MBB: Duke 84, Florida 74 Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[SlapTheFloor]

Tatum definitely adds a new dimension to this team. Jefferson and Kennard continue to shine. Good win!

[OldPhiKap]

Amile. Wow.

Luke. Wow.

Tatum. Wow.

Grayson, unselfish game.

Wow.

[FerryFor50]

Nice win against a physical defensive team that was hitting an ungodly amount of 3s.

Some lapses in halfcourt D, especially on pick and roll, but the good news is that Jayson Tatum has officially arrived. Awesome offense, defense and rebounding.

Kennard was a beast, as was Amile.

Allen was passing GREAT. Shooting, he's still forcing the issue.

Bolden sat the entire 2nd half; I think it was because of Amile's play, but also because Bolden looked lethargic out there and picked up a couple quick, lazy fouls.

Jackson was quiet for the most part. Matt was an adventure on offense, but played his usual good D.

The team seemed to finally figure out the offense around the end of the 1st half and never let UF get too close.

All in all, a nice, comfy win.

[Brockt10]

This team is unbelievably talented. We realistically should have won by 15-20 but Florida, to their credit, hit threes they normally do not. We still have two lottery picks sitting on the bench. What an amazing time to be a Duke fan.

[SCMatt33]

Great to see Tatum looking in rhythm tonight. I'm sure there's a lot of things to say about the game, but I want to call out two really heady plays by Jayson that impressed me for a guy playing his second game. First, he had a fast break opportunity, but it appeared Florida had a defender on the opposite side with a decent angle. In his second game, in the garden, a lot of guys go for a monster posterizing dunk, risking a block and a collision. Instead, he simply used the rim to ward off the defender and took the easy lay in. Second, a few plays later, coming down with a rebound, he had the presence of mind to know he was off balance and going down and dribbled while falling in order to avoid the travel and get a pass off. Really impressive stuff to me to add the little thing to those NBA turnaround jumpers.

[Ballboy1998]

First, the few "bad" things for me -- Grayson still looks way below 100% and is struggling to score it (though he finished with 8 assists). Hopefully he can get some more rest over this next stretch. Matt has been struggling more than usual on the offensive end the last couple games, though he certainly still contributes in a lot of areas. Would have liked to see Bolden for a few more minutes.

On to the good -- wow Amile and wow Luke. One of Amile's best offensive performances, and 15 boards to go along with it. Luke was feeling it tonight.

And, last but certainly not least, what a coming out party for Tatum. He really showed a lot on both ends of the floor. He had some beautiful offense late, and I really liked the way he attacked the glass on both ends of the floor. I just can't wait to see more of him out there.

[DukeDevil]

Could change the title of this threat to Luke/Amile/Jayson 75, Florida 74.

[CDu]

Your table is ready Mr. Tatum. Yes, Kennard and Jefferson led the show, but the most exciting part of the game for me was Tatum's arrival to the big stage. He soared for rebounds in traffic. He toyed with defenders in the post. He forced turnovers. He scored in transition. The kid is a stud, and brings an element to this team that was missing.

Back to Kennard and Jefferson. Wow. Kennard continues to amaze with his mid-range game. When his 3 is falling, it just isn't fair. And Jefferson's crafty post game, his tenacious rebounding, and even blocking shots. He was huge.

Tough night for Allen, though he did ice the game with a nice runner over their big.

Also a tough night for Jones. He was for the most part steady, but had two glaringly bad miscues. He will have better days. Defense travels.

Not a lot else to be said. It was largely a 3-man show. But what a show!

[DukieInBrasil]

yay! good win over a solid team.
Tatum really showed me something tonight! I thought it would take him a while to get back to game speed, particularly after the Maine game. If it weren't for 2 other stellar performances in this game, his stats would usually garner MOTM nods.
Amile was just a stud. We went to him time and again and Florida had no answer. Amile acted like a brute on the boards.
Luke was also a stud, but craftier, less brutish.
Grayson needs to sit for a while, he's obviously not himself and has not improved at all lately.
I think the 2nd half showed that Jackson will lose his starting spot to Tatum. Although if Grayson is shut down for a while, Jackson will probably start in his place.

[Faison1]

Just watched Luke's interview with Scott Van Pelt. Luke sounds like he's been coached on interviews for years already.

Color me impressed with everything about him so far.

[subzero02]

If Luke stays 4 years, he will have multiple banners hanging in Cameron including his jersey. I am not worried about our offense; we have unselfish players. Defense and defensive rebounding are key. Bolden needs to improve his conditioning and as good as Matt Jones is; he makes some of the worst plays possible at times.

[duke4ever19]

Amile. Wow.

Luke. Wow.

Tatum. Wow.

Grayson, unselfish game.

Wow.

WE ARE SPOILED

And to think there is another guy on our bench that people have compared to Chris Webber.

[uh_no]

wow.

i knew we'd be good when we were at full strength. I didn't know we'd be so fantastic when we just got tatum back.

seems tatum will largely replace chase's minutes. What's so amazing is with amile/matt/frank/luke/grayson/tatum on the floor, we have five guys who can handle, five guys who can shoot reasonably, two rebounding monsters....and this at tatum's second game back.

how do you defend it? seriously? I'm curious?

grayson's having issues putting the ball in the basket. it's clear he doesn't have the ups he can. on the one fantastic give and go at which he missed a layup...healthy grayson throws that down so hard you hear it in jersey city. great to see him finally getting assists off some of his great passes. still a few clunker passes...but in any case, i don't think we have to worry about a distributor should we need one.

amile keeps this up, and his number will be in the rafters.

[CoachJ10]

What a tantalizing glimpse tonight. Tatum looks like he will be as good as advertised. Adding him to the pick and roll game with Grayson and Luke adds a huge new dimension to our offense.

Have we seen a better mid range jump shooter than Luke? It is a part of the game that is eschewed by many modern players, but man it is money when he shoots them.

And it wouldnt be a game for me without commenting on the poor level of collegiate officiating we have. The number of travels that Florida got away with was absurd. Even an NBA official would have been embarrassed. Mike Eades should be in middle school gyms...not MSG.

[jipops]

yay! good win over a solid team.
Tatum really showed me something tonight! I thought it would take him a while to get back to game speed, particularly after the Maine game. If it weren't for 2 other stellar performances in this game, his stats would usually garner MOTM nods.
Amile was just a stud. We went to him time and again and Florida had no answer. Amile acted like a brute on the boards.
Luke was also a stud, but craftier, less brutish.
Grayson needs to sit for a while, he's obviously not himself and has not improved at all lately.
I think the 2nd half showed that Jackson will lose his starting spot to Tatum. Although if Grayson is shut down for a while, Jackson will probably start in his place.

Grayson had 8 assists tonight. Having him sit isn't going to do much good for this team. G will be fine.

Interesting that K pretty much went with 6 guys once again. Though I think we'll gradually see more of Bolden as the season goes on. Once we get Giles back that will give us the 8-man rotation (fingers crossed all healthy).

[CDu]

If Luke stays 4 years, he will have multiple banners hanging in Cameron including his jersey. I am not worried about our offense; we have unselfish players. Defense and defensive rebounding are key. Bolden needs to improve his conditioning and as good as Matt Jones is; he makes some of the worst plays possible at times.

I don't think it was a conditioning issue tonight with Bolden. He just wasn't in the right spots and fouled twice quickly, and Jefferson was BALLING. So Coach K stuck with the hot hand.

For all the hand-wringing about who sits when Giles returns... it might just be Bolden (along with Jeter).

[DukieTiger]

Grayson had 8 assists tonight. Having him sit isn't going to do much good for this team. G will be fine.

Interesting that K pretty much went with 6 guys once again. Though I think we'll gradually see more of Bolden as the season goes on. Once we get Giles back that will give us the 8-man rotation (fingers crossed all healthy).

It was 6, but the addition of Tatum gives them that Dunleavy-in-2000 "deep depth".

Anyone else notice Tatum pull a Duhon at the end of the game?

[Furniture]

Quinn Cook‏ @QCook323
This team is SPECIAL!! Wow! Let's go

[juise]

amile keeps this up, and his number will be in the rafters.

Whoa. Can't say enough about what Amile is doing, but that may be going a bit far. I think if keeps this up, he'll have Chris Carawell's senior year (ACC POY contention), but it will be really hard to get into the rafters. He would really need to be national POY without having the lifetime achievement angle (multiple years of All-America or a career major statistical record).