MBB: Duke 85, NDSU 62 Post-Game Thread (Rd of 64)

[Steven43]

Did Goldwire unlock the outside scoring badge?

Also, I think RJ helped take over that game with his rebounding. He really goes up strong and gets it at its high point. 14 total-- how many did he have at halftime?

I concur. RJ’s rebounding was crucial in keeping the game close in the first half. He really showed me something tonight. He started out poorly but he just kept plugging away, kept his wits about him, and pretty soon some shots started to fall. And all along he was playing pretty good defense and rebounding very well.

He is not a one-trick pony (just drive to the basket); his game is fairly well-rounded. I think he’s reaching a new level. It seems to be happening right in front of our eyes. It could not have come at a better time. I think playing alongside Zion just gives him so much confidence and joy. It’s tangible. They feed off of each other. This has the makings of something special. If Duke can just shoot three-pointers like they did in the second half tonight everything is going to fall nicely into place.

[84Duke]

I hope K makes it clear to the team that when you make the round of 32, the "flip the switch" business is over. Everyone left can beat you. I will say after that 5-12 mini-hole, the man-on-man defense had a tremendous stretch. Every NDSU man that touched the ball had one or two Duke defenders on top of him - right away. That was pretty impressive.

[J4Kop99]

The game completely changed once Goldwire was inserted in the 1st half. He is such a cerebral presence. He takes our defense to another level. If he can hit a few threes that's just the cherry on top.

[SavDukeGrad]

I did not realize, until listening to the NDSU press conference, that Tre played AAU ball with 2 of their players, and that he has known and played with Shahid for a long time. Their players and coach were both asked about that connection in their press conference. They all wished Tre good luck going forward, and their coach mentioned Tre’s mom and her cancer battle and wished her well. Classy group.

[84Duke]

I did not realize, until listening to the NDSU press conference, that Tre played AAU ball with 2 of their players, and that he has known and played with Shahid for a long time. Their players and coach were both asked about that connection in their press conference. They all wished Tre good luck going forward, and their coach mentioned Tre’s mom and her cancer battle and wished her well. Classy group.

I have driven from Minneapolis to Fargo, and I don't wish that upon anyone. But that is the closest large city to our nation's wood-chipper capital. So not a surprise that Tre would know players from the region. That kid has probably been playing on all-star teams since he was 5. NDSU played well, played hard, but ran out of talent.

[Saratoga2]

ADVANCED STATS

Possessions: 71.4 (exactly one possession less than Duke's adjusted season average)

OFFENSE

oRtg: 1.19 (adjusted, that's 1.13, which is adequate but not good)
eFG%: 56.9% (good, not great)
3pt%: 42.1% (for this team, really good)
2pt%: 54.3% (okay)
%threes: 29.2% (third straight game at a low-ish percentage, which I think is good for this team)
FT rate: 26.1% (meh)
OR%: 22.2% (fairly dreadful)
TO%: 8.4% (absolutely fabulous)
a/to: 2.33:1 (ditto)
%assisted: 42.4%
fast break pts: 4 (4.7% of our points; also dreadful)


DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.87 (adjusted that's 0.84, our 5th sub-0.90 defensive performance in our last seven games)
eFG%: 43.1% (can't complain)
3pt%: 27.6% (good)
2pt%: 44.8% (also good)
%threes: 50.0% (I'm cool with this if they're shooting 28%)
FT rate: 24.1% (decent)
DR%: 83.3% (outstanding)
TO%: 18.2% (not bad)
a/to: 0.54:1
%assisted: 33.3%
fast break pts: 0 (0% of their points; literally can't get better than this)
block%: 12.1%; 24.1% of 2-point shots (big numbers against a small team)
steal%: 8.4% (not especially good)


Offense showed a lot of room for improvement, though we were fabulous at avoiding turnovers. Defense was outstanding in almost every area, after a slow start (we gave up 12 points in the first 10 possessions)

We had subs in for a significant %tage of the game.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

-Good to see AOC make some shots in garbage time. There’s gonna be a game in this run where we’ll need a boost from him.

THIS^^^^ - at some point, to win six straight, most teams need something like this off the bench.

[Rmarkste]

Very encouraged by good shooting, consistent defense with new wrinkle of two guys trapping player, and lastly stellar assist to turnover ratio. My heat sank reading yesterday’s Ringer article on RJ and Cam. I hope the article about them is dead wrong and they contunue to grow their respective games and most importantly defer to Zion in the big moments. Please!!!

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Very encouraged by good shooting, consistent defense with new wrinkle of two guys trapping player, and lastly stellar assist to turnover ratio. My heat sank reading yesterday’s Ringer article on RJ and Cam. I hope the article about them is dead wrong and they contunue to grow their respective games and most importantly defer to Zion in the big moments. Please!!!

I missed that article...link maybe?
EDIT never mind...I found it...weak piece...I wouldn't let your heart sink because of The Ringer...

[TeacherTom]

Sitting fifth row center court allowed me to witness Tre’s tenacious engagement on defense. It is extremely impressive.

[cspan37421]

I missed that article...link maybe?
EDIT never mind...I found it...weak piece...I wouldn't let your heart sink because of The Ringer...

https://www.theringer.com/march-madn...caa-tournament

Why is it weak? Because it is critical? I am reminded of flyingdutchdevil's signature line:

Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill

[which appears to be a genuine Churchill quote - Churchill is one of those to whom many a fake quote is attributed]

Anyway, the article does not say things are hopeless for Duke. It calls out things that people here bring up all the time anyway - esp. in the game threads - and mixes in several relevant stats. Is this one of those sentiments that "only we can criticize our guys?"

My heart is far from sunk, but clearly we need to be able to hit open shots and avoid charges. It is quite surprising to me that the team is as dominant as it is, and as favored as it is, given our 3-point prowess, or lack thereof. The 3-pointer is a major part of the modern game, and living on 2s alone hardly seems possible, but we're doing it. It's a strange thing to behold for a long-time follower of DBB.

But our defense is quite good - unusually good for a young bunch. Our one-and-done-ers have tended to excel at offense, but not defense. So it is heartening that we play defense so well. DReb and steals can lead to fast breaks, which can lead to high percentage shots - which can help offset jump-shooting deficiencies. But it would be nice to have the kind of squad that can make an opponent "pay" for leaving a shooter open.

It is not going to be easy. But we're not done improving as a team.

[dukelifer]

https://www.theringer.com/march-madn...caa-tournament

Why is it weak? Because it is critical? I am reminded of flyingdutchdevil's signature line:



[which appears to be a genuine Churchill quote - Churchill is one of those to whom many a fake quote is attributed]

Anyway, the article does not say things are hopeless for Duke. It calls out things that people here bring up all the time anyway - esp. in the game threads - and mixes in several relevant stats. Is this one of those sentiments that "only we can criticize our guys?"

My heart is far from sunk, but clearly we need to be able to hit open shots and avoid charges. It is quite surprising to me that the team is as dominant as it is, and as favored as it is, given our 3-point prowess, or lack thereof. The 3-pointer is a major part of the modern game, and living on 2s alone hardly seems possible, but we're doing it. It's a strange thing to behold for a long-time follower of DBB.

But our defense is quite good - unusually good for a young bunch. Our one-and-done-ers have tended to excel at offense, but not defense. So it is heartening that we play defense so well. DReb and steals can lead to fast breaks, which can lead to high percentage shots - which can help offset jump-shooting deficiencies. But it would be nice to have the kind of squad that can make an opponent "pay" for leaving a shooter open.

It is not going to be easy. But we're not done improving as a team.

Most of what is said is true. One can be equally critical of any team. UVA lacks elite athleticism - UNC has a limited inside game etc. But one thing that has been consistent is that the team tends to play better in the second half and they do have fight. Duke needs to avoid big deficits and then exert their will- or Zion’s or RJ’s will- at the right moment. If Cam can hit shots but more importantly- avoid dumb fouls or turnovers- this team becomes that much better.

[DukeDevil]

Great to see Bolden back and moving well. He had a couple hook shots go in and out but played well overall. It can be tough for a big man to go against a smaller team but he held his own even defending on the perimeter.

Not much more to take from this one. ND State played hard and kept it close for a half. Our guys pretty much did what they do. Jordan was getting a lot of fun even in the first half, he seems to have taken the role of first guard off the bench.

I was so impressed with how well Bolden hedged out on the pick and roll attempts (icing screens? I don't know what it's actually called). It's so impressive to see the big man do so well disrupting the other team's guard play.

[DukeDevil]

Sitting fifth row center court allowed me to witness Tre’s tenacious engagement on defense. It is extremely impressive.

nice humblebrag

(just kidding...so jealous)

[CDu]

We stunk the first 4 minutes of the game. Took bad shots, let NDSU get good looks. The score at the under-16 break reflected that. Afterwards, our defense became stifling until the regulars began filtering out midway through the second half. The offense remained shaky for the rest of the first half, though, and we had only a small lead at the half. And then the second half started, and Zion took over. His play in the first several possessions of the second half sent a message that we were not going to lose this game. And the team followed suit thereafter.

The play where he tipped a pass away from Shahid, then outraced Shahid to the ball, then gathered it, then changed directions and went behind his back at nearly full speed (resulting in a slip), then recovered for a layup was unreal. That cemented things in my mind. The rest was a formality. He had broken them, and the flood gates opened. And boy did they open.

Hopefully this game shook off any nerves for the team so that we can push past UCF and head to the second weekend.

[OldPhiKap]

nice humblebrag

(just kidding...so jealous)

As Bob De Niro once told me, name-dropping is only good if done casually.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I have driven from Minneapolis to Fargo, and I don't wish that upon anyone. But that is the closest large city to our nation's wood-chipper capital. So not a surprise that Tre would know players from the region. That kid has probably been playing on all-star teams since he was 5. NDSU played well, played hard, but ran out of talent.

I have done the drive several times (admittedly in warm weather) and enjoyed it. Wide open highways with high speed limits, the occasional smell of cows, and a pit stop near Lake Wobegon.

Back to the game, I was also particularly impressed by Marques. He was really moving his feet well on D, particularly coming off an injury. He had two baby hooks that went in and out - I’m sure those will start falling. And he does a good job of playing inside but also not clogging things up for RJ and Zion.

[jv001]

I have done the drive several times (admittedly in warm weather) and enjoyed it. Wide open highways with high speed limits, the occasional smell of cows, and a pit stop near Lake Wobegon.

Back to the game, I was also particularly impressed by Marques. He was really moving his feet well on D, particularly coming off an injury. He had two baby hooks that went in and out - I’m sure those will start falling. And he does a good job of playing inside but also not clogging things up for RJ and Zion.

I thought Marques and Javin played well last night. We'll need both to play well against Johnny D's team on Sunday. Those baby hooks have been unkind to Marques this season. I can't remember a player having as much bad luck as Marques. GoDuke!

[duke96]

Sometime posted a similar pic earlier in the season in a similar situation but Zion’s enthusiasm for his teammates is a real joy to watch. Not sure who is having more fun in this picture. Team chemistry seems special this year.

494B1FBB-EFB1-47F7-B6F9-5EF32F8787FC.jpg

[duke74]

Sometime posted a similar pic earlier in the season in a similar situation but Zion’s enthusiasm for his teammates is a real joy to watch. Not sure who is having more fun in this picture. Team chemistry seems special this year.

494B1FBB-EFB1-47F7-B6F9-5EF32F8787FC.jpg

This picture has gone viral. Just look at the pure joy for one’s teammate - let alone the appearance of Z walking on air (and the beauty of the picture itself - the symmetry).

Love it.