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throatybeard
02-23-2008, 06:03 PM
Luigi Carnesecca wore no sweaters during the making of this thread.

kramerbr
02-23-2008, 06:12 PM
Any chants for Mason Plumlee?

dukelifer
02-23-2008, 06:16 PM
Duke played hard and are much better than St. Johns. A nice effort and a good tuneup for Tech. Tech will be a much tougher game though. Thought Zoubek played very well. Henderson showed some flashes of his old self and Smith showed he can step in at any time. Hopefully this game will carry over.

sandinmyshoes
02-23-2008, 06:16 PM
Don't want to read too much into drubbing St. Johns, but it sure feels much better than losing.

duke211
02-23-2008, 06:18 PM
He can score play d, needs to lower the tos but should start, greg is a great shooter and role player, we see that we have another option in driving with smith out there

Madrasdukie
02-23-2008, 06:23 PM
It really puts our teams two losses into perspective.

Stray Gator
02-23-2008, 06:31 PM
It really puts our teams two losses into perspective.

Not to mention the fact that Miami smoked the Terps by 15 this afternoon, suggesting that our 1-point loss there Wednesday night wasn't all about Duke playing poorly.

ugadevil
02-23-2008, 06:34 PM
Sounds like Gerald played well. I didn't see any of his dunks because of the CBS decision to switch to a different game. That's a whole different thread.:mad:

MChambers
02-23-2008, 06:41 PM
He, Smith, and Zoubek got us going. Gerald was looking for his shot, and made some very tough jumpers.

Saratoga2
02-23-2008, 06:43 PM
I got to see a little over one half before CBS shifted over to Kansas. Kind of funny since in the northeast, I would think 75 percent of the audience would prefer St. John and Duke. Isn't it strange that CBS Sports has no e-mail address where one can write in a complaint. At least ESPN usually sticks with one game.

Lots of interesting things went on in this game. Paulus had a very poor first half and McClure didn't get much playing time. Since I followed the game on ESPN game tracker in the second half, I couldn't get much of a feel for what happened there.

Nolan Smith played very well, provided good defense, distributed the ball well and is a threat to score either with the drive, jump shot or three.

Scheyer had a terrific first half but his name hardly came up in the second half. No idea why that was the case.

Zoubek had a great game for him (9 pts, 12 rebounds). I was rooting for him to get the double double.

Henderson showed his shot is back and he was strong in the first half. Again, I didn't see too many mentions for him in the second.

Singler had another terrific game. He is so versitile and does it all.

Thomas played hard and well and is becoming a solid presence on the court.

Nelson played very well and King played hard but wasn't all that effective.

Are we seeing a change in the lineup developing with Zoubek and Nolan getting more time and Paulus and McClure getting less?

Bob Green
02-23-2008, 06:46 PM
Several take aways from today's game:

1.) Our bench scored 38 points: Henderson 13, Smith 13, Zoubek 11, and King 1.

2.) Post presence: Zoubek had a double-double of 13 rebounds and 11 points.

3.) Nolan Smith continues to mature game-by-game.

The next course of action is to finish out the regular season strong.

duke211
02-23-2008, 06:50 PM
Coach in his pregame interviews stated it after the season, man I hope he continues to attack, if the shoots dont fall he still draws the fouls

MChambers
02-23-2008, 06:51 PM
I definitely think you'll see more Zoubek and less McClure, as long as Brian plays like he has the last two games. Smith versus Paulus is a harder call. Paulus was just very bad today. He's usually much better than that. Very nice to have two such good point guards.

Bob Green
02-23-2008, 06:51 PM
Isn't it strange that CBS Sports has no e-mail address where one can write in a complaint.


The President of CBS Sports (http://sportsline.com/cbssports/team/smcmanus) is a Duke grad.

prefan21
02-23-2008, 07:07 PM
ESPN radio Sportscenter gave the update as:

"Duke loses by THIRTY to St. Johns in Cameron. Yikes!"

Oops.

TwoDukeTattoos
02-23-2008, 07:16 PM
I said that Duke needed to win by 30 with a score of 90-60 for this win to be legit. We came close: 86-56.

I know that Singler was selected as the Player of the Game, however, the true Player of the Game was Zoubs. Incredible. An emphatic double-double. He was the most crisp and most agile as I've ever seen him. And he played strong and was never passive. Could be a huge trend for us down the stretch if he continues to play that well.

GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TwoDukeTattoos
02-23-2008, 07:21 PM
I indicated in a earlier post that I think it's possible that Duke can go deep in the tourney due to their scoring balance. My thoughts were confirmed today by a revelation from one of the commentators. He stated that seven of the national champions in NCAA play have had five players to average double-figure scoring - and three of those teams were Duke!!

GO DUKE!!!

heyman25
02-23-2008, 07:28 PM
This game helps,but does not indicate that we are going to make a run from here. If Zoubek can continue to improve that will be a plus. And if Gerald can stay accurate in field goal shooting that is crucial. DeMarcus will be going to the foul line. He might hurt us if he can't convert.Greg can't have any more poor games. We have Nolan,but we need Greg to use better judgement for the rest of this season.

dw0827
02-23-2008, 07:46 PM
Being out here in KU land, I didn't see so much as a second of the game today . . . and I'm a bit confused by the posts regarding Henderson. Did he look for his jumper today? Did he hit with his jumper? Did he look better than he has lately? But he will need surgery on his wrist?

Could someone breaks down his game today for me?

By the way, I was watching via game trackers and it was great to see the stats pile up for Zoubek.

diesel
02-23-2008, 07:50 PM
Is there any way to see the half of the game taken away by CBS? I really want to see how the team is developing and CBS took that opportunity away from me.

And I really don't feel like participating in our normal post-game discussions or voting for the man-of-the match without seeing the whole game.

DoubleDuke Dad
02-23-2008, 07:59 PM
Sounds like Gerald played well. I didn't see any of his dunks because of the CBS decision to switch to a different game. That's a whole different thread.:mad:
I guess CBS must have thought this was the NCAA tournament and switched from the Duke game in order to show a more competitive game. I've complained about ESPN overlapping games, but at least they show the rest of the game no matter what the score is.

wiscodevil
02-23-2008, 08:02 PM
Being out here in KU land, I didn't see so much as a second of the game today . . . and I'm a bit confused by the posts regarding Henderson. Did he look for his jumper today? Did he hit with his jumper? Did he look better than he has lately? But he will need surgery on his wrist?

Could someone breaks down his game today for me?

By the way, I was watching via game trackers and it was great to see the stats pile up for Zoubek.

Henderson played with a brace protecting his injured right wrist, and Krzyzewski said on his pregame radio show that the sophomore guard will require surgery on it after the season.

dukestheheat
02-23-2008, 08:09 PM
Henderson played with a brace protecting his injured right wrist, and Krzyzewski said on his pregame radio show that the sophomore guard will require surgery on it after the season.

He hit 5 of 9 shots, including 1 of 2 from 3 ball range. He had two very nice alley oop receipts for dunks. He was 2 of 2 from the free throw stripe. He had a few assists and a few rebounds.

However, he was knocked down once and he was helped up by the team not with his right hand, but with only his left hand, so clearly he's not well on that shooting hand, and indeed Coach K said after the game that G will indeed need surgery on that hand after the season!

He did seem like he looked for his shot (more); also, though, I still do not believe that he's seeking his slashing, across the lane drive that made him so hard to guard earlier this season. He is obviously still smarting with the hand.

Overall, he's playing better but he's still not near where he was, I think, unfortunately. At least he's looking like he's not there, right now, in my opinion.

dth.

kramerbr
02-23-2008, 08:12 PM
He hit 5 of 9 shots, including 1 of 2 from 3 ball range. He had two very nice alley oop receipts for dunks. He was 2 of 2 from the free throw stripe. He had a few assists and a few rebounds.

However, he was knocked down once and he was helped up by the team not with his right hand, but with only his left hand, so clearly he's not well on that shooting hand, and indeed Coach K said after the game that G will indeed need surgery on that hand after the season!

He did seem like he looked for his shot (more); also, though, I still do not believe that he's seeking his slashing, across the lane drive that made him so hard to guard earlier this season. He is obviously still smarting with the hand.

Overall, he's playing better but he's still not near where he was, I think, unfortunately. At least he's looking like he's not there, right now, in my opinion.

dth.

It's nice to see a player tought it out and play through an injury. Unlike some players from another team.

mapei
02-23-2008, 08:16 PM
Why is it better to see a player continue to play with an injury than to take time off to heal?

kramerbr
02-23-2008, 08:17 PM
Nevermind, it was a "joke".

rsvman
02-23-2008, 08:27 PM
Nevermind, it was a "joke".

Most of us got it.

TwoDukeTattoos
02-23-2008, 08:46 PM
Most of us got it.

I got it. :)

norduck
02-23-2008, 08:52 PM
I got it. :)


So did I !

OZZIE4DUKE
02-23-2008, 10:03 PM
I'm a bit confused by the posts regarding Henderson. Did he look for his jumper today? Did he hit with his jumper? Did he look better than he has lately? But he will need surgery on his wrist?

Could someone breaks down his game today for me?



For the first time since he got hurt, Gerald not only looked for his shot but he found it!

Early in the first half he hit a mid range (~14') jumper, much to my delight. Then he hit a 3. He had two spectacular ally-oop dunks.

Getting G's offense back, especially the mid range jumper, is crucial to this teams success in so many ways.

mgtr
02-23-2008, 10:08 PM
Thanks to CBS, some of us didn't get to see the alley-oops. Fortunately, no more CBS games where they can s@@@w us!
I sure do hope that DU gets a bunch of money from CBS for allowing them to broadcast the game, otherwise we are much better off with ESPN, Fox or Raycom. Those networks show the whole game, and nothing but the game (if you remember the Bass-o-matic from SNL).

gep
02-23-2008, 10:36 PM
Getting G's offense back, especially the mid range jumper, is crucial to this teams success in so many ways.

Maybe coming off the bench takes a lot of pressure off of G... especially with his wrist injury... and he's able to not worry about his role as a starter, and can just go out and play:cool:

Saratoga2
02-23-2008, 11:44 PM
Coach K has some hard decisions to make relative to who gets the PT and what combinations to use. The last three games in particular have pointed to combinations that appear to work. St. John was a relatively weak team, so the results from this afternoon might not be representative going against the stronger ACC teams, but they do suggest important strides have been made by some players:

1. Zoubek
2. Smith
3. Thomas

There are clearly others who are extremely solid and can be relied upon in key games:

1. Singler
2. Scheyer
3. Nelson
4. Henderson (but touch and go due to injury)

Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)

Coach K needs to use the solid players along with the improving players at the start of games, instead of getting behind early, and somehow motivate the others to improve their games as we will need them all to play close to their peak to be a real threat for the final four.

beltwayBD
02-24-2008, 12:15 AM
Coach K has some hard decisions to make relative to who gets the PT and what combinations to use. The last three games in particular have pointed to combinations that appear to work. St. John was a relatively weak team, so the results from this afternoon might not be representative going against the stronger ACC teams, but they do suggest important strides have been made by some players:

1. Zoubek
2. Smith
3. Thomas

There are clearly others who are extremely solid and can be relied upon in key games:

1. Singler
2. Scheyer
3. Nelson
4. Henderson (but touch and go due to injury)

Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)

Coach K needs to use the solid players along with the improving players at the start of games, instead of getting behind early, and somehow motivate the others to improve their games as we will need them all to play close to their peak to be a real threat for the final four.

Great analysis!

I'm sooo, excited about Zoubek's double-double (in 20 minutes of playing time). He's earned it. He's got a lot of heart, and it's so great to see him succeed.

If nothing else, this was the confidence boost we were looking for.

Also, a balanced performance. A lot of contributors. A few players stepped up, and a few had forgettable games. But those player with forgettable games could just as easily step up, and no doubt will against GT.

OZZIE4DUKE
02-24-2008, 09:46 AM
Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)


I'm not ready to give up on Greg Paulus yet. Yes, I made a snide comment about him playing with his head up his butt again, but the last three games have been a departure from the last month's performance, where he has been solid to almost spectacular. If he regains his game in the coming week, he'll remain our starter. Perhaps we need to revisit the earlier thread where several of us "warm up" Greg before the game starts to overcome his slow start. Yeah, that's it. It is our fault for his play the last three games.

As for Dave, he's the loser playing time wise as Lance develops and Brian recovers and evolves. His game is not what it was last year, perhaps due to lingering effects of his injuries and surgeries. We actually saw Lance and Brian on the floor together for one rotation in the second half last night - no Singler, no King, and previously that would have meant no offense. Not the case last night. They got a big hand for doing a really good job when they were subbed out (by Singler and King).

King's overall game is coming around, although I sure wish he'd start hitting his shots again. He had a midrange jumper and a couple of 3's rattle around the rim and come out. Two of those shots were all but down before they spun out. As JJ said to a fellow player his senior year "if you don't like the rims, don't hit them."

CameronBornAndBred
02-24-2008, 10:38 AM
Obviuosly, SJU was going to be a win coming in. I think the coaches treated it that way, too. It was nice to see the final victory margin what it was, but the team got there through unconventional means. This is another game that shows me that K is having one of his best years, because he continues to step out of the box.
We all saw and seem to agree that this was a big game for Zoubek, he even acknowledged it as a confidence builder. What else do you all think we take away from this one? I think seein Taylor get 14 non scoring minutes was pretty impressive. That's important court time for him that he needs to grow on. Like Zoub, I think he earned his minutes out there.
Any other positives to take away from here and build on in the home stretch?

wilko
02-24-2008, 11:41 AM
I'm not ready to give up on Greg Paulus yet. the last three games have been a departure from the last month's performance, where he has been solid to almost spectacular.

Me neither. When Greg is on the court his shot is falling we have a different gear. There are games this we would have lost if he doesnt step up.

** Side note: I went to the game with soem friends. One of them is a special needs kid. Greg really went out of his way to chit chat and be accomodating and gracious to the boy when he asked for an autograph. Thats not to say the other fellows were rude. they were not, but Greg gave something extra.



As for Dave, he's the loser playing time wise as Lance develops and Brian recovers and evolves. His game is not what it was last year, perhaps due to lingering effects of his injuries and surgeries.

I remember one game from Dave's Fr yr. He made a bonehead play. In the ensuing TO, K emphaticly reminded him of said play. Some reacted harshly to the vigor of K's tirade. Daves reply was: "I made a bonehead play. I had it coming.." That impressed me tremendously. I have been rooting for him ever since. I think alot of what was good about last yr was due to Dave's play. He was a different player last yr and I hope his leg heals and he finds his confidence and game groove.


King's overall game is coming around, although I sure wish he'd start hitting his shots again. He had a midrange jumper and a couple of 3's rattle around the rim and come out. Two of those shots were all but down before they spun out. As JJ said to a fellow player his senior year "if you don't like the rims, don't hit them."

I though King did great! He did everything BUT score in his minutes. He hustled, he rebounded, made the extra pass. Those elements will get him court time. Next to Zoubek, he got exactly what he needed out ofSt. Johns and responded with a nice game.

Surfsideron
02-24-2008, 11:47 AM
Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)


Isn't it amazing how some of us quit on a player so readily! To say that Paulus is a disappointment is incredulous! Yes, he has had a couple of bad outings lately but what about his overall performance this year? The kid is glue..... a leader...a fighter....we were praising him just few weeks ago and now he should be sitting on the bench!

We need Greg!

MChambers
02-24-2008, 12:36 PM
Being out here in KU land, I didn't see so much as a second of the game today . . . and I'm a bit confused by the posts regarding Henderson. Did he look for his jumper today? Did he hit with his jumper? Did he look better than he has lately? But he will need surgery on his wrist?

Could someone breaks down his game today for me?

By the way, I was watching via game trackers and it was great to see the stats pile up for Zoubek.

He looked for and hit his jumper. He looked much better. But he will need surgery.

Devil in the Blue Dress
02-24-2008, 12:45 PM
T

Isn't it amazing how some of us quit on a player so readily! To say that Paulus is a disappointment is incredulous! Yes, he has had a couple of bad outings lately but what about his overall performance this year? The kid is glue..... a leader...a fighter....we were praising him just few weeks ago and now he should be sitting on the bench!

We need Greg!

Isn't it wonderful that Coach K doesn't seem to give up on any of the players? Guess that's why he's the coach and we just watch!

Devilsfan
02-24-2008, 01:08 PM
Good post!

Papa John
02-24-2008, 01:35 PM
Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)



Oh boy... Here we go again with the Paulus-Smith starting debate... Not that there's anything wrong with spinning your intellectual wheels on said topic--after all, it's a free country... But placing Paulus in a 'has not show as much at this stage in the season' category is simply ridiculous and ignores the fact that for a stretch of this season he was the guy who willed us back into some games that we definitely would have lost last season. Geez, what a fickle group ye Paulus-detractors be...

duke211
02-24-2008, 01:48 PM
Good role player, d is not there against quick guards, nolan should start or jon at pg, I think greg needs to come off the bench and get his shoots

wilko
02-24-2008, 01:57 PM
Good role player, d is not there against quick guards, nolan should start or jon at pg, I think greg needs to come off the bench and get his shoots


I get what you are saying and have felt that way too ....at times... Gregs 3 ball and leadership feed alot more intangibles than I realized. Hes a key.

But then are times when the matchups dont favor him and I wish we were a bit quicker to recognize where the advantages and disadvanges are and exploit them with Nolan or Jon.

But when it comes down to endgame... I want Greg on the floor when we have the lead and trying to close out a game. His FT and leadership to get us thru.

CDu
02-24-2008, 01:58 PM
Oh boy... Here we go again with the Paulus-Smith starting debate... Not that there's anything wrong with spinning your intellectual wheels on said topic--after all, it's a free country... But placing Paulus in a 'has not show as much at this stage in the season' category is simply ridiculous and ignores the fact that for a stretch of this season he was the guy who willed us back into some games that we definitely would have lost last season. Geez, what a fickle group ye Paulus-detractors be...

He gets oodles of praise when he plays well. He should be worthy of discussion when he doesn't play so well. There's nothing wrong with pointing out both his good games and his not so good games. It's not being fickle - it's the reality of how Paulus has played. He's had some really good games and some struggles.

Dbluedevils1530
02-24-2008, 02:26 PM
Greg is huge to this team wtf u talking about?

dukegirlinsc
02-24-2008, 02:33 PM
Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)


Isn't it amazing how some of us quit on a player so readily! To say that Paulus is a disappointment is incredulous! Yes, he has had a couple of bad outings lately but what about his overall performance this year? The kid is glue..... a leader...a fighter....we were praising him just few weeks ago and now he should be sitting on the bench!

We need Greg!

I agree. Greg drew some quick fouls yesterday, the first one which was questionable. (IMO.) While he was on the bench you could tell he was more frustrated than ever. He's played SO well for the most part of the season, I don't think 2-3 bad games right now are a reason to dump him. (Not that anyone is really "dumping" him...) I think Greg will be fine in the long run. He made some nice shots at the end of the game yesterday, and was already looking a LOT more confident than he has been in the last 2 weeks.

Papa John
02-24-2008, 02:39 PM
He gets oodles of praise when he plays well. He should be worthy of discussion when he doesn't play so well. There's nothing wrong with pointing out both his good games and his not so good games. It's not being fickle - it's the reality of how Paulus has played. He's had some really good games and some struggles.

Like I said, it's a free country... Perhaps I become a tad more sensitive with regard to Greg, because I believe he's been treated as a whipping post for the past two seasons by [IMHO] reactionary fans who don't sound [to me, at least] like they know a whole lot about the game of basketball... But please, go ahead and debate the merits of starting the freshman PG or even a shooting guard over our seasoned veteran junior PG, simply because he's had a couple of bad games... And while doing so, feel free to ignore the similar bad outings that said freshman PG and shooting guard have had recently...

Saratoga2
02-24-2008, 02:49 PM
I agree. Greg drew some quick fouls yesterday, the first one which was questionable. (IMO.) While he was on the bench you could tell he was more frustrated than ever. He's played SO well for the most part of the season, I don't think 2-3 bad games right now are a reason to dump him. (Not that anyone is really "dumping" him...) I think Greg will be fine in the long run. He made some nice shots at the end of the game yesterday, and was already looking a LOT more confident than he has been in the last 2 weeks.

I do not advocate dumping him Paulus or anyone else. We face teams with point guards who are quick and athletic. Virtually no one looks good guarding them, however, Greg is at more disadvantage than DeMarcus or Nolan due to his speed and length.

To make up for his defensive disadvantage, he has to hit a fair percentage of his shots and more importantly, he has to be solid handling the ball. During the SJ game he definitely was not solid. He telegraphed his first pass and quickly fouled out of frustration. He then made a couple of passes directly across court (no no) that were picked up and had another frustration foul. Greg is a good ball handler so it is hard to understand why he makes poor passes at times. The SJ game is not the first one where he has struggled in that way. It may be a confidence problem and I am certain the coaches are trying to help him return to his better form, which at times this year has been stellar.

stingy
02-24-2008, 04:45 PM
I didn't get to see any of the game living in Chicago, and was hoping to see video of what I read was this terrific one-handed put-back by Singler at the end of the first half that didn't count. It wasn't on sportscenter, or WRAL's online video. I guess there aren't any other places I could look for this, eh? Anyone want to describe the shot a little more, just for the sake of my own curiosity?

mapei
02-24-2008, 05:48 PM
Isn't it wonderful that Coach K doesn't seem to give up on any of the players? Guess that's why he's the coach and we just watch!

Actually, he does. See: Pocius, M, and King, T.

On Greg, I continue to believe he's a net positive. Nolan is earning more minutes but isn't overall the better player IMO, not yet anyway.

Karl Beem
02-24-2008, 05:51 PM
Actually, he does. See: Pocius, M, and King, T.


Completely disagree.
:mad:

Jumbo
02-24-2008, 05:53 PM
Actually, he does. See: Pocius, M, and King, T.

On Greg, I continue to believe he's a net positive. Nolan is earning more minutes but isn't overall the better player IMO, not yet anyway.


In what way has Coach K "given up" on either Pocius or (especially) King? Can't wait for this answer...

Devil in the Blue Dress
02-24-2008, 07:17 PM
In what way has Coach K "given up" on either Pocius or (especially) King? Can't wait for this answer...
Thank you, Jumbo. Your comment is stated better and more diplomatically than what I thought when I read that comment about Coach K giving up on Marty and Taylor.

CDu
02-24-2008, 07:49 PM
Like I said, it's a free country... Perhaps I become a tad more sensitive with regard to Greg, because I believe he's been treated as a whipping post for the past two seasons by [IMHO] reactionary fans who don't sound [to me, at least] like they know a whole lot about the game of basketball... But please, go ahead and debate the merits of starting the freshman PG or even a shooting guard over our seasoned veteran junior PG, simply because he's had a couple of bad games... And while doing so, feel free to ignore the similar bad outings that said freshman PG and shooting guard have had recently...

I don't ignore the struggles Smith has had. Nor do I ignore the struggles Paulus has had. Nor do I think Smith should start ahead of Paulus. I think they're both very important. But I think there are plenty of people on this board who are WAY to sensitive to any criticism of Paulus' performance. That's all. You can still support Paulus while critiquing his performance at times.

DangerDevil
02-24-2008, 11:00 PM
Like I said, it's a free country... Perhaps I become a tad more sensitive with regard to Greg, because I believe he's been treated as a whipping post for the past two seasons by [IMHO] reactionary fans who don't sound [to me, at least] like they know a whole lot about the game of basketball... But please, go ahead and debate the merits of starting the freshman PG or even a shooting guard over our seasoned veteran junior PG, simply because he's had a couple of bad games... And while doing so, feel free to ignore the similar bad outings that said freshman PG and shooting guard have had recently...

Completely Agree!

dukegirlinsc
02-24-2008, 11:09 PM
Completely Agree!

me as well! :)

Papa John
02-25-2008, 08:43 AM
I don't ignore the struggles Smith has had. Nor do I ignore the struggles Paulus has had. Nor do I think Smith should start ahead of Paulus. I think they're both very important. But I think there are plenty of people on this board who are WAY to sensitive to any criticism of Paulus' performance. That's all. You can still support Paulus while critiquing his performance at times.

I'm really not that sensitive... ;-) I just had some rare free time over the weekend and decided to jump in on what I perceived to be yet another silly, ill-informed statement regarding Paulus [the 'has not played to expectations up to this point']... I think someone coming to that conclusion hasn't payed very close attention to our games this season... The jab about a Paulus-Smith starter debate was simply sarcasm, though I imagine you caught that the first time around...

It sounds like you and I probably view the PG situation quite similarly... We have solid experience in Greg, and a wonderful raw athletic talent in Nolan, and are fortunate to be able to throw them at teams in a 1-2 punch... They both bring different things to the table, which forces teams to adjust when one or the other enters the game... One of the main reasons I prefer starting Greg is because neither is leagues beyond the other [yet] with regard to what they bring to the table, and I actually think not starting is beneficial to Nolan: it does not place undue pressure square on his shoulders from the outset, and it also provides a learning experience, as it allows him to watch the game unfold for a bit from the sidelines before jumping into the action himself... I regard it somewhat akin to young QBs in FB--standing on the sidelines is usually a good learning experience because they have time to just watch things unfold without being forced to make the split-second decisions they'd need to make on the field...