MOTM: Duke v. Louisville (Feb 12, 2019)

[MrPoon]

I picked Goldwire because Zion told me to in the interview post game.

[Wander]

Have we ever had a MOTM winner with zero points in the game? (totally deserved here IMO)

[Acymetric]

Gosh, this one is tough.

Zion: Lead the team in points, rebounds, and steals. Managed his foul trouble at the end of the game masterfully (it should maybe not be surprising that he is so good at avoiding fouls when needed given the agility he shows on offense).

Reddish: Strong offensive output, and that dagger three to tie. Probably a little too inneficient to overtake Zion given Zions better stats.

Goldwire: Today's no-stat all-star. He was only credited with 2 steals, but I suspect he was "involved" in some additional turnovers. That airballed layup was pretty bad. I know single-game +/- doesn't mean much, but +26 in a game we won by 2 is hard to ignore.

As someone who has advocated for Goldwire throughout the season (especially when Tre was injured), I have to take this opportunity to vote for him. Like Coach K said, we "found something" today (yesterday). That said, the whole team showed some guts in the final third of this game. What a comeback!

[elvis14]

Have to go Zion since this is a MOTM poll. If it was "guy who stepped up and played more/better than I thought he would but wasn't really the MOTM" I would have voted for Goldwire. Without Zion, we lose this game by 40.

Zion for MOTM
Goldwire for GWSUAPMBTITHWBWRTMOTM

[Truth&Justise]

And Coach K also signaled for Jordan Goldwire, the Blue Devils' backup point guard who entered the night with just 42 minutes under his belt during conference play


In a matter of minutes, Goldwire went from afterthought to game-changer.

"We found something," Krzyzewski said afterwards when asked about the decision to play Goldwire alongside starting floor general Tre Jones down the stretch. "[Jordan] had the best look of anyone on the bench. Sometimes when you look down, and he was sitting at the edge of his seat wanting to get in, so let’s get in, man, and then you didn’t want to take him out."

From that same article:

"Jordan's my player of the game," Williamson said. "He came in and played great minutes and left it all out there on the court."

I guess that settles it?

[jv001]

From that same article:

"Jordan's my player of the game," Williamson said. "He came in and played great minutes and left it all out there on the court."

I guess that settles it?

If Zion says it, then that settles it. Can I have my vote back. GoDuke!

[Native]

[azzefkram]

Went with JGold. I was tempted to pick Zion but I thought his D was very suspect for much of the game. Cam played a good game as well.

[wsb3]

If Zion says it, then that settles it. Can I have my vote back. GoDuke!

Must spread comments around...

[jv001]

Went with JGold. I was tempted to pick Zion but I thought his D was very suspect for much of the game. Cam played a good game as well.

In the first half, Zion gambled and missed on some steal attempts that led to points for Louisville. He also messed up on at least 2 inbound plays that gave our opponent easy baskets. Not a good half on defense for Zion. Just proves he's human, I think. GoDuke!

[HereBeforeCoachK]

In the first half, Zion gambled and missed on some steal attempts that led to points for Louisville. He also messed up on at least 2 inbound plays that gave our opponent easy baskets. Not a good half on defense for Zion. Just proves he's human, I think. GoDuke!

The lapses on OB defense was more concerning than the gambling situation....I mean, let Zion be a 'degenerate' at times...

I'm thinking the baseline ball in D will get serious work this week.

[kAzE]

Went with JGold. I was tempted to pick Zion but I thought his D was very suspect for much of the game. Cam played a good game as well.

To be fair, when you're in foul trouble the entire game (and not entirely his own fault, because come on, that illegal screen was BS), your defense can't be very aggressive.

[CDu]

To be fair, when you're in foul trouble the entire game (and not entirely his own fault, because come on, that illegal screen was BS), your defense can't be very aggressive.

Ironically, most of Williamson's bad defense was in the first half when he wasn't in foul trouble. He picked up 3 quick fouls in limited second half minutes, but was pretty magnificent during the stretch of the game (the last ~10 minutes) when he had 4 fouls.

Lots of players seemed a step slow in terms of their focus in the first half. Then, early in the second half, Zion got in foul trouble, and the wheels came off. When he came back (which coincided with the insertion of Goldwire and smallball pressure) the game flipped in our favor as everyone was uber-focused.

[jv001]

Ironically, most of Williamson's bad defense was in the first half when he wasn't in foul trouble. He picked up 3 quick fouls in limited second half minutes, but was pretty magnificent during the stretch of the game (the last ~10 minutes) when he had 4 fouls.

Lots of players seemed a step slow in terms of their focus in the first half. Then, early in the second half, Zion got in foul trouble, and the wheels came off. When he came back (which coincided with the insertion of Goldwire and smallball pressure) the game flipped in our favor as everyone was uber-focused.

And the rest was history. The team suddenly had a sense of urgency and Louisville panicked. I wonder if Coach K didn't use the 2-2-1 zone in the first half because the team looked tired in his eyes. I guess when we got 23 points down, we didn't have anything to lose. I'm proud of the team for not giving up. The look in Zion's eyes when Coach K was talking to the team during a timeout was priceless. You could tell the team had regained their focus. GoDuke!