Dukies in the NBA 2019-20

[TheOldBattleship]

Zion with another very Ziony game tonight: 26 pts on 9/12 from the field. He hit 7-9 fts and knocked in his only three point attempt, as well. It's both familiar and wild to watch him right now after watching him last year, because he's doing a lot of the same things he's doing last year.

Like, here's Zion finding the open space in the defense on a broken play, catching, jumping, absorbing contact from some mid-major scrub center, and finishing like he did a thousand times before ACC play last year. Only, wait, that's not a scrub, that's Rudy freaking Gobert, the reigning DPOY, bouncing off of Zion, and looking completely lost trying to guard him attacking the hoop! And here's Zion just burying some poor bench center... only in both cases that's Ed Davis, who has been a really good NBA player! And neither of those was his most Zionish play: this was.

So far in the preseason: 71 points on 38 fga. Granted it's the preseason, but that puts his shooting at just about 71% on nearly 13 shots a game. Last year he averaged... 68% on just over 13 shots a game. The guy just goes in and does what he does. It basically doesn't seem to matter who else is out there. What an absolute machine.

BI and Frank Jackson had solid games as well today (unsurprisingly, JJ is in chill/let-the-young-guys-get-experience mode in the preseason, and no Jah today at all). Jrue Holiday sat out, so Brandon was playing the role of the release valve for when the offense broke down, something that he did pretty well.

One former ACC guy making his mark: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, formerly of VaTech, has looked GREAT so far. The Pels have just a treasure trove of really impressive young guards, but he has been the best of the bunch in the preseason.

[ice-9]

Your excitement about the Pels is tangible and contagious!!

[duke96]

Amazing post with time Zion clips. Thanks!!

[lotusland]

I find myself checking Pelican stats and highlights everyday. Zion is force of nature with multi-million dollar smile and a heart of gold. Fingers crossed for many healthy seasons ahead!

[TheOldBattleship]

Your excitement about the Pels is tangible and contagious!!

It's kind of sad, actually. Lifelong TWolves fan, and I'm much more excited to watch the Pelicans than I am to see how the official Ryan Saunders era kicks off in Minnesota this year. I'm hopeful that we'll be better (or at least watchable) this year—Culver is exciting, KAT is just absurd, Wiggins... might be better post-Thibs?—but not THAT hopeful, especially in the brutal West. But yeah, just a combination of the potential, the watchability, the Duke guys, and the palpable enthusiasm coming out of New Orleans makes the Pelicans a super fun watch.

[SouthernDukie]

The Pelicans are absolutely my NBA team now! I'm unabashedly stating for the record I'm a fanboy now that this team has 5 Dukies on the roster. And my guess is all 5 should get minutes under Gentry's fast-paced style. I'm assuming he'll go 11 deep on most nights to keep the tempo up.

On that note (having watched all 3 of Zion's preseason games thus far) I will say that I've seen Williamson huffing and puffing a good bit. But that's to be expected. It's a huge jump up from the college game, especially in terms of constant pace and the needed defensive effort on each and every play. But Zion has acquitted himself nicely thus far. Heck, he's been incredible!

Go Pelicans!!!

Go Duke!!!

[dukelifer]

The Pelicans are absolutely my NBA team now! I'm unabashedly stating for the record I'm a fanboy now that this team has 5 Dukies on the roster. And my guess is all 5 should get minutes under Gentry's fast-paced style. I'm assuming he'll go 11 deep on most nights to keep the tempo up.

On that note (having watched all 3 of Zion's preseason games thus far) I will say that I've seen Williamson huffing and puffing a good bit. But that's to be expected. It's a huge jump up from the college game, especially in terms of constant pace and the needed defensive effort on each and every play. But Zion has acquitted himself nicely thus far. Heck, he's been incredible!

Go Pelicans!!!

Go Duke!!!

He will get in shape. Still a baby- well a man child

[SouthernDukie]

He will get in shape. Still a baby- well a man child

No doubt about either statement. He will and he is.

[Indoor66]

I have set my DVR to record all Pels games - like the Duke games.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I think Zion and the Pelicans ought to have their own thread. Out of respect for non-Pelican Duke alum.

[BD80]

I have set my DVR to record all Pels games - like the Duke games.

Last year that wouldn't have taken up much space.

[SouthernDukie]

Last year that wouldn't have taken up much space.

True. But that was then and this is now.

[gotoguy]

On a somewhat related note: is the Jimmy/Justise backcourt the most physically imposing backcourt of all time? There have been some tough ones, but I can't think of anyone who I'd take over them.

How about the Bulls backcourt of Ron Harper and Jordan

[UrinalCake]

Bolden put up 9 points on 4/5 shooting and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes for the terrible Cleveland Cavs, who are further decimated by injuries. He's getting a shot to get on the court, so hopefully he can make the most of it.

[Skitzle]

This video reviewing the Zion hype was a whole lot of fun. Couldn't find it shared before

https://youtu.be/i4eYWl1ewFo

[TheOldBattleship]

Not a great night for the Duke crew overall this evening, unfortunately.

Cam Reddish followed up his 1-7 shooting performance against the Magic in the Hawks' previous game by shooting 1-7 tonight against the Heat (and Tyler Herro, who is looking like he might win a starting spot in Miami as the shooter in their lineup of hard-nosed defenders/slashers). His shooting is obviously not doing the job, but he's also making some poor decisions with the ball (3 turnovers) and not really contributing in other areas like he can at the moment, unfortunately. None of this is surprising for a rookie generally, but here's hoping he finds his feet.

Jabari Parker continues to do Jabari Parker things: he's piling up rebounds, getting some nice buckets, not taking care of the ball particularly well, and getting completely and mystifyingly lost on defense. I still think he's potentially a really important piece for the Hawks, who need players to create offense in different ways when Trae Young isn't in the game, but he's looked a bit disconnected from the gameplan so far, to me at least. Still preseason, though, of course.

On the other side of that game, Justise Winslow looked good generally tonight, but his shot, which has always come and gone, looks like it's in a "gone" stage right now. If he wants to take that next step up from "valuable starter" to "serious force," he's gotta be able to make his outside shot, especially in the lineups that Miami will play.

In other games (which I freely admit I didn't watch at all): Grayson, Tyus, and Miles Plumlee didn't contribute much to the Grizzlies in a big loss to the Hornets. It'll be interesting to see how much Miles plays there; they're firmly tied to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Branden Clarke for the future, and to Jonas Valanciunas in the present, but they don't really have a big banger on the roster apart from Jonas. If Miles is willing to go in and do the dirty work, there's definitely space for him to carve out a role. Grayson and Tyus seem at least temporarily entrenched in their roles as the starting shooting guard and the backup point. (Makes sense for a team doing a ground-up youth rebuild, but, man, the Grizzlies are a weirdly put-together roster.)

Marvin Bagley has been the star of the night thus far from the Duke contingent with 20/11, 2 blocks, and a steal through three quarters. He's going to put up serious numbers this year; Dedmond is a good pairing for him when he's at the 4, and it'll be cool to see if he can thrive at the 5 when he gets that chance. Worryingly, though, Harry Giles is out with some kind of sore knee problem (if anyone has any more detail on that, please post). Really really hoping that he can stay healthy this year.

Nothing to report with Seth Curry in Dallas, as he's clearly in "I'm a vet and this is preseason" mode. Mason continues to thrive as the Nuggets' second-unit Jokic replacement running the offense from the elbow. And still no Quinn Cook for the Lakers, though apparently he's ready to play; the team just wants him to get practice reps before jumping into preseason game action.

[heyman25]

Pelicans I have been following . Griffin and K are friends from USA Basketball and I have not read the entire thread. However I did not read his name on this page.Trajan Langdon the Alaskan Assasin is General Manager. Ingram and Zion are off to great starts. Jackson and Okafor are much better than their shaky first seasons in the NBA. Redick is great with media as well as collecting expensive watches. But I agree the Saints are the big deal,not the Pelicans.The owner of both teams is the widow of Tom Benson. Eerily similar to Carroll Rosenbloom and the Baltimore Colts.

[nmduke2001]

Not sure where to put this, so I guess this is as good of a place as any. The other day on "Around the Horn", host, Tony Reali, mentioned that Miles Plumlee will earn more this year than all WNBA players COMBINED. Plumlee is the 81st highest paid NBA player. I understand the economics of the situation (WNBA generates about $60 million in revenue and the NBA is near $7.4 billion), but still that is an interesting stat.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Not sure where to put this, so I guess this is as good of a place as any. The other day on "Around the Horn", host, Tony Reali, mentioned that Miles Plumlee will earn more this year than all WNBA players COMBINED. Plumlee is the 81st highest paid NBA player. I understand the economics of the situation (WNBA generates about $60 million in revenue and the NBA is near $7.4 billion), but still that is an interesting stat.

That is an interesting way to look at it...Reali's stat.

Assuming your revenue stats are correct, and I have no reason to doubt them, that means the NBA generates 123 dollars for every single dollar the WNBA generates. When it comes to P/L, I would bet the difference is even greater given that I don't think the WNBA is profitable, and the NBA is, or most teams are. I don't know how that reflects on the Miles Plumlee stat, which is more math than I have time to do at the moment - but is another interesting stat.

[sagegrouse]

Not sure where to put this, so I guess this is as good of a place as any. The other day on "Around the Horn", host, Tony Reali, mentioned that Miles Plumlee will earn more this year than all WNBA players COMBINED. Plumlee is the 81st highest paid NBA player. I understand the economics of the situation (WNBA generates about $25 million in revenue and the NBA is near $8 billion), but still that is an interesting stat.

To complete the thought, Miles apparently makes $12.5 million per year.

To complete the story, one reason the WNBA plays in the summer months is so that players can play in pro leagues in Europe and Asia, which occur during traditional basketball months. Perhaps there is better info on overseas salaries for women hoops players, but here are a couple of estimates:

Nearly 90 out of 144 players on WNBA rosters in 2018 spent time playing overseas during their offseason, The Guardian reported in 2018.

“In the WNBA, the maximum income a player could earn in 2016 was $109,000. In Russia, that number is tripled for one season, and, as of 2014, a player could earn an estimated $600,000 playing in China,” according to The Undefeated.