Yeah, just my take, but I've seen difficulty in foul shooting relate to being out of action and adjusting to the pace and fatigue of game conditions. Practicing foul shooting during a loss of games due to injuries is standard, but it wouldn't replicate game conditions. Similarly, I think early season foul shooting for several members of the team was related to the same type of thing, freshmen getting adjusted to foul shooting under game conditions.
Zion is likely to go back toward his % and hopefully soon.
I think they'll have to foul him away from the basket. I noticed last night that Tre, Cam, and Goldwire were hoarding the ball at the end when Syracuse was fouling so this can be mitigated.
If they do choose to foul Zion near the rim, it will either be an and-1 or a flagrant (because you'd have to foul him that hard to keep him from finishing his shot).
Cam's defense last night was not particularly good, although i don't think it was particularly bad. He didn't seem to have good focus on either end of the floor. Hopefully that is not the case going forward.
However, J-Gold shut Boeheim down completely for several minutes allowing only a 2pt jumper well after SYR's momentum had completely evaporated and Duke had firmly grabbed the lead.
I agree though that J-Gold's utility won't fit a pattern or be planned, but that his presence will be predicated on the defensive failure of other players.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Really depends on their strategy. Agreed that hack-a-Zion when he has the ball in position to score is not a smart idea. But if they implement the strategy the second he gets the ball in the post, it can absolutely result in a non-shooting foul.
Two things need to happen for this strategy to be effective: 1) the opposing team needs to be in the bonus and 2) they need to be deep. During elimination tournaments, teams don't go as deep and fouls can really, really hurt.
Will be see hack-a-Zion? Absolutely. Will it work? No idea.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Man, Mad Dog on MLBTV just went off on Howard for trying to trip Zion last night. Zion making his way over to major league baseball. GoDuke!
Grayson's were magnified for a number of reasons, but all were kind of retaliatory as far as I remember them.
This one almost seemed like it was meant to injure. Sure, he was frustrated as Bilas said, but then Jay gave him a pass saying - Zion didn't even trip or fall. That's weak. This is where I like how JayWill reacted. One small change in how Zion landed and he tweaks the exact same knee that was just injured.
So here's a hypothetical. If, god forbid, Zion did, as could easily have happened, re-injure his knee on that play, what would have happened? Howard would definitely be suspended. The internet would absolutely explode. As a lawyer, Bilas should know. Intent matters. And there was clearly intent.
Duke Postgame Press Conference
Now I should probably mention that given the recent discussion of bald links, my first thought was, "But what about those times I post just a link to the postgame presser?"
I have to be honest, I don't think any commentary on my part is necessary (and I usually post it before I get a chance to finish watching it). The reasons for the link being pertinent and of interest to the board are obvious. It's just a convenience thing for the other readers. Maybe the posting guidelines should reflect that sort of thing as a contrasting example.
Edit: Although the video doesn't appear to be working at the moment
Double edit: working again
Last edited by BLPOG; 03-15-2019 at 01:26 PM.
Very interesting: did RJ make a jab at Coach K when he was walking in that was caught on mic? Also Zion is just cracking up at questions. A different look than our typical, buttoned up teams, no? Are we looser this year? If so, don't know if that's good or bad. More so, a neutral observation.
- Chillin
The play that really made me catch my breath was in the 1st half when Zion went for an alley-oop from the weak side, and was undercut by a SYR player...was that Howard, too? Zion landed exactly on that same knee, in a stiff, hyper-extended way. It was clear the SYR player made no play on the ball, and the "box out" (such as it was), was terribly weak...it was a frustration move that could've easily led to a re-injury. If that was Howard, then I have little sympathy for him.