MBB: Duke vs. Maryland (Jan 26, 2013) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[davekay1971]

I'll go with Quinn, Seth, Rasheed, Amile, and Mason, essentially giving me Quinn and Seth against Tyler and Alex.

I like British Ales and American microbrews. Not sure how you'll get it in the mail, though.

I'm sitting back drinking a Rogue Northwestern Ale in complete agreement with you. However, in the interest of fairness, if he's taking Tyler and Alex over Quinn and Seth, you're going to have to give him odds for sheer cojones in making that prediction.

[jv001]

We've seen Coach K make some interesting changes to the starting lineup in the past. Remember the Wake game with a walkon guarding Chris Paul? Quinn was not steady against Miami and Larkin beat him off the dribble many times. So a lineup of: Rasheed, Seth, Mason, Alex and Amile may start. I wouldn't count on it, but it's not impossible. Quinn has been replaced on time already so that may not be a good idea as it may really hurt his confidence. But we either need a shake up to get us going or the players will have to dig down deep to get out of this rut. I have faith in the guys and Coach K. GoDuke!

[OldSchool]

Posters have raised the issue that Mason is not being as aggressive as he might be at the rim. I suspect a part of that is his desire to avoid foul trouble. He has done a great job cutting down on bad fouls and he understands that he needs to be on the floor as much as possible for us to win.

One example that stuck in my mind was in the Miami game at about the 11:40 mark of the first half when Rasheed and Mason were running a ball screen. Mason rolled and Rasheed hit him with a beautiful pocket pass perfectly placed. (More of that, please!) Both Miami bigs were caught out of position and rotated late to try to intercept Mason. Mason went up but didn’t really attack the rim and lost the ball out of bounds. As it was, both of Miami’s bigs could have been called for a foul because both jumped in the air and made contact with Mason and neither was vertical. But had Mason attacked the rim, he almost certainly would have gotten that call. On the other hand, there was a chance he might have been whistled for a charge had he done that. I think the understandable desire to avoid foul trouble has a flip side to it.

I would like to see us use Mason more like in that play, in other words get him the ball when he is in motion and let him read the defense and make a play. (I wanted to see a lot more of using the rolling big man last year as well.) With Ryan out as innumerable posters have pointed out, Mason has less opportunity to go one on one under the rim with a defender. Put him in motion, get him the ball and make the defense move out of position. Rely on Mason to read the defense and either take it to the rack, hit Amile or Josh with an interior pass or find the open perimeter guy.

It may be time to get Marshall more minutes subbing for Mason especially in the first half of games. It may translate into Mason playing with fewer fouls and being able to feel freer to attack the basket.

[DBFAN]

I think Murphy starts tomorrow for all the reasons listed above. One other reason we are playing at Home against a rather sub par Maryland. Not to disrespect their team I like their Coach but these guys are young and while they beat State, they hardly looked like they knew what they were doing in Chapel Hill. For that reason I think Murphy gets the nod, because the pressure wont be as higj as it was in Miami. I expect K to get the ball to him often in the first half to force Maryland to open things up. One other reason I see him starting tomorrow is because if the hustle he showed in Miami the other night. In a losing cause he and Jefferson played hard for every minute they were in the floor, and we all know that goes a long way with K. If Murphy an put up just 8-10 pts a game (easier said than done, I know) this team will look a lot more like they did at the beginning of the season, at least from offense. If he gels can u imagine the potential for this team if and when Ryan comes back. Not only will we have another Kelly type player, but we will also have one who can get to the rim. As much as The Miami game sucked, it was a wake up call for everyone involved. Things will change, not because the Coaches say so, or they are suppose to, but the fact is now that they HAVE to. Otherwise it will be a long year. And Miami showed us that. I am still impressed with K not freaking out during that game. It woulda been easy for him to tell the team to just slow the game down and take the air out so they don't get embarrassed, but in that moment the greatest basketball let them learn an invaluable lesson for the future

Go Duke

Sorry if spelling is bad I hate typing on my iPhone

I put this on the Miami post game thread without thinking it prob belonged here instead. Sorry for the duplication

[tele]

First I generally agree with the newcastle selection, but that's only if you can't get a good porter, like Black Butte from Deschutes brewco. As far as lineups and starters go, after a game like the last one, who starts should be of less import than who's finishing. Most of the possible combinations have been mentioned, so I'll just say that the 3 guard lineup without kelly is not creating the same advantages for Duke as it does with him. So I'd say play a 2 guard, 3 forward/center lineup. Rotate your 4 guards to take full advantage of their particular skills and rotate your frontline players to use your depth there too. I don't think you give up much in doing this, and it will develop you bench, take some pressure off Curry and perhaps Mason too. I think it would help on the boards which will be important against Maryland. Someone else, DaveMckay?, said push the pace, press and use the bench, and this lineup would help do that by keeping your backcourt fresher. (I actually thought that would be the gameplan against Miama, to push the tempo and try and get to Miami's bench, but with Big Reggie back that was less likely, even though he was huffing and puffing quite a bit). While they may run some against Maryland, I expect to see an emphasis on passing the ball and getting good looks in the half court offense, just playing strongly together.

I don't really think it matters so much at this point who starts, start Quinn and Seth with Amile and Alex, or start Josh and Rasheed (mason is the one given). You can still go 3 guards too at times during the game, nothing absolute about any of this, just need to play to the teams strengths and make it harder for opposing teams to gameplan against you (especially against Mason and Seth). Then when Ryan comes back the team will be ready to integrate him and to compete for championships.

[BlueandWhite]

Maryland delinde est

Duke should beat Maryland. We should beat them down and do it with a ferocity that is just ugly. Maryland plays very good defense and they rebound well. That's all well and good, and we need to respect that. But, if we focus on our own defense and rebounding, we can rebound with them, we can shut down their anemic offense, and we should be able to generate enough offense of our own to beat them down.

I'd start the game focusing on Mason Plumlee. Get the ball into Mason and see if he can generate some easy offense and get Len in some foul trouble. There's nothing I'd like better for Maryland's last ACC game in Cameron than to have Maryland fans blaming the refs because Len gets in early foul trouble. Strategically, that would help open up the outside for Curry and Sulaimon and, if we can limit Len's PT, help us out tremendously on the boards.

If Mason can't get established, that makes things more difficult, and it could be a real dogfight. But I have faith in Mason to get established, and faith in Cook finding ways to get the ball to him in position to score.

I can't wait for this game. I bet our team can't wait either.

Agree with your post re: focus on defense.

And I just have to say, it's ridiculous that Maryland is going to the Big 10. They will be routinely clobbered by (insert Big 10 football power here) and geographically it's stupid for them to be in a conference with Iowa, Purdue, Nebraska etc. Good riddance!

[Newton_14]

I would just like to caution those who are in the camp of "Boy is Maryland in big trouble tomorrow because Duke is boiling mad and will take it out on Maryland". This Duke is still the "new" team trying to figure out who they are without Ryan. The last time we got smoked like this in an ACC Reg Season game was the 09 game at Clemson (Side Note: That was the game where Jr Lance Thomas revealed to the world that he was a leader, but that is another story).

The very next game was a Saturday afternoon game in Cameron against a decent Miami team with a star guard. Duke fell behind by 16 points, before battling back to tie, then win it in OT. K played the same 5 guys for like the last 7 minutes of Regulation and all of the OT, led by Greg Paulus. I honestly thought all 5 were going to collapse from fatigue.

Most were expecting a fired up and livid Duke team to run Miami out of the gym from the opening tip with the Crazies roaring them on. Didn't happen.

I honestly don't know what to expect tomorrow. Nothing will surprise me. I will take a 1 point win and be thrilled. I do hope we press them full court right out of the gate. Still think that is a tried and true strategy in the first 4 or 5 minutes of home games, from back in the day, and I think this team has the quickness to be fairly effective at it. K went away from that strategy several years ago, I assume due to the make up of the team. Forcing a few TO's early to generate easy baskets might loosen the guys up and get them off to a good start. I think it is worth a shot.

[DUKIE V(A)]

I am surprised that so many are expecting Curry on the pine tomorrow. Unless his injury has gotten significantly worse, I not only expect Seth to start but predict him to score 20+. We are going to need his scoring. I expect all our guards (Cook, Curry, Rasheed, and Thornton) to play a prominent role in tomorrow's victory. They need to contain Allen and hit open looks. Wells drives it hard to the basketball whenever possible but is vulnerable to offensive charging fouls. Getting him in foul trouble will significantly help our chances. If our bigs can keep the battle of the boards within 5 to 7, we will be in great shape to beat the Terps by double digits.

[gep]

What about Mason, Marshall, Seth, Sulu, and Quinn. Marshall can block-out... if teams double down on Mason, Marshall may be in position for a quick basket/dunk. If the don't double-down, Mason and Marshall may be able to create space for each other. Or, if Marshall subs in for Mason more often, Mason can play much more aggressively without worrying too much about fouls. I really think that the reason Mason has had success of not fouling is that he just avoids it. But he loses aggressiveness... on defense, I've seen him not even challenging shots much. And like others have posted, Mason may not go to the hoop as strongly as he can for fear of the offensive foul. Of course, all of this depends on Marshall being capable of doing what I dream of him doing...

p.s. one other thing... on defense, Marshall patrols the basket... Mason can flash out to the point guard... take him 1-2 feet out of his "comfort zone"...

[Kedsy]

First I generally agree with the newcastle selection, but that's only if you can't get a good porter, like Black Butte from Deschutes brewco.

I always have a case of New Castle Brown Ale on hand in my beer fridge. In fact I have some in my pint glass right now. If you like porter, however, I highly recommend the Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes brewery out in Cleveland.

As far as the lineup, I think we'll end up sticking with the three guard, two big lineup, primarily because I don't think we have a third forward who would be either a defensive or an offensive improvement over the third guard we employ. You say we won't be giving up much by doing this, but the only forward who could fit your bill is Alex and, as has been discussed already, I think playing Alex for a significant amount of time ahead of Seth, Rasheed, or Quinn would give up a great deal. I'm not busting on Alex, he's just not ready to give us any of the things Seth, Rasheed, and Quinn give us.

[OldSchool]

I do hope we press them full court right out of the gate. Still think that is a tried and true strategy in the first 4 or 5 minutes of home games, from back in the day, and I think this team has the quickness to be fairly effective at it. K went away from that strategy several years ago, I assume due to the make up of the team. Forcing a few TO's early to generate easy baskets might loosen the guys up and get them off to a good start. I think it is worth a shot.

This strategy gives me pause. To me, this team is not a good full court trapping team. Obviously, we were forced to do it for much of the Miami game. What we saw there was some pretty good double team traps. Especially Rasheed with his quickness and Amile with his long arms. But once they beat the initial trap, we were toast. The quick layups and alley oops on the other end were ugly and humiliating. It's similar to our weakness in transition defense.

Conversely, we have not in the last few years been a very good team beating the full court press, principally because we don't punish teams for pressing us. Too often we settle for beating the trap and getting the ball over midcourt and then work our half court offense (the opposite of what Miami did to us, which is take it all the way to the rim immediately after beating the trap). I'm not sure why we have not been better at it, especially when we have bigs like Mason and Ryan that see the court and pass well -- in theory we should burn be able to burn the full court press with regularity.

On the other hand Miami is a veteran, good team whereas Maryland is a young, not very good team. So perhaps your strategy will work with Maryland. Perhaps throw it out there a few times to disrupt them but not enough to where they get comfortable overcoming it.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Let's Go DUKE! Beat the Terps!
Let's go State! Beat the holes!
Go To Hell carolina! 9F!
And here's hoping it warms up early enough in the morning to melt today's road ice by 11 a.m. so we can drive safely to the game! Maybe as Hell opens its gates to let carolina in, some of the heat will get out!

[Bob Green]

Vegas has Duke as a 12 points favorite with the over/under set at 138 so they are looking for a score in the neighborhood of 75-63.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...dds/las-vegas/

[devildeac]

Vegas has Duke as a 12 points favorite with the over/under set at 138 so they are looking for a score in the neighborhood of 75-63.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...dds/las-vegas/

That certainly sounds more reasonable than the 28 point line we saw yesterday. Wanna re-consider our liquid wager with this new info?

[oldnavy]

I would just like to caution those who are in the camp of "Boy is Maryland in big trouble tomorrow because Duke is boiling mad and will take it out on Maryland". This Duke is still the "new" team trying to figure out who they are without Ryan. The last time we got smoked like this in an ACC Reg Season game was the 09 game at Clemson (Side Note: That was the game where Jr Lance Thomas revealed to the world that he was a leader, but that is another story).

The very next game was a Saturday afternoon game in Cameron against a decent Miami team with a star guard. Duke fell behind by 16 points, before battling back to tie, then win it in OT. K played the same 5 guys for like the last 7 minutes of Regulation and all of the OT, led by Greg Paulus. I honestly thought all 5 were going to collapse from fatigue.

Most were expecting a fired up and livid Duke team to run Miami out of the gym from the opening tip with the Crazies roaring them on. Didn't happen.

I honestly don't know what to expect tomorrow. Nothing will surprise me. I will take a 1 point win and be thrilled. I do hope we press them full court right out of the gate. Still think that is a tried and true strategy in the first 4 or 5 minutes of home games, from back in the day, and I think this team has the quickness to be fairly effective at it. K went away from that strategy several years ago, I assume due to the make up of the team. Forcing a few TO's early to generate easy baskets might loosen the guys up and get them off to a good start. I think it is worth a shot.

N14, as always - excellent post. I totally agree. I will take it a step further, I expect us to struggle. I have no reason to suspect that Duke will play any better than they have over the past several games.

Now, having said that. My sincere hope is that I am dead wrong!! What worries me is how other teams seem to bring more... what is the word I'm looking for... just say energy to the game, especially early in the game.

Now the Md team that played UNC looked pathetic... seriously, they were turning the ball over (some uncontested mind you) at a rate almost equal to their scoring rate. If we do bring the enegry and smack them in the mouth early, we could be looking at a 30 point blow out of our own.

However if we come out in our usual habit of NOT being the aggressor, then I think we will be looking at a tight game with the real potential of losing.

I just don't know. I do trust K and staff to know which strategy is best.

My own personal feeling is we need Mason lower on the block to aggressively take the ball into Len's chest, damn the fouls... and just play hard basketball. It is more important IMO from the mindset and psyche of Mason (and by extention the team) at this point than getting 3 fouls in the first half or whatever.

Second, I want guard penetration into the lane!!! Ball screens, ball screens, ball screens designed to get Cook, Rasheed, Seth, etc... to the rim!! We need to attack the rim with a passion this game, again for the psyche of the team and to make a statement.

I hope I see some of this today.

On defense, I expect to see a much improved game (has to be right??), one because Md doesn't have much punch, and two, defense is a whole lot more about effort and toughness, which I expect K has made clear to the fellows that he expects that in spades... I do not think they will want to mail this game in... may be some chippiness...

This will be a very, very, VERY interesting game to watch. I can't wait.

[Bob Green]

That certainly sounds more reasonable than the 28 point line we saw yesterday. Wanna re-consider our liquid wager with this new info?

Absolutely! Seeing as you are feeling magnanimous and you're willing to let me off the hook, I'll take Duke minus 12 points.

[moonpie23]

we need to be aggressive out of the gate...even if it means some early fouls...let the terps know they we are not gonna be passive...

[superdave]

Absolutely! Seeing as you are feeling magnanimous and you're willing to let me off the hook, I'll take Duke minus 12 points.

It's ok. You can drink beer for any reason, or for no reason!

I feel like this is a big game for this team. They need to build some confidence and show they can gut out a game. I might have to drink during this game. I am nervous.

[Dukeblue91]

I think this is all a little too over analyzed due to the Miami game.
The thing I got out of that game besides missing so many open looks including pointblank layups was our ball movement.
Once we started falling behind our ball movement was almost none existent and it was jack up city with only one or two passes.
Having a off night like that in regards of shooting may never happen again this season although this was not the first and only time Seth was totally out of sorts and ice cold shooting the ball.

We just need to take a little more time setting up when the fast break is not available and move the ball more and have guys cutting and probing more with and without the ball.
I also think that Quinn is having some issues that I have not figured out yet but he doesn't act as confident as before and is making some silly mistakes with the ball and quite a few unforced ones too.

All in all the sky is not falling even though this loss was quite embarrassing to us and the players.
I'm looking for more set plays, more passing and ball pressure rather then a huge lineup change.
I also don't think that we will be blowing MD straight out of the gym either and that it will be a hard fought game that we will end up winning by 10 or 12 points at the most.

These are only my .02 cents and with current inflation not worth even that much.

[Dukeblue91]

PS.

I was also very happy to see Amile and Alex starting to really stepping up a bit and hope that it will continue that way.
Sure wish that MP3 was as ready to contribute a little more too as that would help Mason a huge deal.