Dukies in the NBA 2018-19

[JNort]

Ingram is having a game against Milwaukee.

Yup he's been having quite the February too.

[DukieInBrasil]

Some impressive performances from Duke alum last night:
Most impressive was Rodney Hood, who was coming off a real stinker in the previous game, who put up 27 pts on 9/14 FGs. His role has been reduced in POR, but his 2FG% and eFG% are at career highs.
Jabari also had a very strong game (22pts on 9/13 FGs). His production has been highly variable in WAS.
Kyrie also had a big game in BOS's loss to the Beard.
Luke Kennard had a strong shooting performance for DET in their win over TOR (19pts on 7/11 FGs). His shooting numbers were down significantly for the year compared to last year, though he did deal with an injury and was out for a while. But now his FG% is the same as it was last year. He finally dragged his 3FG% up above 40% on the year, and his eFG% is now almost 55%, which apparently is pretty strong. Oddly enough his FT% is way down compared to last year, 77.5%.

[ChillinDuke]

<snip>
Luke Kennard had a strong shooting performance for DET in their win over TOR (19pts on 7/11 FGs). His shooting numbers were down significantly for the year compared to last year, though he did deal with an injury and was out for a while. But now his FG% is the same as it was last year. He finally dragged his 3FG% up above 40% on the year, and his eFG% is now almost 55%, which apparently is pretty strong. Oddly enough his FT% is way down compared to last year, 77.5%.

An interesting little Kennard factoid, Luke became just the 10th player in franchise history to hit 5 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games, going 6/7 against Cleveland and then 5/9 last night.

- Chillin

[Billy Dat]

An interesting little Kennard factoid, Luke became just the 10th player in franchise history to hit 5 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games, going 6/7 against Cleveland and then 5/9 last night.

- Chillin

Go to 2:09 for a complete ridiculous heat check 3 from the Cleveland game. The whole reel is Luke highlights from the game so worth watching if you have 3 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI02IFRu_ms

[robed deity]

Go to 2:09 for a complete ridiculous heat check 3 from the Cleveland game. The whole reel is Luke highlights from the game so worth watching if you have 3 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI02IFRu_ms

That's insane. Another poster brought up that this would be Kennard's senior year. I usually think the personnel "what ifs" are dumb, esp in this early entry era. I can't lie though- I allowed myself to fantasize about Kennard on this year's team for a second, and it was pretty fun.

[BandAlum83]

That's insane. Another poster brought up that this would be Kennard's senior year. I usually think the personnel "what ifs" are dumb, esp in this early entry era. I can't lie though- I allowed myself to fantasize about Kennard on this year's team for a second, and it was pretty fun.

His mid-range shot is looking awfully good also!

[phaedrus]

Some love for Harry Giles from a Kings writer:

https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2019/...sive-potential

It's worth reading just for the 90-second highlight reel showcasing his anticipation and hands:

https://t.co/JNQB8LQR0R

All this reminded me of one of my favorite sequences of the 16-17 season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGPUQ2EWmuc

[Billy Dat]

Great Adrian Woj interview with Elton Brand...he is so smart and personable, a great rep of the Duke program

https://art19.com/shows/thewojpod

Good talk about his time at Duke and the '99 Title game which haunts him to this day.

[cato]

Great Adrian Woj interview with Elton Brand...he is so smart and personable, a great rep of the Duke program

https://art19.com/shows/thewojpod

Good talk about his time at Duke and the '99 Title game which haunts him to this day.

Now I know there are at least two things Elton and I share in common. Going to Duke and being haunted by the ‘99 title game.

Elton was such a pivotal player for Duke. He is one of my all time favorites.

[DukieInBrasil]

Jabari had a magnificent performance last night, making all 10 of his 2FGs, but missing his only 3, for 20 pts. He also grabbed 9 boards. He seems to have found a good fit in WAS, who also seem to have given up on using him as a point forward, which is good b/c he turns it over too much.
Jayson Tatum had a fine showing, with 24 pts, and Luke Kennard continues his hot streak, with 21. Luke must have missed his last few shots tho he finished 8/16 FG and 3/7 3FG.
Frank Jackson also continues to show that he has a bright future in the NBA. He started off pretty slow this year, and got quite a few DNPs, but he's a regular fixture now, and scoring quite well, as well as being a decent combo guard.
The Justise Winslow project in MIA continues to pay dividends, as he also had a fine all around game. He sniffed on the outskirts of a triple double, with 9/7/6 p/a/r, as MIA beat CHO.

[BD80]

... and Luke Kennard continues his hot streak, with 21. Luke must have missed his last few shots tho he finished 8/16 FG and 3/7 3FG.
...

Amusing, but sad, note: the Pistons were having a communal out-of-bodies experience in the second half against the T-wolves, hitting something like 15 straight shots. Luke broke the streak by blowing a bunny, a reverse lay-up after a beautiful back door cut and receiving a sweet pass down the lane.

[weezie]

Amusing, but sad, note: the Pistons...

I cleaned that post up for you. Lots of unimportant other type words were in there. Stick to the subject.
Your pal, weezie from the D

[roywhite]

Ha, I came here to post some nice words about Luke Kennard, and found that others have noticed!

He's averaging 15.5 pts in his last 10 games, and is a productive scorer off the bench. Pistons have crept over .500

[Billy Dat]

weezie from the D

DBR's own Jenny from the Block!

[jimsumner]

I cleaned that post up for you. Lots of unimportant other type words were in there. Stick to the subject.
Your pal, weezie from the D

If the Pistons were in the South, they'd be running away with the division.

Somebody is going to finish 38-44 and win that division.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Jabari had a magnificent performance last night, making all 10 of his 2FGs, but missing his only 3, for 20 pts. He also grabbed 9 boards. He seems to have found a good fit in WAS, who also seem to have given up on using him as a point forward, which is good b/c he turns it over too much.
Jayson Tatum had a fine showing, with 24 pts, and Luke Kennard continues his hot streak, with 21. Luke must have missed his last few shots tho he finished 8/16 FG and 3/7 3FG.
Frank Jackson also continues to show that he has a bright future in the NBA. He started off pretty slow this year, and got quite a few DNPs, but he's a regular fixture now, and scoring quite well, as well as being a decent combo guard.
The Justise Winslow project in MIA continues to pay dividends, as he also had a fine all around game. He sniffed on the outskirts of a triple double, with 9/7/6 p/a/r, as MIA beat CHO.

Just like in college, in took Kennard a year to get used to the NBA before he was able to be a major contributor.

Awesome that he's doing so well.

See what happens when you stay two years in college? Wonderful things! Tre- please take note.

[JasonEvans]

If the Pistons were in the South, they'd be running away with the division.

Somebody is going to finish 38-44 and win that division.

So what? Divisions are meaningless in the NBA. You can win your division and not even make the playoffs. There was a time when the division winners were guaranteed a top 4 seed, but that went away in 2015 and they aren't even guaranteed a playoff spot at this point.

-Jason "Really, the NBA should just do away with the divisions completely. What purpose do they serve at this point?" Evans

[sagegrouse]

So what? Divisions are meaningless in the NBA. You can win your division and not even make the playoffs. There was a time when the division winners were guaranteed a top 4 seed, but that went away in 2015 and they aren't even guaranteed a playoff spot at this point.

-Jason "Really, the NBA should just do away with the divisions completely. What purpose do they serve at this point?" Evans

Get another banner to hang?

[DukieInBrasil]

The Justise Winslow Project continues to produce good results in MIA as JW nearly bagged the Triple Double with 16/9/9.
Jabari followed up a beast of a game with a very solid performance with 15 pts on 6/12 FGs and 5 rebs.
Luke Kennard continues to be very productive from the DET bench, gunning for 14 pts on 5/8 FGs, w/3 assists.
Finally, Frank Jackson continues to make the case for legit NBA success, hitting for 20 pts, albeit on 9/20 FGs.

Otoh, JJ had a particularly poor night, shooting 1-11 FGs and 1-9 from 3.

[jimsumner]

So what? Divisions are meaningless in the NBA. You can win your division and not even make the playoffs. There was a time when the division winners were guaranteed a top 4 seed, but that went away in 2015 and they aren't even guaranteed a playoff spot at this point.

-Jason "Really, the NBA should just do away with the divisions completely. What purpose do they serve at this point?" Evans

Which begs the question, why have East and West? Why not just seed the top 16 teams?