with an elite unit. Clemson also is incredibly 2 point focused, with them being worse than Duke at shooting the 3, and are turnover prone on offense, which Duke should thrive off of. Like Duke they're a team full of wings - their most common recent lineup is 5 guys from 6'4" to 6'9" - so again, unlike TTU there aren't any size discrepancies which should prove matchup difficulties - they're basically a lesser version of...us.

That probably means they start off 5-5 from 3 in the first few minutes ...

[gofurman]

That probably means they start off 5-5 from 3 in the first few minutes ...

They are capable. Started season ranked #17. Just beat Lipscomb... Lipscomb who beat #18 TCU at TCU. Duke should win but Clemson is good. Marquise Reed #2 can get hot. It's basically the same Clemson team that destroyed Auburn and made the sweet sixteen last year only to lose to Kansas. Minus Gabe Devoe who was a great shooter

[COYS]

It's early in the season, but Duke has seemingly reinvented itself as a defense-first team. Looking at Duke's T-Rank page (http://barttorvik.com/team.php?year=2019&team=Duke), Duke has the 17th best adjusted offense paired with the 2nd best adjusted defense over the past ten games . . . which is most of the season. Personally, I'm ok with this change. Our defense has been otherworldly, recently, and the turnovers we force plays into our strength in transition. Clemson isn't that great at valuing the ball, so I hope our defense is able to grab lots of steals. Better yet, one of our best defenders, Cam Reddish, has been fouling at a pretty high rate to this point in the season. If he's able to adjust to the game a little more and cut down on his fouls, then Duke will be able to keep him and his long arms in the game for even more minutes.

I'm also ok with the offense slipping a little from the ridiculous high of the Kentucky game if only because we've already seen the guys get it all working on offense. Cam is capable from range and will improve his shooting percentage. He's also gotta cut down on his turnovers, but I think that will come with a bit more experience, too. Even if he never puts it all together on offense the way we've seen so many other top 3 Frosh "get it" over the past few seasons, small improvements on O from Cam will take him from being a good complementary offensive player to a dangerous third option that is capable of single-handedly winning a few games. RJ has already shown signs of improving his decision-making. Like with Cam, even marginal improvement from RJ can make a big difference in his overall efficiency. Clemson is solid on D, but not spectacular, so it will be a nice way to see if RJ and Cam can show improvement now before Duke takes on a defense comparable to Texas Tech's again.

[DukieTiger]

Finally we can return to discussing this wonderful Duke basketball season! Clemson comes to Cameron Saturday. Clemson is #34 in KenPom and #47 in T-Rank, but probably is a bit underrated, with two of its better players, Reed and Thomas, having missed time with injuries earlier this season. Both are back and starting now, so Duke will get the Tigers' best shot.

Statistically, this seems like a typical Brad Brownell team, with decent offense and defense and a slow tempo. Interestingly, the one weakness that stands out in T-Rank is opposition 3%, where Clemson is #319, with opponents making 38% of their long distance shots. This may not be the best Duke team to take advantage of this weakness, but maybe Clemson's defense is an opportunity for Duke to practice against a packed-in defense.

This seems as good a place as any to express a frustration I've had with the national media in the wake of the Texas Tech game... There's been a narrative that TTU was able to "slow the tempo" and take Duke out of its game. Duke certainly struggled on offense against TTU, credit to Texas Tech, but it was not due to a slow tempo - that game was played at Duke's fastest pace (82 possessions) of the season, almost 20% above the average pace for TTU on the year. No team this year has slowed Duke to a 70 possession game or slower. I don't know that we've seen Duke play in a true "half-court" game yet.

So, pace is one thing I'll be watching as we get into ACC play - particularly against teams like Clemson who do like to slow the pace and muck the game up a bit (Duke-Clemson has only hit 70 possessions in 2 games in the past 10 years). It's surely inevitable that teams will be able to dictate the pace against Duke, but it hasn't happened yet. We'll see if Duke can keep forcing turnovers and getting out in transition in ACC play. When that doesn't happen, it will be interesting to see how Duke responds in a more slowly-paced game.

[Saratoga2]

I don't expect Clemson to provide a serious threat to Duke. Our defense is exceptional and we tend to forced turnovers and convert those into transition buckets. We also are excellent offensively getting to the basket and score well with RJ, Zion, Javin and even Tre going inside when required.

If we have a weakness, it might be exploited by a veteran team which has a low turnover rate, defends inside well and can themselves shoot the three. Perhaps Virginia can do that. We have not shown much capability shooting from outside and particularly from three point distance. Jack can hit if left open, Cam hasn't shown much from three compared to expectations of him and Alex, while with nice shooting form, is hesitant to release his shot.

So Clemson should be another win and maybe Fla State on the road will be the next major test. It will be great to see them playing again after such a long layoff.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

So Clemson should be another win and maybe Fla State on the road will be the next major test. It will be great to see them playing again after such a long layoff.

Well yes, Clemson is still a FB school while FSU is now apparently a basketball school :)

Seriously though, Leon County Civic Arena, or whatever it's called, has been a house of horrors for Duke on more than one occasion.

[Spanarkel]

Well yes, Clemson is still a FB school while FSU is now apparently a basketball school :)

Seriously though, Leon County Civic Arena, or whatever it's called, has been a house of horrors for Duke on more than one occasion.

Any thoughts on Duke's and Clemson's motivations coming into this game? If I were Clemson, I wouldn't be too happy about being a 16 point road dog, esp. since it's had significant injuries issues earlier this season.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Any thoughts on Duke's and Clemson's motivations coming into this game? If I were Clemson, I wouldn't be too happy about being a 16 point road dog, esp. since it's had significant injuries issues earlier this season.

Hah, I'll give it a shot. Being an ACC opener, I think both teams will be engaged and intense. After the break, both will be ready to go at it. No advantage there either way.

Clemson thought they were getting Zion, so there's that, and I've no idea how that will play out, for Zion or Clemson. Then there's the normal Duke game in Cameron, where some opponents thrive in their Cameron experience, and others wilt. I hope enough students are back to be a normal Cameron ACC game atmosphere. And of course, there's the typical underdog thing.

But no, I don't see any disparity of motivation or emotion that will overcome the fact that Duke is more talented. Duke will win unless they are particularly cold and Clemson is particularly hot.

[TruBlu]

1) Duke will be rusty after a long break. (Why is it that we expect to be rusty after a long break, but we expect our opponents, who have a long break, to be well rested and fresh*? Did Throatybeard cover this?)

2) We will be called for a minimum of 5 charges during warmups and player introductions.

3) Clemson will hit their first 7 three pointers, most of them on errant passes while falling out of bounds.

4) We win by 8-10 points in spite of the above. Because, you know, we get all the calls.

*Just an observation. I realize that Clemson hasn’t had a long layoff.

[CDu]

This year's Clemson team is a very veteran squad, returning almost all of the players from last year's Sweet-16 team. It is not, however, all that similar to the team we faced in Clemson last year. The differences: that team didn't have their PG (Shelton Mitchell) available, and this team doesn't have their glue guy and #3 player (Gabe DeVoe). So I'm not sure how useful last year's data point will be. That being said, a lot of what Clemson does is similar to what they did when healthy last year. They play slow, they own the defensive glass, they score in the paint and defend around the rim well. They are also pretty good at forcing turnovers.

Despite this profile, the Tigers are 0-3 in Q1 games so far this year. So it has been an unquestionably disappointing start to the season. Their best wins to date are a neutral-site win over Georgia, a road win over South Carolina, and a home win over Lipscomb. So, they'll obviously be looking to improve their resume. The results so far simply haven't matched the talent. It's a good team, but one that just isn't performing up to par yet.

Centers: Elijah Thomas (6'9", 245lb fifth-year senior) is the man in the middle. Thomas is an extremely talented player who has never quite figured out how to stay out of foul trouble. He does pretty much everything you can ask for in a post player. Scores incredibly efficiently in the post, rebounds extraordinarily well on both ends, and (which is unusual) blocks shots and defensive rebounds at a fantastic rate. He is a bear inside, with great quickness/agility and explosive leaping ability along with strength and tenacity. The bugaboo for him is that he just can't avoid the fouls. He averages 3.2 per 24.2 mpg this year, and that's before getting to the tougher opponents on the schedule. Clemson NEEDS Thomas to stay on the floor, but he just hasn't been able to do so consistently enough in his career. If he can avoid foul trouble, he's a game changer. But odds are that he will not be able to avoid foul trouble. Javan White (6'10" 227lb grad transfer from Oral Roberts) is the backup center. He's a serviceable backup, but he's a HUGE step down from Thomas. The "break in case of emergency" center is Trey Jemison (7'0", 255lb freshman), a project at this point who is just minutes filler as needed.

Forwards: Aamir Simms (6'7", 250lb sophomore) is the starting PF for the Tigers. He's a really good athlete who also has tremendous strength as you might expect given his size. He does a lot of dirty work for the Tigers and fits in nicely on a blue-collar, defense-first type of team like Clemson. Interestingly, he appears to have improved as a perimeter shooter too, hitting 37% of his 3s on 4 attempts per game and 80% from the line albeit in few attempts. Simms will get the unenviable task of guarding Williamson, and in terms of size and athleticism it's not nearly the mismatch we typically see. Williamson is bigger, stronger, quicker, and more explosive, but Simms is one of few that checks in within shouting distance across all those areas. Should be fun, although it is a matchup I expect Williamson to win. Alongside Simms is David Skara (6'8", 215lb fifth-year senior). Skara is kind of like a very poor man's Kyle Singler. He's a rugged defender who can guard multiple spots adequately, and does a little of everything. He's not nearly as strong with the ball as Singler, which is where the comp really falls off and why he's a very poor man's Singler. But he's a nice role player who is versatile defensively, and has improved his outside shooting this year to stretch the floor a bit. These two guys will both start, with Skara able to swing between SF and PF when the team goes with three guards. Hunter Tyson (6'8", 205lb freshman) is the backup. He's used sparingly and is still a year or two away from ACC readiness.

Wings: Marcquise Reed (6'3", 190lb fifth-year senior) is the star of the team. He leads the Tigers in minutes, scoring, steals, and (currently, at least) assists. He's an All-ACC talent, and a real star. Oddly, he hasn't shot the ball very well from 3 this year, but historically he is a good 3pt shooter. I wouldn't consider his current 3pt% (29%) to be reflective of his threat as a shooter. Reed is also a good ballhandler, and serves as the backup PG as well. The other primary wing is Clyde Trapp (6'4, 195lb sophomore), who serves as the sixth man. Trapp is an athletic and pesky defender, who has a knack for getting steals. But offensively he's still fairly raw. John Newman III (6'5", 200lb freshman) is the backup, and he is sort of a freshman version of Trapp.

Guards: The point guard is Shelton Mitchell (6'4" 200lb fifth-year senior). Mitchell was, as noted above, absent from the matchup last year. He's a terrific, All-ACC caliber talent as well, although oddly he hasn't played as well so far this season. Like Reed, Mitchell hasn't shot as well as he has historically. So again, I'm not sure that his current percentage (29.5%) is reflective of his skill set. He's a bulldog of a PG, with tremendous size, strength, and savvy for the position. More of a scoring PG than a distributor, he's a defensive bulldog and with Reed is the heart and soul of the team. When Mitchell sits (which is rare against good teams), Reed will handle the PG duties.

Depth is a huge question for Clemson. They really have only 4 or 5 ACC-level players at this point. Trapp, White, Tyson, and Newman are only borderline ACC caliber at this point in their careers, and Skara is purely a role player at this level as well. And with Thomas struggling to stay on the floor, that puts real pressure on the team to stay competitive against good teams. Clemson will be well-organized and tenacious, and as such it should be a nice test of our team's development. Thankfully we kick off the season at home, because I think if this was in Clemson I'd be sweating a lot more. Still, it's a game that poses some threat due to the talent at the top for Clemson, but a game we should win at home.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

1) Duke will be rusty after a long break. (Why is it that we expect to be rusty after a long break, but we expect our opponents, who have a long break, to be well rested and fresh*? Did Throatybeard cover this?)

2) We will be called for a minimum of 5 charges during warmups and player introductions.

3) Clemson will hit their first 7 three pointers, most of them on errant passes while falling out of bounds.

4) We win by 8-10 points in spite of the above. Because, you know, we get all the calls.

*Just an observation. I realize that Clemson hasn’t had a long layoff.

AACK I just saw that Clemson will not be coming off a long layoff...5 days. I think this will be factor early. Duke will win, but 16 as a point spread is a bit thick with this in mind. Also, due to CDu's excellent report, I see Clemson does have the closest thing to a physical match for Zion that we've seen this season. That will be something to follow.

[MChambers]

AACK I just saw that Clemson will not be coming off a long layoff...5 days. I think this will be factor early. Duke will win, but 16 as a point spread is a bit thick with this in mind. Also, due to CDu's excellent report, I see Clemson does have the closest thing to a physical match for Zion that we've seen this season. That will be something to follow.

Actually, San Diego State had a player who was 6’6” 240 and was supposed to be matched up with Zion. Didn’t seem to bother Zion.

In all seriousness, guys Zion’s size just don’t have his quickness, explosiveness, and leaping ability. As Jay Bilas said, it doesn’t matter who you put on Zion, it’s a mismatch.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

In all seriousness, guys Zion’s size just don’t have his quickness, explosiveness, and leaping ability. As Jay Bilas said, it doesn’t matter who you put on Zion, it’s a mismatch.

I agree with that.....he's a unicorn in that regard...explosiveness, leaping, balance.....but I was merely talking about height/weight similarities. Perhaps having someone large on him will put a halt to the fake charging calls, which I bet are easier to get from smaller guys playing D.

[UrinalCake]

Javan White (6'10" 227lb grad transfer from Oral Roberts) is the backup center.

Man, if Clemson has somehow found a way to combine Javin Delaurier and Jack White into a single player, they'll have the perfect guy coming off the bench!

(Thanks for the excellent breakdown, as always)

[NSDukeFan]

Does Clemson produce solid, strong point guards? They always seem to have one of those, as far as I remember.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Great write-up CDu!

It would have been interesting to have this game in Clemson if only to see the reaction of the local fans to Zion Williamson. He's a local kid, but I have a hunch that there would have been plenty of boos until he started dunking the ball.

I wonder why Reed and Mitchell have shot the ball so poorly this year. Let's hope that trend continues for another game before they find their stroke in ACC play.

[Billy Dat]

As conference play starts, I am curious about the following...

-Right now, Jones, RJ and Zions are the givens.

-Can Cam establish himself, by staying on the court and being productive, as the 4th given, or will be keep seeing scenarios where he hasn't established himself above Jack, or been able to stay out of foul trouble, to get more minutes.

-Elijah Thomas of Clemson is similar in stature to Javin. While we don't know how practice has been going this past week, let's assume he's kept his starting role. Clemson feels like the kind of slow it down squad that would allow Marquese to have an impact inside, throwing some length at Thomas. That's a long way of saying I am curious as to whether Marquese will still be a key piece of the rotation in certain match-ups or will he only spell Javin? Jack has proven to be a very tough defender...would K rather use him against a taller, athletic big like Thomas than go to Marquese, especially to keep more shooting on the floor?

-Will AOC defend well enough, shoot well enough, and take care of the ball well enough, to be a guy who gets second half minutes in close ACC games?

[English]

Hate to be that guy, but he's been on the team long enough to spell his name Marques Bolden.

Otherwise, I echo all of your sentiments. Carry on.

[Rickshaw]

doesn't Clemson have a football game @ the same time ? gotta be some (fan) distraction

[nocilla]

doesn't Clemson have a football game @ the same time ? gotta be some (fan) distraction

No, the football game is Monday night.

[Billy Dat]

Hate to be that guy, but he's been on the team long enough to spell his name Marques Bolden.

Otherwise, I echo all of your sentiments. Carry on.

I hate being that guy who gets it wrong...thanks for the correction. I don't know why I make that mistake all the time, I should print their names out and tape it to my office wall!!!

[CDu]

I hate being that guy who gets it wrong...thanks for the correction. I don't know why I make that mistake all the time, I should print their names out and tape it to my office wall!!!

If it makes you feel better, I think I still regularly say his name wrong. I think maybe that's part of it: the pronunciation doesn't quite align with the spelling.

[Rickshaw]

sorry ........head got twisted

[UrinalCake]

Now that we're in ACC play I think we're going to see a lot more 6'10 and taller guys, so Marques's role should increase. We've played so many smaller teams with 6'7 centers that playing our smaller lineup has made sense, but I do think we're going to need Marques to bang in the post among the trees.

With that said, one of my big concerns heading into this season was our lack of rim protection, and yet we're leading the nation in blocks despite limited minutes from Bolden. So maybe we'll continue to play small anyways.

[ChillinDuke]

This year's Clemson team is a very veteran squad, returning almost all of the players from last year's Sweet-16 team. It is not, however, all that similar to the team we faced in Clemson last year. The differences: that team didn't have their PG (Shelton Mitchell) available, and this team doesn't have their glue guy and #3 player (Gabe DeVoe). So I'm not sure how useful last year's data point will be. That being said, a lot of what Clemson does is similar to what they did when healthy last year. They play slow, they own the defensive glass, they score in the paint and defend around the rim well. They are also pretty good at forcing turnovers.

Despite this profile, the Tigers are 0-3 in Q1 games so far this year. So it has been an unquestionably disappointing start to the season. Their best wins to date are a neutral-site win over Georgia, a road win over South Carolina, and a home win over Lipscomb. So, they'll obviously be looking to improve their resume. The results so far simply haven't matched the talent. It's a good team, but one that just isn't performing up to par yet.

Centers: Elijah Thomas (6'9", 245lb fifth-year senior) is the man in the middle. Thomas is an extremely talented player who has never quite figured out how to stay out of foul trouble. He does pretty much everything you can ask for in a post player. Scores incredibly efficiently in the post, rebounds extraordinarily well on both ends, and (which is unusual) blocks shots and defensive rebounds at a fantastic rate. He is a bear inside, with great quickness/agility and explosive leaping ability along with strength and tenacity. The bugaboo for him is that he just can't avoid the fouls. He averages 3.2 per 24.2 mpg this year, and that's before getting to the tougher opponents on the schedule. Clemson NEEDS Thomas to stay on the floor, but he just hasn't been able to do so consistently enough in his career. If he can avoid foul trouble, he's a game changer. But odds are that he will not be able to avoid foul trouble. Javan White (6'10" 227lb grad transfer from Oral Roberts) is the backup center. He's a serviceable backup, but he's a HUGE step down from Thomas. The "break in case of emergency" center is Trey Jemison (7'0", 255lb freshman), a project at this point who is just minutes filler as needed.

Forwards: Aamir Simms (6'7", 250lb sophomore) is the starting PF for the Tigers. He's a really good athlete who also has tremendous strength as you might expect given his size. He does a lot of dirty work for the Tigers and fits in nicely on a blue-collar, defense-first type of team like Clemson. Interestingly, he appears to have improved as a perimeter shooter too, hitting 37% of his 3s on 4 attempts per game and 80% from the line albeit in few attempts. Simms will get the unenviable task of guarding Williamson, and in terms of size and athleticism it's not nearly the mismatch we typically see. Williamson is bigger, stronger, quicker, and more explosive, but Simms is one of few that checks in within shouting distance across all those areas. Should be fun, although it is a matchup I expect Williamson to win. Alongside Simms is David Skara (6'8", 215lb fifth-year senior). Skara is kind of like a very poor man's Kyle Singler. He's a rugged defender who can guard multiple spots adequately, and does a little of everything. He's not nearly as strong with the ball as Singler, which is where the comp really falls off and why he's a very poor man's Singler. But he's a nice role player who is versatile defensively, and has improved his outside shooting this year to stretch the floor a bit. These two guys will both start, with Skara able to swing between SF and PF when the team goes with three guards. Hunter Tyson (6'8", 205lb freshman) is the backup. He's used sparingly and is still a year or two away from ACC readiness.

Wings: Marcquise Reed (6'3", 190lb fifth-year senior) is the star of the team. He leads the Tigers in minutes, scoring, steals, and (currently, at least) assists. He's an All-ACC talent, and a real star. Oddly, he hasn't shot the ball very well from 3 this year, but historically he is a good 3pt shooter. I wouldn't consider his current 3pt% (29%) to be reflective of his threat as a shooter. Reed is also a good ballhandler, and serves as the backup PG as well. The other primary wing is Clyde Trapp (6'4, 195lb sophomore), who serves as the sixth man. Trapp is an athletic and pesky defender, who has a knack for getting steals. But offensively he's still fairly raw. John Newman III (6'5", 200lb freshman) is the backup, and he is sort of a freshman version of Trapp.

Guards: The point guard is Shelton Mitchell (6'4" 200lb fifth-year senior). Mitchell was, as noted above, absent from the matchup last year. He's a terrific, All-ACC caliber talent as well, although oddly he hasn't played as well so far this season. Like Reed, Mitchell hasn't shot as well as he has historically. So again, I'm not sure that his current percentage (29.5%) is reflective of his skill set. He's a bulldog of a PG, with tremendous size, strength, and savvy for the position. More of a scoring PG than a distributor, he's a defensive bulldog and with Reed is the heart and soul of the team. When Mitchell sits (which is rare against good teams), Reed will handle the PG duties.

Depth is a huge question for Clemson. They really have only 4 or 5 ACC-level players at this point. Trapp, White, Tyson, and Newman are only borderline ACC caliber at this point in their careers, and Skara is purely a role player at this level as well. And with Thomas struggling to stay on the floor, that puts real pressure on the team to stay competitive against good teams. Clemson will be well-organized and tenacious, and as such it should be a nice test of our team's development. Thankfully we kick off the season at home, because I think if this was in Clemson I'd be sweating a lot more. Still, it's a game that poses some threat due to the talent at the top for Clemson, but a game we should win at home.

Wait, so Clemson starts FOUR fifth-year seniors?! Holy frijoles. That's all you needed to say to scare me. Talk about experience.

And someone was talking about Blossomgame being there forever...

- Chillin

[TruBlu]

Wait, so Clemson starts FOUR fifth-year seniors?! Holy frijoles. That's all you needed to say to scare me. Talk about experience.

And someone was talking about Blossomgame being there forever...

- Chillin

And of course, with all that experience they don’t play the cheaters in the Dean (knew) Dome this year with a chance to break the streak. Next year, with all of the experience gone, they will play at the cheaters. SMH

[CDu]

Wait, so Clemson starts FOUR fifth-year seniors?! Holy frijoles. That's all you needed to say to scare me. Talk about experience.

And someone was talking about Blossomgame being there forever...

- Chillin

Yep, and they bring a (not so good, but still old) grad transfer off the bench too.

Interestingly, though, it is kind of all or nothing. Aside from those 5 “old” guys, it is two sophomores and some freshmen.

If Reed, Mitchell, and (especially) Thomas can stay on the floor, it can be a tough game. Those guys can play, and have been together for 4 years (playing for 3 years) now. And Skara has been around for 3, playing for 2.

The issue, as it has been in the past, is whether Thomas can stay on the floor. In 2017, he did so and they almost got us in Cameron. Then, in the ACCs, he fouled out in 15 minutes and lost. Last year, he stayed on the court and Clemson gave us fits until the late stages even without their PG available. If he can stay on the court, Clemson can keep it competitive. If he finds foul trouble, they are probably going to be in real trouble.

[MChambers]

Thinking about it, I'm not at all worried about the effects of the layoff. Duke practices hard, so adjusting to game conditions won't be difficult. Also, Duke did okay with that long layoff between the Canada games and Kentucky.

[budwom]

Major question now and going forward: can we shoot better?

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Major question now and going forward: can we shoot better?

I say yes....in the presser, the VERY first thing Jack mentioned was shooting better, that the team has a lot of good shooters, and that they needed to get more of those - in his words - "stand still jumpers." That tells me the team has been working on making one more pass, getting the 3 point shots as catch and shoot opportunities, not off the bounce. So I feel good about that improving.

I also feel good about the FT shooting the last couple games. I always thought that would improve...Tre is too good to stay at 61% and RJ too good to stay at 65%.

[CDu]

I say yes...in the presser, the VERY first thing Jack mentioned was shooting better, that the team has a lot of good shooters, and that they needed to get more of those - in his words - "stand still jumpers." That tells me the team has been working on making one more pass, getting the 3 point shots as catch and shoot opportunities, not off the bounce. So I feel good about that improving.

I also feel good about the FT shooting the last couple games. I always thought that would improve...Tre is too good to stay at 61% and RJ too good to stay at 65%.

Actually, I think those FT% are pretty reasonable, at least for Barrett. Barrett was a ~60% shooter in high school. I would have been surprised if he was suddenly a much better shooter this year.

Jones was a ~70% shooter in high school, so presumably he could improve a good bit still. But I would be surprised if Barrett - always known for being a questionable shooter - gets above 70% from the line this year. I hope he does, but I don’t expect it.

[cptnflash]

I’m stuck in Calgary tonight and they don’t have ESPN up here (it’s called TSN instead and seems to show hockey 24/7). WatchESPN and ESPN+ are also not available outside the US. Anyone have any suggestions on how I might be able to see the game?

[uh_no]

I’m stuck in Calgary tonight and they don’t have ESPN up here (it’s called TSN instead and seems to show hockey 24/7). WatchESPN and ESPN+ are also not available outside the US. Anyone have any suggestions on how I might be able to see the game?

find a us based vpn

[-jk]

DBR Chat (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/misc.php?do=cchatbox) is open!

If it gets a bit slow, refresh the page. If you're on a mobile device, you'll need to select "Blue" at the bottom.

As always - please follow the DBR Posting Guidelines.

Let's Go Duke!

-jk

[DrChainsaw]

find a us based vpn

Second that. Maybe through work or academic network? Always works when I'm traveling....

[PackMan97]

Clemson was the first school I ever cheered for. I refuse to be upset it they win this game.

;)

[Indoor66]

Clemson was the first school I ever cheered for. I refuse to be upset it they win this game.

;)

You may leave now. 😡😈😎

[downeastdad]

Can anyone get Vitale to shut up and let us know what's going on in this game?

[SavDukeGrad]

Can anyone get Vitale to shut up and let us know what's going on in this game?

Agree. Was that a 2nd foul on Reddish or a turnover?

[slower]

Reddish, come ON, dude.

[MChambers]

Can anyone get Vitale to shut up and let us know what's going on in this game?

You’ve never watched a game with Vitale before?

[Acymetric]

Did the call on Zion's second foul look as bad on TV as it did live?

[dukelifer]

You’ve never watched a game with Vitale before?

Duke is playing poorly- hopefully the rust will come off soon

[downeastdad]

You’ve never watched a game with Vitale before?

Yeah, but I've not enjoyed any of them.

[arnie]

Reddish, come ON, dude.

Quite the line so far, 0 points, rebounds and assists, 4 TO’s.

[MChambers]

Clemson was the first school I ever cheered for. I refuse to be upset it they win this game.

;)

I feel the same way when Clemson plays State. 😉

[slower]

Tre Jones is undoubtedly the MVP of this team. He may be the only constant we can rely on, if Zion's getting in foul trouble.

[dukelifer]

Tre Jones is undoubtedly the MVP of this team. He may be the only constant we can rely on, if Zion's getting in foul trouble.

White is pretty solid as well

[downeastdad]

White is pretty solid as well

Amen!

[slower]

White is pretty solid as well
Absolutely!

[dukelifer]

Absolutely!

Right now Cam is struggling in a major way. Jack is way more productive and gives the team a stand still shooter. Cam’s last foul was crazy poor.

[slower]

Right now Cam is struggling in a major way. Jack is way more productive and gives the team a stand still shooter. Cam’s last foul was crazy poor.
I'm actually starting to worry about Cam's psyche. He seems to be spiraling down - you can tell he's very conscious of the public reaction to his struggles.

[kmspeaks]

So.....do we still want RJ to shoot less?

[dukelifer]

I'm actually starting to worry about Cam's psyche. He seems to be spiraling down - you can tell he's very conscious of the public reaction to his struggles.

Yep. It is all mental right now. K is acutely award. But a couple of games could turn it around.

[rsvman]

So we had nine turnovers and five of them were Cam's? And he was on the bench a lot.

[Saratoga2]

I can't stand Dick Vitale. He adds no value and babbles on and on. ESPN has no way to file a complaint and ohviously has no quality control. I am on mute for most of the game every time he appears.



As far as the game is concerned, Tre, Jack and Zion are keys with Barrett doing a little. Cam has been awful in the first half with fouls, turnovers and the like. Bolden, Javin and AOC at least govomh them something.

[dukelifer]

I can't stand Dick Vitale. He adds no value and babbles on and on. ESPN has no way to file a complaint and ohviously has no quality control. I am on mute for most of the game every time he appears.



As far as the game is concerned, Tre, Jack and Zion are keys with Barrett doing a little. Cam has been awful in the first half with fouls, turnovers and the like. Bolden, Javin and AOC at least govomh them something.

Barrett tends to play better later in games- he is not having a great game but is contributing. Bolden forced a few when initiating the O but in general has been active. The D is okay- a few lapses but certainly solid. Need to play better in the second half.

[slower]

Wow. THIS is shock and awe, folks. ;)

[dukelifer]

K with a rust removing half time speech

[downeastdad]

Wow. THIS is shock and awe, folks. ;)

12-0 run - I'd say!

[arnie]

Wow. THIS is shock and awe, folks. ;)

This team can be real scary.

[Pghdukie]

My vote for player of the game is Jack White. Hands down. Best player on the court.

[slower]

My vote for player of the game is Jack White. Hands down. Best player on the court.
Player of the game - maybe. Best player on the court? Um...Zion?

[SavDukeGrad]

Well that’s more like it!

[downeastdad]

That 3 would not be Zion's best shot.

[downeastdad]

That 3 would not be Zion's best shot.

That dunk, however.....

[slower]

Oh, dear God! I mean...wow. That had to make you laugh out loud, right? How do you even...um...never mind. :D

[dukelifer]

Player of the game - maybe. Best player on the court? Um...Zion?

Yes Zion willed this game Duke’s way. He just intimidates with his play.

[fuse]

Whoa!!!!! 🤯🔵😈🏀

[dukelifer]

Oh, dear God! I mean...wow.

RJ jumping in anticipation- classic

[Acymetric]

We need the "with no regard for human life" guy from the call on that LeBron dunk from a couple years back.

[Old Dukie]

Quite the line so far, 0 points, rebounds and assists, 4 TO’s.

So over-rated!

[Tripping William]

We need more love! More love, bay-beee!! More looooovvvve!!!

[Old Dukie]

That 3 would not be Zion's best shot.

It would be best if he refrained from taking them.

[peterjswift]

My vote for player of the game is Jack White. Hands down. Best player on the court.

I would have voted for him before Zion’s 360 dunk. You knew it was gonna be good when RJ was getting amped just as he was beginning his approach.

Seriously. That is a memorable dunk. Not sure I remember ever seeing something quite like it in a college game. He didn’t even have to stretch out!

[downeastdad]

Vrank isn't going to be playing much shooting like that.

[Old Dukie]

Wow! Reddish misses (again) and doesn't get back on the break....

[dukelifer]

Wow! Reddish misses (again) and doesn't get back on the break...

He has a few moments and then makes a lot of mistakes. He will get drafted but he is very far away from being NBA ready. But it will click at some point- Mark it down.

[slower]

Okay, now it's getting silly/surreal. Best.Goaltending.EVER!