MBB: Duke 79, Pittsburgh 64 Post-Game Thread

[elvis14]

What a weird game. We started slow, pulled away nicely then played some sloppy, ugly ball as we cruised to a win.

• Zion - he's just fantastic. We need to feed him the ball even more than we are (talking to you RJ). We need to be running plays where we set off the ball picks to get him open and make it easier to feed him the ball and just let him to go to work, he's just better than everyone else.
• RJ - his usual solid, high volume self. Good on both ends, keeps the level of play high for the team all game long
• Cam - good defense, meh offense. We need him to improve from 3. His defense is really good and that alone will get him the playing time and the opportunity to work through his struggles on offense.
• Marques - solid game, would love to see him play like this every night. Very active.
• Jack - if you scared, say you scared. He's lost his confidence with his shot. I do like that he's trying more things on offense than just jacking up 3's but I still want him to take the open 3's
• Javin - WTF, seriously? How does a [redacted]. Regression [redacted]. [redacted]. At least he didn't foul out. Argh
• Goldwire - glad to see him get some minutes. Would like him to learn to shoot and that air ball layup...[redacted]
• AOC - up by 20+, we can't hit a 3 to save our lives and he does't play? As sloppy as that second half was, I have to think he would have done just fine or at the very least fit right in. I'm worried that K is going to crush this kid's spirit and we will lose him for the season.
• Team - I really like that this team plays defense. So refreshing after last season. Pretty cool that we played some zone in the last 2 games and we were effective. To be able to play both man and zone well and thus be able to match up with teams as needed is a great weapon.
• Capel - Come on Jeff, don't just BS around, tell us what you really thought of that call!! Wow, he straight up called a ref a MFer! Good comedy. I hope he grows this program into something solid.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

What a weird game. We started slow, pulled away nicely then played some sloppy, ugly ball as we cruised to a win.

• AOC - up by 20+, we can't hit a 3 to save our lives and he does't play? As sloppy as that second half was, I have to think he would have done just fine or at the very least fit right in. I'm worried that K is going to crush this kid's spirit and we will lose him for the season.
  

Agree with this. There is nothing more critical for this team than figuring out at least a little something on the 3 pointers and the FTs. Goldwire is not the answer to any of that. AOC might be. I'ld like to see it tested. Without his 4-8 from deep two games ago, the team's shooting over those three games is probably sub 20%.

[jipops]

I really liked our defense and the zone seemed largely effective. I guess it should be with 5 guys standing 6-7 or taller on the floor. I really loved Cam's defense last night and his offense wasn't too bad. He continues to struggle handling the ball, he always seems to lose it on the drive.

This is never going to be a good perimeter shooting team this season. We just have to hope our guys can continue to get into the lane to break down the defense. I don't think anybody misses Tre more than Javin (maybe Jack too?). With his limited offensive skill set Javin doesn't have anyone to dish it to him alone under the basket for unguarded lay ins. And last night he seemed to be out of position for offensive boards most of the time so there were no opportunities for put backs. That pretty much erases him from being a factor. It will be interesting to see if Javin's role is diminished once Tre comes back.

Zion is ridiculous. I have to make sure I fully appreciate what I'm watching this season. I don't think we will ever see anything like him again.

[Indoor66]

Get rid of these players. They are obviously inadequate for our entitled fans.

[sagegrouse]

It’s kind of tough when you go 0-10 from three in a home loss to an inferior team, especially when just making ONE of those shots would have won the game. And he was also feeling the pressure of justifying the DBR article about K potentially putting him in the starting lineup over Cam. You know he’d been checking that thread hourly leading up to the game. The pressure of living up to the expectations of a very small percentage of DBR posters was too much for the kid to take. He still hasn’t recovered as evidenced by the UVA and Pitt games.

You mean DBR posts influence real-world events? That's scary!

Maybe the only other time was a real positive -- posters here noticed that the team performed much better (plus-minus) with Brian Zoubek on the floor, and finally Coach K reached the same point.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Just updated some quick stats...without Alex's 4-8 against Cuse from deep, Duke is under 22% from distance during the last three games....with high volume.

[84Duke]

How many games did it take Javin to hit 19 consecutive field goals? I though Zion might break the record before the end of this one game. He hit his first 10.

[Channing]

Remember when Auburn and FSU were quality wins?

To paraphrase Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Johnson, “We’re gonna need some more quality wins, I guess”

Was that when TT was a quality win as well?

[hallcity]

If Zion doesn’t score 50 in a game this season, we’re not doing it right. It’s not like I want some effort to help him score 50. I just think that unless you hold him back, it’s going to happen in the normal course of a game. He’s that good.

[azzefkram]

A very underwhelming second half but a win on the road in ACC play is fine by me. Great play from Zion, RJ and Marques. Cam was a terror on the top of that zone and a general pest on D. His ball handling is a lot weaker than I expected, but his shot looks a bit better. The 0-10 seems stuck in Jack's mind as he looks very reluctant to shoot the 3. Some somewhat positive minute from Goldwire. AOC does not appear ready for ACC play. Javin is scuffling in a big way.

Tre's absence is felt in every aspect of the game.

[Sir Stealth]

Bolden looked downright spry out there. He's been an elite shotblocker even during games where he's looked more lumbering, but the Bolden last night is a true weapon matching his pedigree coming out of high school - beating smaller players to 50/50 balls, sprinting down the court, finishing with smooth confidence. If the game is slowing down for him and he moves with that kind of athleticism to go with his massive length, that will really help.

I'm not worried about Javin and especially not about Jack. I disagree that Jack looks afraid to shoot - he still looks like he knows what he's doing out there even during his lesser games. Perhaps a little bit frustrated, but he'll swing back up. Javin probably just needs to calm down a little bit, but we have seen him perform at a high level and fit in well.

Zion never seems to have a 3 rattle in. It either rips perfectly through the net or is nowhere close. He shouldn't fall in love with it, but that suggests to me that there's somehow still a lot of upside there with a good stroke that will get more consistent as he continues to practice it (although the poor FT shooting is a less positive indicator). Amazing player.

[MChambers]

Was that when TT was a quality win as well?

And IU, too. Not a good day for our SOS.

[SavDukeGrad]

Read something interesting in a post game article. When asked about Zion after the game, Capel said he was just impossible to stop. He said the only other time he had felt that way about another college player was when he coached at Oklahoma and they played Texas with Kevin Durant. He said they were both almost impossible to defend.

[NSDukeFan]

Agree with this. There is nothing more critical for this team than figuring out at least a little something on the 3 pointers and the FTs. Goldwire is not the answer to any of that. AOC might be. I'ld like to see it tested. Without his 4-8 from deep two games ago, the team's shooting over those three games is probably sub 20%.

I would love for the team to shoot better from 3-point territory and on FTs. But as far as what’s critical, I would think getting Zion the ball in good scoring areas, getting R.J. good driving lanes, reintegrating Tre with his teammates and solidifying roles, getting Cam comfortable handling the ball, continuing to win the turnover battle, controlling pace, developing both man-to-man and zone defences, would be some example of things that might be at least as critical as figuring out something on 3s and FTs. We beat the top team in the country a different way.

[UrinalCake]

I really liked our defense and the zone seemed largely effective.

Throughout Tre's absence we've talked about whether other players would have a chance to step up (such as Goldwire or maybe Alex) making us better off in the long run. What I never expected was that our defense could learn a new wrinkle. I'm really curious to see whether we will continue to employ the zone in spurts after Tre returns. I wouldn't expect to, he's such a great disrupter when matched up on the ball handler, and he doesn't have the same length as the other wings to be as effective in a zone. Also the zone makes us susceptible to the corner threes which K hates to give up. But I do have to say that it has worked well the past two games so maybe we'll keep it in our back pocket.

[FerryFor50]

Read something interesting in a post game article. When asked about Zion after the game, Capel said he was just impossible to stop. He said the only other time he had felt that way about another college player was when he coached at Oklahoma and they played Texas with Kevin Durant. He said they were both almost impossible to defend.

That's interesting, because Capel also coached Blake Griffin. I don't recall Blake ever having a bad game in college in his sophomore year.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...griffin-1.html

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I would love for the team to shoot better from 3-point territory and on FTs. But as far as what’s critical, I would think getting Zion the ball in good scoring areas, getting R.J. good driving lanes, reintegrating Tre with his teammates and solidifying roles, getting Cam comfortable handling the ball, continuing to win the turnover battle, controlling pace, developing both man-to-man and zone defences, would be some example of things that might be at least as critical as figuring out something on 3s and FTs. We beat the top team in the country a different way.

I understand all that...I just don't think a team can win six straight while being a terrible 3 point team...especially with high volume....and that's kind of where Duke is...especially the last three games. I think this team has so many other superlatives that a Natty is possible with merely mediocre 3 point shooting...and I'm hopeful Duke can get there. And I don't know if RJ can be part of that. He seems to have no muscle memory on this threes....left, right, short, long, long but banked in, left, right...etc.

[Steven43]

-K was definitely angry for most of the second half. No one asked him about it during the presser, but they did ask about Capel being his recruiting point man and it got K’s back up, “I am the point on recruiting, as is any head coach. No one guy does it all, it’s a group effort!” He was fired up!

Coach K took the words right out of my mouth — he was, is, and will always be BY FAR the main factor in Duke’s recruiting, as long as he is head coach. There is no close secondary factor. However, If anything has to be chosen as secondary — however distant it may be — to Coach K, it is Duke University and the unparalleled success achieved on the basketball court over the past four decades.

[devildeac]

If Zion doesn’t score 50 in a game this season, we’re not doing it right. It’s not like I want some effort to help him score 50. I just think that unless you hold him back, it’s going to happen in the normal course of a game. He’s that good.

If he does, one of our posters *might* need to change his screen name.

[SorryForHot]

I love the confidence Bolden has shown the past few games. Would really love to see that screen and slash more. I wish he had more consistent hands on offense. Cam is coming along. White is really struggling on offense but his defense is still there. Javin has disappeared. Bench has to start giving quality minutes or that's going to spell trouble down the road.