Dukies in the NBA 2019-20

[dukelifer]

And he's showing that tonight! Has 22 points through 3 quarters and, just as importantly, looks like he belongs. No surprise to Duke fans...RJ's been a pro in the making for a lot of years.

Dennis Smith is playing poorly. Barrett has no help.

[bundabergdevil]

Dennis Smith is playing poorly. Barrett has no help.

Yeah, my biggest fear for RJ is his situation. Joining the Knicks would ruin a lot of promising rookies but he's got some insulation to all that noise. He's got a great head on his shoulders and some real level-headed people in his corner, including Steve Nash. All that has got to bode well for his ability to take care of himself, stay focused on what he can control, and position himself for contract dos.

[TheOldBattleship]

BIG game for Brandon Ingram tonight as the Pels play Harden, Westbrook, and the Rockets without Jrue Holiday and (obviously) Zion. He's got 32/10/3 on 13/18 shooting thus far with 8 min left in the 4th. He's been the clear best player for the Pels thus far this season with no Zion. Great to see him continue to step up in his new situation and make the case that he's going to be a costar at least in New Orleans.

[Furniture]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Ballislif...05448496852992

Brill...

[JasonEvans]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Ballislif...05448496852992

Brill...

That young Bucks fan is gonna go out and buy a Winslow Heat jersey, for sure!

[TheOldBattleship]

Jahlil Okafor (due to a Derrick Favors injury) and Luke Kennard (due to their starting guards being horrible so far offensively) have been bumped into the starting lineups of the Pelicans and Pistons, respectively. Will be interesting to see if Kennard, particularly, can thrive as the focal point of the starting group.

[AtlDuke72]

Yeah, my biggest fear for RJ is his situation. Joining the Knicks would ruin a lot of promising rookies but he's got some insulation to all that noise. He's got a great head on his shoulders and some real level-headed people in his corner, including Steve Nash. All that has got to bode well for his ability to take care of himself, stay focused on what he can control, and position himself for contract dos.

RJ had. 19 points and 15 rebounds tonight as the Knicks beat the Bulls.

[Billy Dat]

RJ had. 19 points and 15 rebounds tonight as the Knicks beat the Bulls.

Over the first 4 games, the Knicks have actually been close down the stretch in 3 of the 4. Each time, they have trusted the PG duties to RJ during crunch time and he has really been making some excellent decisions and not showing the hero ball tendencies that popped up last year. He is really an excellent passer and his rebounding numbers have been solid. His defense is still spotty and his free throw shooting is awful. The Garden fans already love him and he's one of the few guys on the team that plays all the time in a consistent rotation slot.

For the Bulls, Wendell was a beast (20 and 10). His game is very similar to what it was at Duke, showing that learning to play with other skilled bigs, rather than being "the main man", was probably a big benefit.

[BD80]

Jahlil Okafor (due to a Derrick Favors injury) and Luke Kennard (due to their starting guards being horrible so far offensively) have been bumped into the starting lineups of the Pelicans and Pistons, respectively. Will be interesting to see if Kennard, particularly, can thrive as the focal point of the starting group.

Luke may be an offensive focal point, but hopefully only temporarily. I don't follow the Pistons closely enough to know why, or for how long, but Blake Griffin is out with an injury. Griffin is the offensive focal point almost to the exclusion of others when he starts.

[chrishoke]

JJ 1-9 from three. WTH?

[elvis14]

JJ 1-9 from three. WTH?

I swear it looked even worse. He couldn't throw it in the ocean. He missed a FT! Pelicans were missing Zion, JRue and Flowers. they looked horrible, especially on the defensive end.

Wow the GSW are bad too. I don't even recognize most of their roster.

[Truth&Justise]

Wendell Carter had a very efficient night, scoring 20 points on 7/9 from the filed and 6/7 from the line, to go along with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and just 1 turnover in 28 minutes of action.

There's a lot of nuance to his game, and as his shooting touch expands folks are going to notice that he brings a lot to the table without any real flaws. He's not the flashiest Duke guy in the League, but he might have the best shot to be Duke's next All-Star. I continue to see shades of Al Horford, who first made an All-Star team when he was 23. Carter is only 20, and I could see him making it in the next 2-3 years in that same kind of role.

[jimsumner]

I swear it looked even worse. He couldn't throw it in the ocean. He missed a FT! Pelicans were missing Zion, JRue and Flowers. they looked horrible, especially on the defensive end.

Wow the GSW are bad too. I don't even recognize most of their roster.

They'll be missing Flowers for a long time.

I assume you meant Favors.

But yes, they really need to get Holiday back.

[elvis14]

They'll be missing Flowers for a long time.

I assume you meant Favors.

But yes, they really need to get Holiday back.

LOL, yes I meant Favors...not sure how I manager to type Flowers. The team is so young that they need Holiday and JJ (aside from last night's game) to lead (and Zion to dominate).

[flyingdutchdevil]

Wendell Carter had a very efficient night, scoring 20 points on 7/9 from the filed and 6/7 from the line, to go along with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and just 1 turnover in 28 minutes of action.

There's a lot of nuance to his game, and as his shooting touch expands folks are going to notice that he brings a lot to the table without any real flaws. He's not the flashiest Duke guy in the League, but he might have the best shot to be Duke's next All-Star. I continue to see shades of Al Horford, who first made an All-Star team when he was 23. Carter is only 20, and I could see him making it in the next 2-3 years in that same kind of role.

Carter has so much potential. Such a smart and talented player. Agreed he's an All-Star, but I don't think he's the next All-Star. That's either Zion (next year) or Ingram (this year). Tatum can easily become an All-Star if he increases his efficiency. And I haven't even mentioned Bagley or RJ, who can become bonafide stars.

The Duke alum pipeline is bursting with talent.

[Billy Dat]

Another gem from Jackie Mac, this one focused on the Nets with lots of mercurial Kyrie tales:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...omes-next-nets

[bundabergdevil]

Another gem from Jackie Mac, this one focused on the Nets with lots of mercurial Kyrie tales:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...omes-next-nets

Here's a supplement to the above with an article from Yahoo Sports suggesting that KI's mood swings have caused concern within the organization. Another reminder that these guys are both real life super heroes and human.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Here's a supplement to the above with an article from Yahoo Sports suggesting that KI's mood swings have caused concern within the organization. Another reminder that these guys are both real life super heroes and human.

New environment, same old Kyrie.

[Billy Dat]

Here's a supplement to the above with an article from Yahoo Sports suggesting that KI's mood swings have caused concern within the organization. Another reminder that these guys are both real life super heroes and human.

One of the primary problems with publishing these days is that Yahoo, and everyone else, can get away with that link, which is not a "supplement" (there is no additional info) but is a rewritten summary of the Jackie Mac article using a ton of pull quotes. Even DBR has stricter intellectual property rules. It's wild.

New environment, same old Kyrie.

Yeah man, the dude is who he is, I guess. All anyone can do at this point is adopt the Durant perspective (from the same article)

"There's hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.
"I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist," Durant says. "You have to leave him alone. You know what he'll bring to the table every night because he cares so much about the game.
"Now, it might not be how other people want him to care about it. He has his way of doing things. I respect who he is and what he does. He has all the intangibles you want in a teammate and a great player. So, how he gets to the point to be ready for 7:30 every night, I'm supporting him 100 percent."

[SkyBrickey]

Luke had a nice game last night in a 96-94 Pistons win. 14pts, 4a, 3r. He was 3-6 from three. And he led the team with a +10 +/- in 31 minutes of action. That's a solid night of work for Luke (and Wendell and RJ...).