2019 2K Sports Classic: Duke vs Cal, Texas vs Georgetown

[uh_no]

I'll be at the game tonight, too. After market tickets are pretty cheap, not a lot of interest in the opening night of this event.




There does seem to have been a recent drop off in posting activity on DBR. Have those tired of one-and-done roster turnover thrown in the towel? Is message board culture a big fat "Ok Boomer" to the reddit loving youth?

I think the lack of enthusiasm might be because folks have seen our team, don't see a well oiled machine, and write off our chances at a Final Four. But, they are missing the fact that the entire country is down this year. We may be a weak #1 based on historical standards, but we are firmly in the mix as of this writing. Our relatively weak offense is still, currently, a top 10 Ken Pom offense, with all caveats about early season Ken Pom ratings.





I, too, would like to win tonight and play Texas in the title game. Texas is solid, and we have some decent history with them over the past 15 years, including that NCAA game. I am sure they hate us after we stormed back in the PK80 two years ago and would like some payback.

It doesn't project as a struggle as arnie's post indicates, but DavidBenAkiva's excellent preview extoles their shooting as does...



So where is the rotation right now? I think Tre, Vernon and Cassius have shown the most consistency, even with Cassius coming off a sub par offensive game. Jack is coming on. I am guessing those 4 will start along with...

I'd say Hurt gets the start to see if he can effectively chase their bigs around the perimeter while also adding some scoring punch.

After that, it's a crap shoot. So, I am curious to see:

-Will Cassius maintain his current status as a starter and key cog with a solid showing in NY?
-Will Jack continue solid play and make a case as a consistent starter?
-Will Matthew Hurt play well enough on both ends to be a guy who can provide massive line-up flexibility?
-Who else wants to step up and start squeezing the other guys out for minutes...Javin, AOC, Baker
-I am with those who think Jordan will settle in as a situational specialist
-Depending on all of the above, will we see the emergence of Offense Lineups vs Defense Lineups depending on how the game is going, or will enough guys emerge as two way players that we settle on a consistent rotation?

coming off 2 years of teams loaded with NBA ready talent who lost devastatingly in the elite 8, I can understand it. We have a great class, sure, but none of these guys are going top 5 in the draft next year.

[Neals384]

Cal is 4-0, all at home.
[109] Pepperdine by 16
[160] UNLV in OT
[165] Cal Baptist by 4
[288] Prairie View by 4

Cal has 9 players averaging 10 minutes or more. The starters:

6'4" 220# So. G Matt Bradley: 20 pts, 4.8 boards, 2.5 assists.
6'3" Sr. G Kareem South: 11 pts
6'8" Jr. F Grant Anticevich 11 pts, 7 boards (from Australia)
7'0" 248# Fr. F Lars Theimann: 3 pts, 2 boards, 0.5 blocks in 15 min (from Germany)
6'2" Fr. G Joel Brown: 6 pts

Bench:
6'8" 255# So. F Andre Kelly: 9 pts, 6 boards, 24 min
6'0" Sr. G Paris Austin: 7 pts
6'6" Jr. G Juhwan Harris-Dyson: 5 pts
6'7" So. F Jacobi Gordon: 3 pts

Haven't seen them play, but looking at the weights for Bradley, Theimann and Kelly - they may be pretty slow - as confirmed by DBA's tempo stats. In the most recent game vs. PV, Cal had 22 turnovers. You can bet ball security is a coaching point of emphsis. But really, won't Duke's tenacity and quickness give them trouble?

Wonder if Bradley is kinda Harden-lite, bulling his way forward and expecting a call, or stepping back for a 3.

After playing 4 games at home, is Cal ready for a long trip and the big stage?

[Neals384]

I'll be at the game tonight, too. After market tickets are pretty cheap, not a lot of interest in the opening night of this event.

There does seem to have been a recent drop off in posting activity on DBR. Have those tired of one-and-done roster turnover thrown in the towel? Is message board culture a big fat "Ok Boomer" to the reddit loving youth?

I think the lack of enthusiasm might be because folks have seen our team, don't see a well oiled machine, and write off our chances at a Final Four. But, they are missing the fact that the entire country is down this year. We may be a weak #1 based on historical standards, but we are firmly in the mix as of this writing. Our relatively weak offense is still, currently, a top 10 Ken Pom offense, with all caveats about early season Ken Pom ratings.

<snip>

Definite drop-off of interest in my corner, but it has nothing to do with prospects for this year's team. This Duke squad impresses me with how hard they play, and how well they defend. I'm not writing them off as far as prospects for the season!

Why am I less excited? It's 100% Zion. We just had a season with the most amazing player, one we will never see again. We've been to the dance with <insert name of favorite fantasy dance partner> and now we're dancing with the kids on our block. Ain't fair to the guys on this year's team, all of whom are impressive.

[Billy Dat]

Definite drop-off of interest in my corner, but it has nothing to do with prospects for this year's team. This Duke squad impresses me with how hard they play, and how well they defend. I'm not writing them off as far as prospects for the season!

Why am I less excited? It's 100% Zion. We just had a season with the most amazing player, one we will never see again. We've been to the dance with <insert name of favorite fantasy dance partner> and now we're dancing with the kids on our block. Ain't fair to the guys on this year's team, all of whom are impressive.

How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm...

It reminds me of the 5 magic weeks I spent with Miss July 1996...wait, I just woke up. Mrs. Dat, I didn't mean it...

I hear you. Maybe it's a combo of one-and-done making a chunk of fans lose interest and one-and-Zion making another huge chunk lose interest. Throw in the calamity that is the majority of the football season and it's a toxic combo.

But, as long as K roams the sidelines, that should compel the majority.

It's Duke, it's MSG, let's do this!

[Indoor66]

My enthusiasm lag is directly related to my not having ACCN available to me.

[Billy Dat]

My enthusiasm lag is directly related to my not having ACCN available to me.

Ding, ding, ding...very good point and a huge contributor for many, I am sure.

[Rich]

My enthusiasm lag is directly related to my not having ACCN available to me.

You beat me to it. After a number of years of seeing practically every game, either on TV or on the interwebs, I feel shut out this year as a Comcast customer without access to ACCN. It's pretty sad, really, when you consider how many others are in the same boat.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

*cues his Colin Cowherd voice*

Cal - a sunny warm weather team coming EAST to the cold Big Apple? I'm putting all my money on Duke.

[MartyClark]

You beat me to it. After a number of years of seeing practically every game, either on TV or on the interwebs, I feel shut out this year as a Comcast customer without access to ACCN. It's pretty sad, really, when you consider how many others are in the same boat.

Same here. I feel like I don't know this team yet.

[UrinalCake]

I feel like there’s so much we don’t know about this team. Kansas has been our only “real” opponent, and that game was an anomaly in a lot of ways, being the first game of the season and having so many turnovers. So I think we’ll learn a lot over the next two days.

Given Cal’s ability to shoot the three and our inability to do so, I predict a tight game in which we feel like we’re in control but are unable to pull away until the end. Tied at halftime, final 73-65 Duke.

[uh_no]

I feel like there’s so much we don’t know about this team. Kansas has been our only “real” opponent, and that game was an anomaly in a lot of ways, being the first game of the season and having so many turnovers. So I think we’ll learn a lot over the next two days.

Given Cal’s ability to shoot the three and our inability to do so, I predict a tight game in which we feel like we’re in control but are unable to pull away until the end. Tied at halftime, final 73-65 Duke.

I'm interested to see how stanley responds after the poor outing last week against GaSt.

[ShaneRyan]

Cal *shouldn't* be able to hang with us, but like a lot of you I'm getting a weird feeling that it's going to be at least a little closer than anticipated. One thing I look forward to is seeing how our defense fares against team with 3-4 starters who can shoot the three. The Tre vs. Matt Bradley match-up should be fascinating too, hopefully in our favor. The other bad news about Cal is they like to play slowwww, but the good news is that so far they've turned the ball over a ton.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

My enthusiasm lag is directly related to my not having ACCN available to me.

I totally agree. Between not seeing the team much and there not being a lot of holdovers from last year (I'm really thankful for Tre!), I barely know this team. We were very spoiled last year and it will take a little while to bounce back from that.

I am looking forward to going to the game tomorrow - games at MSG are always fun. Tonight I will watch at home as the 9:30 tip is way too late for a work/school night. As others have noted, I have been getting a lot of e-mails and ads (ad targeting clearly works) trying to sell me tickets to this one - I'm surprised there isn't more demand as Duke is Duke plus Cal, Texas and Georgetown all have decent sized alumni bases in NY.

[tbyers11]

*Smacks his forehead*

Why do they bother with the lie?

ESPN officially lists it as a 9:30 pm start time. I was surprised and had to check to make sure 9:30 didn't mean 10pm.

[devildeac]

ESPN officially lists it as a 9:30 pm start time. I was surprised and had to check to make sure 9:30 didn't mean 10pm.

"30 minutes after conclusion of 5th set of random, poorly attended ACC volleyball match. Maybe."

[tbyers11]

"30 minutes after conclusion of 5th set of random, poorly attended ACC volleyball match. Maybe."

Except that tonight's game is on ESPN2 and not ACCN. But, otherwise the gripping 5th set action of the Pitt-BC volleyball match would take precedence.

[SkyBrickey]

I get the issue with Comcast and the ACCN. That really sucks.

But I enjoy the gritty, team-oriented approach of this year's team every bit as much as I enjoyed last year's OAD superstars.

The plot lines are different. Instead of "how many outrageous dunks will Zion have?", it's now "who will start?" and "can we take them out of their offense with our pressure?" and "who will knock down 3s for us?". It's not as exciting as last year, but I think it's a lot more interesting team - and one that should get a lot better as the year goes on and we work through our issues on offense.

We should enjoy every single week we are #1 in the country, because once the big K finally retires, our visits to #1 could become few and far between...

[Turk]

I'll be there too, hope the Devils break i open eaarly.

[ndkjr70]

I think it's a great topic and I think I agree with it -- I find myself less enthusiastic towards Duke because last year's team was the most fun I've had watching a sports team in my entire life, and was the most curhsingly gross I've ever felt after a loss. Emotional fatigue after back-to-back heartbreakers in the Elite-8 while memories of Grayson Allen's spectacular one-man-show in 2015 against Wisconsin is starting to fade away.

It's all relative, of course. I watch every game, on the edge of my seat. I yelled when they beat Kansas, and I'm sure I'll curse when they suffer their first loss. I'll definitely sweat bullets when we play Carolina and I'll definitely get overly emotional when we pull out big wins. But it just feels... different. It feels like being with your smokeshow of your girlfriend who broke your heart two years in a row. She's absolutely gorgeous and she promises to never break your heart again, but you know she probably will.

[devildeac]

Except that tonight's game is on ESPN2 and not ACCN. But, otherwise the gripping 5th set action of the Pitt-BC volleyball match would take precedence.

I stand corrected.