DukieInBrasil
01-12-2008, 04:35 PM
What a nice game from Paulus, he did several things that this team needs for him to do more regularly: 4/0 a/to is excellent, especially against a team that has prided itself on stingy defense; 8-8 FTs is also excellent with the shooting as his only blemish.
Other people have commented on this (although some may be trolling), but I see the team moving more towards last year's model. The lauded depth is becoming ever scarcer due to attrition; Pocius is out for the year, Z is out for a while, LT has entered some mysterious alternate dimension; however, McClure continues to round back into good form. Against Temple, at least, our frontcourt was decimated as we started no true low-block players, and the rhythm of the team suffered for it. We don't know yet how long we'll be sans Z, and LT may or may not be ready for UVa. With no one inside it became much easier for Temple to key in on stopping penetration, which seems to be what teams have decided as the way to play against Duke this year. We shot relatively well from 3 (38% is like shooting ~58% from 2) however, our 2 primary penetrators were effectively shut down; D-marc was 3-12 from the floor although his 6-7 FTs was a welcome relief and Henderson scored only 5 pts. If that sort of play continues then this year's team has a high probability of devolving into a version similar to last year's.
This is where Paulus's play is both a harbinger and a salvo. When last year's team started to get thoroughly bogged down, Paulus really started looking for his shot, and shot remarkably well. Even though he played well, everyone around him looked kinda like flies in molasses, which is why this game in particular may be more of a salvo from Greg than a harbinger of bogging down. He had (as mentioned earlier) a 4/0 assit-to-turnover ratio, which is unlike his play at the end of last year when he had basically no one to give assists to and was himself turning the ball over frequently.
When LT comes back, coupled with the improvements in McClure's play, Duke will at least have a nominal inside presence. I would hate to take away Singler's inside/outside ability by putting him in the post all the time, but it may be a necessary move to give the team the maneuverability it needs, at least until this team figures out how to play efficiently with their new look. Without a more robust inside presence it will be very easy for opponents to strangle the strength of this team, which is perimeter play. Though last year's team had no one outside of Paulus who wanted to shoot the ball late in the game, this year we have several guys who appear to want that shot. However, if the D is able to key into them it may not matter if they want that shot; it may be too well defended to be a good option.
Another nice aspect of this game was the play of Smith and King; the freshmen played very well in a road game against a respectable opponent. King had his first robust game away from Cameron, and first robust game in a while. Smith played quite well, and we'll need him to play at a similar level more often this year if we want to meet or exceed expectations, especially given our new bout of injuries. McClure's play was also very nice, he got his first start of the year and had his first game where he logged substantial minutes. He also put some stats on the board to go along with the intangibles and hustle he brings to the team.
I am concerned, however, with the play of Scheyer. This is the 3rd game in a row in which he has shot poorly from the field (although not as poorly as the other 2 games). He still had a good stat-stuffing game overall - 10 pts, 4 boards - but this team is much, much better when he shoots the ball well. This does not seem to be the case with Gerald or D-marc - Duke has played well and/or scored well even when GH and/or DN have not shot well, but for some reason Duke really erupts when Scheyer shoots well and the offense grinds down to a slower tempo when he shoots poorly.
Other people have commented on this (although some may be trolling), but I see the team moving more towards last year's model. The lauded depth is becoming ever scarcer due to attrition; Pocius is out for the year, Z is out for a while, LT has entered some mysterious alternate dimension; however, McClure continues to round back into good form. Against Temple, at least, our frontcourt was decimated as we started no true low-block players, and the rhythm of the team suffered for it. We don't know yet how long we'll be sans Z, and LT may or may not be ready for UVa. With no one inside it became much easier for Temple to key in on stopping penetration, which seems to be what teams have decided as the way to play against Duke this year. We shot relatively well from 3 (38% is like shooting ~58% from 2) however, our 2 primary penetrators were effectively shut down; D-marc was 3-12 from the floor although his 6-7 FTs was a welcome relief and Henderson scored only 5 pts. If that sort of play continues then this year's team has a high probability of devolving into a version similar to last year's.
This is where Paulus's play is both a harbinger and a salvo. When last year's team started to get thoroughly bogged down, Paulus really started looking for his shot, and shot remarkably well. Even though he played well, everyone around him looked kinda like flies in molasses, which is why this game in particular may be more of a salvo from Greg than a harbinger of bogging down. He had (as mentioned earlier) a 4/0 assit-to-turnover ratio, which is unlike his play at the end of last year when he had basically no one to give assists to and was himself turning the ball over frequently.
When LT comes back, coupled with the improvements in McClure's play, Duke will at least have a nominal inside presence. I would hate to take away Singler's inside/outside ability by putting him in the post all the time, but it may be a necessary move to give the team the maneuverability it needs, at least until this team figures out how to play efficiently with their new look. Without a more robust inside presence it will be very easy for opponents to strangle the strength of this team, which is perimeter play. Though last year's team had no one outside of Paulus who wanted to shoot the ball late in the game, this year we have several guys who appear to want that shot. However, if the D is able to key into them it may not matter if they want that shot; it may be too well defended to be a good option.
Another nice aspect of this game was the play of Smith and King; the freshmen played very well in a road game against a respectable opponent. King had his first robust game away from Cameron, and first robust game in a while. Smith played quite well, and we'll need him to play at a similar level more often this year if we want to meet or exceed expectations, especially given our new bout of injuries. McClure's play was also very nice, he got his first start of the year and had his first game where he logged substantial minutes. He also put some stats on the board to go along with the intangibles and hustle he brings to the team.
I am concerned, however, with the play of Scheyer. This is the 3rd game in a row in which he has shot poorly from the field (although not as poorly as the other 2 games). He still had a good stat-stuffing game overall - 10 pts, 4 boards - but this team is much, much better when he shoots the ball well. This does not seem to be the case with Gerald or D-marc - Duke has played well and/or scored well even when GH and/or DN have not shot well, but for some reason Duke really erupts when Scheyer shoots well and the offense grinds down to a slower tempo when he shoots poorly.