Dukies in the NBA 2020-21

[Nrrrrvous]

Not to change the subject, but...

JJ is having a great night, 4 for 5 from 3. 17 points? Looking like vintage JJ.

Zion's not doing half bad either.

It's just too bad they (NO) can't play a lick of D.

[SouthernDukie]

Pelicans in the process of giving away yet another game. My thought at the end of the first half is that they should’ve been up by at least 20. When they weren’t I almost posted and said watch them lose this game again. Still two minutes left, but it’s not looking good. And yes, their defense is horrendous. That includes Zion. Who has missed a ton of bunnies by the way.

If they fail to make the playoffs this year, this stretch of three giveaway games might be the reason. Just terrible. They should be 7-2 after this game tonight. Instead they’re looking at 4-5 unless they change things quickly in the last two minutes of this game.

[ice-9]

Gordon Hayward looks good. I looked up his stats and this is what he's done so far this season:

Points: 21.9
3PTM: 2.0
Rebounds: 5.8
Assists: 4.4
Steals: 1.5
Blocks: 0.4

He's a fantasy monster and currently ranked 17 in 9-cat roto.

Wonder why he couldn't do that on the Celtics. Boston let him walk for free.

[Steven43]

Gordon Hayward looks good. I looked up his stats and this is what he's done so far this season:

Points: 21.9
3PTM: 2.0
Rebounds: 5.8
Assists: 4.4
Steals: 1.5
Blocks: 0.4

He's a fantasy monster and currently ranked 17 in 9-cat roto.

Wonder why he couldn't do that on the Celtics. Boston let him walk for free.

Yet another Hayward injury is likely coming soon. I’m not happy about it, but it’s going to happen.

[SouthernDukie]

Duke South the Pelicans are not. Right now they are half-hearted choke artists. I hope SVG really gives them what for. Zion has got to work on his conditioning in the off-season. JJ may just be running out of gas at the end of his career. Ball is incredibly inconsistent (he let his younger brother own him tonight). Bledsoe is solid defensively but up-n-down offensively. Only Adams and Ingram have really been the guys I expected them to be. And that’s not to say Brandon can’t still be better.

Stan has his work cut out for him with this squad.

[Nrrrrvous]

Pelicans in the process of giving away yet another game. My thought at the end of the first half is that they should’ve been up by at least 20. When they weren’t I almost posted and said watch them lose this game again. Still two minutes left, but it’s not looking good. And yes, their defense is horrendous. That includes Zion. Who has missed a ton of bunnies by the way.

If they fail to make the playoffs this year, this stretch of three giveaway games might be the reason. Just terrible. They should be 7-2 after this game tonight. Instead they’re looking at 4-5 unless they change things quickly in the last two minutes of this game.

I only watched the last half of the 3rd and the 4th. It looked like they were just constantly a step behind on D. Trying to recover as the shot was going up (and usually in). And Zion was missing several chippies at the rim that he usually doesn't. And their outside shooting was horrendous, once JJ started missing. And... And... And...

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I only watched the last half of the 3rd and the 4th. It looked like they were just constantly a step behind on D. Trying to recover as the shot was going up (and usually in). And Zion was missing several chippies at the rim that he usually doesn't. And their outside shooting was horrendous, once JJ started missing. And... And... And...

And... Lonzo Ball is terrible.

[SouthernDukie]

And... Lonzo Ball is terrible.

Yes! They have to unload him if possible. If not, let him walk.

[Nrrrrvous]

And... Lonzo Ball is terrible.

And then there's that.

[Steven43]

And... Lonzo Ball is terrible.

Uh oh, what did The Lonz do this time?

[SouthernDukie]

Uh oh, what did The Lonz do this time?

Nothing. That’s the point.

[roywhite]

Nothing. That’s the point.

Yeah, check the stat line of Pelicans L Ball vs younger brother Hornets L Ball.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267286

[Steven43]

Yeah, check the stat line of Pelicans L Ball vs younger brother Hornets L Ball.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267286

Whoa, that was eye-opening.

[awhom111]

The G League is finalizing plans for their Disney bubble. Trevon is in the draft, which will be held Monday. I suppose that I will start a thread when his fate is revealed.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Duke South the Pelicans are not. Right now they are half-hearted choke artists. I hope SVG really gives them what for. Zion has got to work on his conditioning in the off-season.

Zion played an injury-shortened season, got most of an off-season, played a very short bubble season, then had another short off-season. If he is getting gassed nine games into the subsequent season, that's not good. He has barely played more games in fifteen months with the Pels than he did with Duke in five months.

[Steven43]

Yeah, check the stat line of Pelicans L Ball vs younger brother Hornets L Ball.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267286

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-ball-pelicans

The kid has some serious skills. Yes, he’s got a long way to go, but the raw material is there.

Watch the video highlights. Impressive.

[ice-9]

Van Gundy’s practices are known to be gruelling - I wonder whether that is a factor.

[jv001]

Yeah, check the stat line of Pelicans L Ball vs younger brother Hornets L Ball.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267286

Looking at that box score, JJ and Hart played pretty well.

GoDuke!

[DukieInBrasil]

It's just too bad they (NO) can't play a lick of D.

in addition to that, NOLA closes games poorly. Again they had a lead in the 4th and in the last few minutes let it slip away.
Otoh, JJ has struggled mightily this season, but the last couple of games have been better. This game in particular was vintage JJ, with 17. As for the rest of Duke South, Zion had a monster game with 26 & 8, while Ingram didn't shoot well from the field but still had 17-8-8.

Up at Duke North, Frank Jackson got his 1st game minutes with DET and scored 3pts. Jah continues to get consistent back-up minutes, and plays well. MP2 continues to start and acquit himself well as a "poor man's" Jokic. Although, nobody in the NBA is poor.

Over in MEM, Tyus continues starting in place of (?) and turned in a dub-dub with 11 & 10, vs. only 1 turn. He continues to be a mediocre offensive threat but his game control is stellar. His a:to this year is over 5, which just blows my mind. Grayson also put in a solid game, with 10 pts.

Wendell had a big night, going for 23 &7, and MB3 had solid if unspectacular game, with 15 & 4.

Luke Kennard, thru ~9 games, Luke is still a very efficient scorer, but his role has been much reduced from his time in DET. He scored 8 in the loss.

Tatum had a monster game for BOS with 32 & 5 in the win. He's looking like an All-Star for sure. Semi started and got 8 & 5. Despite my rancor for how the refs let him foul the F outta Zion in their tourney game, Tacko Fall has become a nice feel-good story in the NBA. He stuffed the F outta Westbrook at the rim, which was beautiful, and in this game he got a lot more burn than usual and was productive with it. He seems like a super nice guy, looks like he has fun playing, is smart enough to get an engineering degree, and looks like he might not be "just a novelty player". Good for him.

Over in Duke-NYC, RJ shot poorly but ended up with 19 & 7, and Austin had 12-5-6 in the loss.

Vernon Carey and Quinn Cook were DNP-CDs

[sagegrouse]

Up at Duke North, Frank Jackson got his 1st game minutes with DET and scored 3pts. Jah continues to get consistent back-up minutes, and plays well. MP2 continues to start and acquit himself well as a "poor man's" Jokic. Although, nobody in the NBA is poor.

Nice summary, DiB. I would like to note Mason Plumlee, a career 55.6 percent FT shooter, was 8-8 last night. The probability of that occurring is 1.05 percent.