Dukies in the NBA 2020-21

[JasonEvans]

Picked up Grayson this week for my fantasy team... niiiiice.

I'm 14-0 on the season and am the talk of my 12-team league. My team is built on the foundation of Zion, Trae Young, and Nicola Jokic but the key to my success has been guys like Donovan Mitchell, Michael Porter Jr, and Jerami Grant who have been consistent big point producers. I have had Mason all year long and he has been a nice performer. I had Bagley until he got hurt. when in doubt, I stream a Dukie like Gary Trent, Grayson, Tyus, or Seth Curry.

[SouthernDukie]

And Grayson, WOW. I continue to believe that he will become a legit starter in the NBA. Nothing I would love more than for him to shut the mouths of all those haters.

It didn’t hurt that he was matched up against Trae Young‘s team. Those two have legit beef with one another.

[DukieInBrasil]

RJ Barrett went 6-6 on 3-pointers? Really? That is some impressive shooting. If he could consistently hit near 40% on threes he would become a serious threat when combined with his other talents.

And Grayson, WOW. I continue to believe that he will become a legit starter in the NBA. Nothing I would love more than for him to shut the mouths of all those haters.

Grayson had a 40 pt game in his rookie (?) year, and periodically has had excellent games for a role player, but this one was probably his best performance of his career seeing as how it was against a team with whom MEM is fighting for a playoff spot. As for the bolded part, he IS a starter for a potentially playoff-bound team, so i think he has fulfilled your belief!

[GGLC]

Picked up Grayson this week for my fantasy team... niiiiice.

I'm 14-0 on the season and am the talk of my 12-team league. My team is built on the foundation of Zion, Trae Young, and Nicola Jokic but the key to my success has been guys like Donovan Mitchell, Michael Porter Jr, and Jerami Grant who have been consistent big point producers. I have had Mason all year long and he has been a nice performer. I had Bagley until he got hurt. when in doubt, I stream a Dukie like Gary Trent, Grayson, Tyus, or Seth Curry.

If you could get Zion AND Jokic in a 12 team league (not to mention Trae Young), I feel like the other owners have to be asleep at the wheel!

Nice roster.

[brlftz]

Who would have predicted in 2015 that Grayson Allen, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones would end up on the same team in the NBA someday, and that Grayson would be the one that's starting? Grayson, the forgotten guy on the bench that we only turned to in desperation when nothing else was working. I wonder if there's a part of him that takes some satisfaction from that. Not that he has anything against those guys, but just as a sign of how far he's come since his freshman year.

ETA: just watched his highlights from last night. It's not like Grayson was just hot bombing from three. He scored in a variety of ways, and had some nice drives. Also looks like he was exploiting some pretty lax defense by the Hawks. They looked lethargic.

[WillJ]

Who would have predicted in 2015 that Grayson Allen, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones would end up on the same team in the NBA someday, and that Grayson would be the one that's starting? Grayson, the forgotten guy on the bench that we only turned to in desperation when nothing else was working. I wonder if there's a part of him that takes some satisfaction from that. Not that he has anything against those guys, but just as a sign of how far he's come since his freshman year.

ETA: just watched his highlights from last night. It's not like Grayson was just hot bombing from three. He scored in a variety of ways, and had some nice drives. Also looks like he was exploiting some pretty lax defense by the Hawks. They looked lethargic.

He had some very nice finishes with his left hand...which is a skill that he didn't seem to have before.

[fraggler]

RJ Barrett went 6-6 on 3-pointers? Really? That is some impressive shooting. If he could consistently hit near 40% on threes he would become a serious threat when combined with his other talents.

And Grayson, WOW. I continue to believe that he will become a legit starter in the NBA. Nothing I would love more than for him to shut the mouths of all those haters.

RJ is up to 38% on decent volume for the season. Pretty remarkable given how cold he was at the beginning of the season. Over 73% on FT as well. Another year of even minor improvement and his shooting should no longer be questioned or viewed as a weakness.

[Truth&Justise]

RJ is up to 38% on decent volume for the season. Pretty remarkable given how cold he was at the beginning of the season. Over 73% on FT as well. Another year of even minor improvement and his shooting should no longer be questioned or viewed as a weakness.

What's his percentage on FTs he is trying to miss intentionally?

[Alan_Wilson]

He had some very nice finishes with his left hand...which is a skill that he didn't seem to have before.

Awesome to see Grayson blowing up. As the Pelicans are basically out of the mix, I'm going all in on Duke Beale Street.

[JasonEvans]

If you could get Zion AND Jokic in a 12 team league (not to mention Trae Young), I feel like the other owners have to be asleep at the wheel!

Nice roster.

Nope, some really good GMs in this league but I was smart and planned for something unusual.

Starting two years ago, we made this a keeper league. You are allowed to keep players for up to 2 years (after they have been drafted) and then they go back into the field. Just due to the nature of how we do keepers, a ton of great players were going to be available this season so, last season I drafted Zion earlier than he should have gone and traded for Trae because I know I could keep both of them and that would give me one of the best sets of keepers for this season. By comparison, other teams were keeping guys like Jrue Holiday, Robert Covington, and Kelly Oubre because all the best players had been 2 year keepers and were going back into the pool.

It worked out nicely and I picked up Jokic with the 5th pick in the draft (Freak, AD, Harden, and LeBron went ahead of Joker) and then got I Mitchell coming around on the snake. I made one mistake in the draft with TJ Warren but virtually everything else I did was solid. I've mostly avoided the injury/Covid bug too which has been huge.

I'm dominating the league. Not just 14-0 but I score the most or second most points virtually every week. It has been fun. Everyone in the league calls me King Kong because my team puts up huge numbers. This week I'm playing a team that is 11-3, second best in the league, and I'm already winning by more than 200 points through just the Mon-Wed games -- he's all but conceded.

Of course, playoffs are where it all matters. One untimely injury to Joker or Zion and I will be in trouble. I'm close to assured of going unbeaten in the regular season... if I can win the playoffs too, I might have to retire from fantasy

-Jason "I'll be a favorite to win next season too because I will have Jokic and Zion as keepers" Evans

[Truth&Justise]

Of course, playoffs are where it all matters. One untimely injury to Joker or Zion and I will be in trouble. I'm close to assured of going unbeaten in the regular season... if I can win the playoffs too, I might have to retire from fantasy

-Jason "I'll be a favorite to win next season too because I will have Jokic and Zion as keepers" Evans

2014 Wichita St
2015 Kentucky
2021 Gonzaga
. . .
2021 Jason Evans?

[GGLC]

Ahhhh a keeper league! That makes much more sense.

Appreciate the interesting details re roster construction.

[Steven43]

2014 Wichita St
2015 Kentucky
2021 Gonzaga
. . .
2021 Jason Evans?

Not sure I understand the list. Does it have to do with being undefeated and then ultimately suffering a loss in the most important game?

[JasonEvans]

Not sure I understand the list. Does it have to do with being undefeated and then ultimately suffering a loss in the most important game?

[jimsumner]

Who would have predicted in 2015 that Grayson Allen, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones would end up on the same team in the NBA someday, and that Grayson would be the one that's starting? Grayson, the forgotten guy on the bench that we only turned to in desperation when nothing else was working.

Who would have predicted in 2015 that Grayson Allen would have a better NBA career than Jahlil Okafor?

[dukelifer]

RJ is up to 38% on decent volume for the season. Pretty remarkable given how cold he was at the beginning of the season. Over 73% on FT as well. Another year of even minor improvement and his shooting should no longer be questioned or viewed as a weakness.

It is not pretty but he has figured out a way to hit it when fairly set. Clearly he has been working on his shot.

[DukieInBrasil]

First time in a long time that Jahlil Okafor has been the headliner for Duke alum in the NBA, scoring 11 on 6 FGs, 1-1 3FG and 4-4 FTs, with 3 rebs and 3 assists. Frank Jackson chipped in 5 points for Duke Motor City, but no MP2, in the win over a Bagley-less SAC.
Gary Trent Jr had a miserable night shooting, scoring 6 on 2-14 FGs in the loss.
Harry Giles and Luke Kennard went scoreless.

[Steven43]

Luke Kennard went scoreless.

What’s going on with Luke? Any idea why he only played 1 minute in last night’s game?

[Truth&Justise]

First time in a long time that Jahlil Okafor has been the headliner for Duke alum in the NBA, scoring 11 on 6 FGs, 1-1 3FG and 4-4 FTs, with 3 rebs and 3 assists. Frank Jackson chipped in 5 points for Duke Motor City, but no MP2, in the win over a Bagley-less SAC.
Gary Trent Jr had a miserable night shooting, scoring 6 on 2-14 FGs in the loss.
Harry Giles and Luke Kennard went scoreless.

Big Jah from downtown! In five of his six NBA seasons, he has hit exactly 1 three pointer. Hope he doesn't mess up this streak by hitting a second this year.

[budwom]

This week's New Yorker has some nice words about JJ's podcast...