Fun game- Cam getting better. Zion with several beautiful dunks.
Fun game- Cam getting better. Zion with several beautiful dunks.
And the first quarter is in the books.
Zion - crazy to see him just blowing by and out-jumping guys like John Collins. The shot still looks rough, though. He's going to be at the line a LOT this year. Will make a big difference if he can hit his FTs at a reasonable rate.
Big Jah - we've heard that Jah is in better shape every year he's been in the NBA, but he's looking particularly spry at the moment, killing the offensive boards and facilitating on offense. Defense is still a bit shakey, but didn't look terrible
Jabari - looks good! Still gets just completely lost occasionally on D, but boarding and passing well. The only guy on the Hawks who can grab a board and lead the break, and it really stands out.
Ingram - just sort of settling into the game and letting things happen. Shot's not falling, which is a bit unfortunate.
Cam - well, he's doing a good job taking up space on D and moving the ball, at least...
JJ - just knows how to play at this point. He and Holiday are going to spend a lot of time as part-time coaches on the floor this year. Hugely valuable for the younger guys.
No Frank Jackson yet.
For non-Duke guys, Hunter has looked very solid so far. Jumper looks actually smoother than it did last year at UVA. Trae Young is going to rack up a lot of assists this year, but needs to take better care of the ball. Lonzo has looked impressive; the shot is noticeably less awful this year and the passing is still very impressive.
Why did Trae Young have to do that to JJ... it's not right to embarrass the old man like that.
RJ having an excellent game vs the Wizards. 15 ptrs, 6 reb in 4th. 30 minutes played. 8:30 left in game .
Duke guys in some of the undercard games today:
RJ has really come to life and put his stamp on the Knicks game after a poor-shooting start: parked at 15/6/3 on 6/13 from the field at the moment in 29 minutes. He's pushed the Knicks to a big second half lead here. (Make your freethrows, RJ!)
Not a great outing for Luke Kennard, unfortunately, in Detroit/Orlando. Amile has only gotten a couple minutes in that game thus far, but to no Duke fans surprise has mad ean impact. He has a rebound and an assist, and is plus 8.
Marques Bolden was solid in 15 min for Cleveland. It'd be really cool if he could play his way into a roster spot.
If Cam can knock in reasonably open threes with this kind of consistency and give this kind of solid, team defense, he's going to be a valuable contributor this year. Looking very confident taking his shot right now.
Ingram got tired of settling into the game and is really asserting himself this second half.
We're getting some Frank Jackson action!
Jrue Holiday is just a beast. Not much news there.
This Pelican’s team will be fun to watch. They have a lot of weapons. Zion will need to develop a jumper but he will overpower many defenders. Ball, Ingram and Holliday make a strong core but will need to be leaders now. They will get a lot of Duke fans to pay attention.
After a horrible opening - Cam settled down and kept it simple. He should avoid driving for now and concentrate on shooting and defense as he can be elite there with his size. He needs to get stronger but he can play at this level if he does not try too hard to do everything.
That was an incredible move by Trae Young. And he did it so casually, like it was routine. Unfortunate that he did it to JJ, but he probably could have pulled that move off on most opponents in that stance. I don’t think it was anything particularly negative about JJ’s defense.
If you felt a disturbance in the force earlier this evening, that was Ben Simmons finally taking and making a 3 pointer. In a pre-season game. After which he received a hug from his teammates and a standing ovation. In a pre-season game. For making a basketball shot. In a basketball game. In the pre-season. In his 3rd NBA year.
Edit: Up 40. On a Chinese something or other team. In the pre-season. For doing basketball.
He’s no Marshall Plumlee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv7A3r0a7Ns
The best part of that video are - and I could be imagining things here - the subdued grins on the faces of Capel, K, and Scheyer. It sure looked to me like there were slight breaks in their normally glowering coach faces.
..but still, Ben Simmons is a point guard and should have been jacking of threes forever, so his recent feat shouldn't have seen him receive a Marshall-ing from the bench!
Watching the Pelicans versus the Bulls. Loving RJ on my Knicks, but it’s killing me seeing Zion running wild for New Orleans. All for the wrong ping pong ball.
Although I knew that he had been let go by Houston last spring, I did not realize that Jeff Bzdelik was now an assistant coach with The Pelicans. He was quite active during timeouts tonight, coaching up the defense. What an unusual career arc he has had.
Haven't looked forward to a regular season this much in a while.
Pelicans lost to the Raptors in OT and it was a fun game to watch overall. Wish E'twuan Moore played less but I assume it's because he had the most experience outside of Jrue. NAW is gonna be good but his light to shoot should not be that green already and he really hurt them. JJ and the 28 year old rookie from Italy are really gonna be relied on for shooting. Ingram looks great and baffling all at once, he takes waay to many tough contested shots.
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking