Dukies in the NBA 2020-21

[throatybeard]

-Jason "Marvin may always be haunted by the fact that he was taken one spot ahead of Luca and 3 ahead of Trae (who appear to be perennial all-stars), but he's only 21 and still has a chance to make that pick look like a decent choice" Evans

Huh? Why on earth would Marvin "always be haunted"--haunted--by the ordinal draft selection of whoever came after him, much less three after him?

Do successful NBA players lie awake at night thinking about the draft order by which they entered the league years prior? How many of them are that vain? Don't they measure their success according to their situation and whether their team wins? Does even the most extreme case of this in history--because the media wouldn't shut up about it--Sam Bowie, does he give MJ's draft position much thought on any regular basis, much less being "haunted" by it?

Go interview the entire all-star roster this year and ask each guy if he can even name who was drafted three slots after him. I'd bet they wouldn't even bat .100 on that.

[BlueDevilStop]

Blue Devils will be well represented on All-Star night. Multiple guys in the All-Star game, Cassius in the dunk contest, could also have representation in the Skills Challenge and 3-point shootout.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Charlotte, on the other hand, has PJ Washington and Miles Bridges ahead of Vernon at PF. Not much room to grab playing time behind those two. I don't think the NBA sees Vernon as a center and the Hornets have Cody Zeller and rim protector Bizmack Biyombo at that spot anyway.

Charlotte is in no mood to have a big man learning while on the job.

Vernon is young. I strongly suspect he will find a meaningful role in the league down the line.

Maybe Charlotte will want to find a missing piece and trade Vernon for that piece. He's been scoring well for the Greensboro Swarm in the G-League.

[Edouble]

Huh? Why on earth would Marvin "always be haunted"--haunted--by the ordinal draft selection of whoever came after him, much less three after him?

Do successful NBA players lie awake at night thinking about the draft order by which they entered the league years prior? How many of them are that vain? Don't they measure their success according to their situation and whether their team wins? Does even the most extreme case of this in history--because the media wouldn't shut up about it--Sam Bowie, does he give MJ's draft position much thought on any regular basis, much less being "haunted" by it?

Go interview the entire all-star roster this year and ask each guy if he can even name who was drafted three slots after him. I'd bet they wouldn't even bat .100 on that.

I agree with your post in that I don't understand why Marvin would care that he was drafted ahead of players whom have had a better showing in their careers so far.

As an aside, one of the coolest things I have ever seen with regard to the subject matter at hand is Draymond Green naming every player drafted ahead of him in the 2012 draft:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Idn1HxJVLM

To your point, however, he names noone who was drafted after him!

[throatybeard]

Maybe Charlotte will want to find a missing piece and trade Vernon for that piece. He's been scoring well for the Greensboro Swarm in the G-League.

Swarm, that is a great name for a team in Greensboro.

Every time I'm there, I feel swarmed by what seems like every vehicle traveling through North Carolina having been funneled into the same town. Mountains to coast, Atlanta to DC, Triad to Triangle, Charlotte to half of everywhere. As über-roadgeek Adam Prince points out, decades of federal money has been showered on Greensboro.

Nobody tell Boeheim.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Swarm, that is a great name for a team in Greensboro.

Every time I'm there, I feel swarmed by what seems like every vehicle traveling through North Carolina having been funneled into the same town. Mountains to coast, Atlanta to DC, Triad to Triangle, Charlotte to half of everywhere. As über-roadgeek Adam Prince points out, decades of federal money has been showered on Greensboro.

Nobody tell Boeheim.

I've lived in Greensboro for 8 years on Wednesday (3/3). They finished the I-40/I-85 construction projects about 10 years ago. One of the best things about living in Greensboro is the lack of traffic. A bad traffic day in Greensboro is a 2 light cycle delay on Battleground Avenue! Compared to Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston or LA, it's a piece of cake!

[jimsumner]

Isn't somebody going to say that Michael Jordan is committed to holding back former Duke players?

[DukieInBrasil]

Bagley has been on a roll lately. He's been in double-digits in each of his last 9 games including games of 26, 24, 19 (x4), and 17. He's also had 5 double-digit rebound games in his last 10. His minutes have also ticked up a bit lately... playing upper 20s and low-30s versus low-20s and sometimes teens earlier this season. He's also fouling less, which may be an indication he is starting to get a tiny bit better on defense. If he can be even a competent defender, it gets easier to have him on the floor more and I think he can become a fringe NBA all-star.

Of course, the bottom line is winning and Sacto has taken a big step back in that arena this season. On Feb 7th, they beat the Clippers and were 12-11 on the season, looking like a team headed to maybe a 6 or 7 seed in the Western playoffs... it has been all downhill since then. The Kings have lost 10 of 11 and it looks like they should be eyeing draft position more than looking for wins. It is possible that may encourage them to give Bagley more and more time as they seek to improve their young base. I mean, why give minutes to 32 year old free agent to be PF Nemanja Bjelica at this point?

-Jason "Marvin may always be haunted by the fact that he was taken one spot ahead of Luca and 3 ahead of Trae (who appear to be perennial all-stars), but he's only 21 and still has a chance to make that pick look like a decent choice" Evans

Marvin's 3pt shooting has improved over time, and at .375 is good enough to be respected. He's either flatlined (FG% and bulk stats) or regressed (FT%) in other areas. I don't know enough about advanced metrics to say much else.
As you say, if he can develop into a competent defender, in addition to gradually improving FT and FG%, he could become a consistent dub-dub threat with increased playing time. But yeah, it's hard to see that people will ever see Bagley as better than either Luka or Trae, unless injuries come into play.

[throatybeard]

I've lived in Greensboro for 8 years on Wednesday (3/3). They finished the I-40/I-85 construction projects about 10 years ago. One of the best things about living in Greensboro is the lack of traffic. A bad traffic day in Greensboro is a 2 light cycle delay on Battleground Avenue! Compared to Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston or LA, it's a piece of cake!

It's like the only case in human history where building all those lanes reduced the density!

[BlueTeuf]

-Jason "Marvin may always be haunted by the fact that he was taken one spot ahead of Luca and 3 ahead of Trae (who appear to be perennial all-stars), but he's only 21 and still has a chance to make that pick look like a decent choice" Evans

Huh? Why on earth would Marvin "always be haunted"--haunted--by the ordinal draft selection of whoever came after him, much less three after him?

Do successful NBA players lie awake at night thinking about the draft order by which they entered the league years prior? How many of them are that vain? Don't they measure their success according to their situation and whether their team wins? Does even the most extreme case of this in history--because the media wouldn't shut up about it--Sam Bowie, does he give MJ's draft position much thought on any regular basis, much less being "haunted" by it?

Go interview the entire all-star roster this year and ask each guy if he can even name who was drafted three slots after him. I'd bet they wouldn't even bat .100 on that.

I respect Throatybeard's point - but Casper can do the haunting while the homeowner just ignores him. Restated, you both can be right. And I doubt Sam Bowie's lying awake at night.

[MChambers]

Isn't somebody going to say that Michael Jordan is committed to holding back former Duke players?

It goes without saying, Jim.

[throatybeard]

IMO the best approach to 23 is to avoid saying anything about him at all.

[Steven43]

Marvin's 3pt shooting has improved over time, and at .375 is good enough to be respected.

He’s making 37.5% of his 3-pt shots?! If true, “good enough to be respected” would be an understatement. Dude is roughly 7-feet tall. There aren’t many NBA players that height who shoot a better percentage than 37.5. At least I don’t think so.

[arnie]

He’s making 37.5% of his 3-pt shots?! If true, “good enough to be respected” would be an understatement. Dude is roughly 7-feet tall. There aren’t many NBA players that height who shoot a better percentage than 37.5. At least I don’t think so.

His wingspan must be a 1/2 inch short which makes him “undesirable” in the NBA. Who knows😡😡

[brevity]

Charlotte, the "Gateway to Gastonia", was a topic of interest on Saturday Night Live:

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Charlotte, the "Gateway to Gastonia", was a topic of interest on Saturday Night Live:

Wow. That's really funny.

Maybe particularly for someone from Charlotte.

[Eternal Outlaw]

Considering he started 9-50 on threes, RJ's 34.5% is looking pretty good right now. 32-69 in games 12 to 35.

[Duke79UNLV77]

Zion with 10 points in the first 5.5 minutes of the 3rd quarter against Utah. He's been making Gobert look helpless on defense! Amazing!

[howardlander]

Zion with 10 points in the first 5.5 minutes of the 3rd quarter against Utah. He's been making Gobert look helpless on defense! Amazing!

Yep, I think he had 15 in the quarter. He is really a destroyer.

[throatybeard]

This is hell on wheels. Utah's making New Orleans pay for not playing defense.

I don't care if New Orleans can't play defense: the quicker the other guys score, the more we get to watch the real show.