Dukies in the NBA 2019-20

[cato]

I love the potential for Dukies in NO, but let’s be honest: they have no chance of doing anything significant this year. At best they could squeak into the playoffs, but does anyone think they could beat LA?

[lmb]

ESPN article on 9 guys who are breakout players in the bubble: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/pag...layers-orlando

Two of them are Dukies:
Gary Trent Jr --


and Grayson Allen--

I guess my concerns that Grayson was playing videogames all day and not staying in shape were unfounded.
His Twitter feed was all about the gaming so it was hard to tell😄

[robed deity]

Gary Trent Jr doesn't miss 3s anymore apparently. 4-4 today.

[JasonEvans]

Gary Trent Jr doesn't miss 3s anymore apparently. 4-4 today.

Portland has 75 points at the half... playing against the Clippers. Now, the Clips are playing without Kawhi, but they are still a really good defensive team and the Blazers are torching them, hitting 52% of their 3s and 61% of all field goals.

Trent has played 18 minutes at the half and has 14 points. At just $1.4 mil in salary this season, Gary may be the biggest bargain in the NBA today**.

-Jason "**-Duncan Robinson and Dvontae Graham are the other contenders for the 'best bargain' award" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Did anyone look at the boxscore from the NO-Wash game last night? Zion didn't play and JJ and Ingra had somewhat pedestrian games. But Frank Jackson posted a stat that is sorta unreal.

Frank played 20 minutes and scored 13 points on 6-10 from the field. He had 1 rebound and 2 assists. Ok, Jason, that sound fine but nothing special.

Yeah, then you get to his plus/minus... plus 30.

Plus 30 in just 20 minutes. Plus 30 in a game his team won by only 11. In other words, for the 28 minutes Frank was not on the floor, Washington won the game by 19, a blow out. But for the 20 minutes Frank played, New Orleans won by 30.

I know plus/minus is incredibly variable and can be almost meaningless in a single game sample. Still, plus 30 is kinda ridiculous. Washington was the clearly better team for most of the game, but the minutes Frank played were such a massive blowout by the Pels that it made up for Washington being better the rest of the time.

I'm not sure it is long-term meaningful, but it was worth noting.

By the way, the Pels absolutely had to win that game. The 9th spot is still attainable but they cannot lose any more games, I suspect.

[sagegrouse]

Quinn has 13 points in 11 minutes at halftime in the Lakers-Pacers game.

[JasonEvans]

Quinn has 13 points in 11 minutes at halftime in the Lakers-Pacers game.

Now 21 points in 20 minutes in the 4th quarter. Nice to see him getting some burn.

[JetpackJesus]

Did anyone look at the boxscore from the NO-Wash game last night? Zion didn't play and JJ and Ingra had somewhat pedestrian games. But Frank Jackson posted a stat that is sorta unreal.

Frank played 20 minutes and scored 13 points on 6-10 from the field. He had 1 rebound and 2 assists. Ok, Jason, that sound fine but nothing special.

Yeah, then you get to his plus/minus... plus 30.

Plus 30 in just 20 minutes. Plus 30 in a game his team won by only 11. In other words, for the 28 minutes Frank was not on the floor, Washington won the game by 19, a blow out. But for the 20 minutes Frank played, New Orleans won by 30.

I know plus/minus is incredibly variable and can be almost meaningless in a single game sample. Still, plus 30 is kinda ridiculous. Washington was the clearly better team for most of the game, but the minutes Frank played were such a massive blowout by the Pels that it made up for Washington being better the rest of the time.

I'm not sure it is long-term meaningful, but it was worth noting.

By the way, the Pels absolutely had to win that game. The 9th spot is still attainable but they cannot lose any more games, I suspect.

The Spurs game is huge for the Pels. I'm going to assume the last Kings game was an aberration. Orlando should be beatable. So they have a real shot at winning out. The 9th spot is very much in play for them if that happens, especially with Memphis' remaining games being against Toronto, Boston, and Mill-e-wah-que. They easily could lose out, and it's hard to imagine a scenario where they don't get jumped by at least one team, if not two, given that four teams are all within 2.5 games of them.

[BlueDevilStop]

He has been so fun to watch in the NBA bubble. Hes been on a tear the entire second half of the NBA season. Where would he get drafted in a re-draft of the 2018 class? Crazy that he fell to the 2nd round.

[ice-9]

He’s 22-35 on 3pt. shots in the bubble. That’s 63%. That’s pretty good.

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/stat...556925952?s=20

Portland was a great team two seasons ago, but people slept on them this year because Nurkic was injured. With him back on the floor, the dynamic completely changes and shooters have open opportunities. Gary's performance before / after Nurkic is not coincidental. This is not a team the Lakers will want to see in the first round.

[JasonEvans]

Gary Trent Jr. has been so fun to watch in the NBA bubble. Hes been on a tear the entire second half of the NBA season. Where would he get drafted in a re-draft of the 2018 class? Crazy that he fell to the 2nd round.

Well, based on win shares thus far, Gary ranks 26th overall, so 2nd round would not seem outrageous by that metric. But, his play this season has been on a different level from previous years so perhaps win shares thus far is not a good metric for him. He'd be a first rounder if we redrafted, of that I agree, but that 2018 class has some really good players in it. IMO, the following guys would, for sure, go ahead of Gary in a redraft:

Luka, Trae, SGA, Ayton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Devontae Graham, Bagley, Mikal Bridges, and Michael Porter Jr (have you seen what he is doing in the bubble? WOW!).

I think Trent has recently played his way into the next group which includes Carter, Mo Bamba, Shamet, DiVencenzo, Huerter, Sexton, Miles Bridges, and Kevin Knox.

[ice-9]

Well, based on win shares thus far, Gary ranks 26th overall, so 2nd round would not seem outrageous by that metric. But, his play this season has been on a different level from previous years so perhaps win shares thus far is not a good metric for him. He'd be a first rounder if we redrafted, of that I agree, but that 2018 class has some really good players in it. IMO, the following guys would, for sure, go ahead of Gary in a redraft:

Luka, Trae, SGA, Ayton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Devontae Graham, Bagley, Mikal Bridges, and Michael Porter Jr (have you seen what he is doing in the bubble? WOW!).

I think Trent has recently played his way into the next group which includes Carter, Mo Bamba, Shamet, DiVencenzo, Huerter, Sexton, Miles Bridges, and Kevin Knox.

Wow was this a great class.

[dukelifer]

Well, based on win shares thus far, Gary ranks 26th overall, so 2nd round would not seem outrageous by that metric. But, his play this season has been on a different level from previous years so perhaps win shares thus far is not a good metric for him. He'd be a first rounder if we redrafted, of that I agree, but that 2018 class has some really good players in it. IMO, the following guys would, for sure, go ahead of Gary in a redraft:

Luka, Trae, SGA, Ayton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Devontae Graham, Bagley, Mikal Bridges, and Michael Porter Jr (have you seen what he is doing in the bubble? WOW!).

I think Trent has recently played his way into the next group which includes Carter, Mo Bamba, Shamet, DiVencenzo, Huerter, Sexton, Miles Bridges, and Kevin Knox.

Knox has not impressed me. I understand why he was picked in the first round- but he has struggled- particularly this year. Luka on the other hand is just getting started. That kid is amazing.

[JasonEvans]

An update on race for #8 and #9 in the West...

Here is where things stand:


Memphis plays Toronto today. The Raptors are really good and Memphis has not been playing well. I'd be more than a bit surprised if Memphis pulled this out, especially without JJJr, who would have been an interesting matchup with Siakam. The game also marks Marc Gasol's first game against his old team since being traded last year. I suspect Memphis will lose and their final two, against Boston and Milwaukee, are no easier. If they win one of these then they have a good chance. Do they have it in them?

Nawlins plays San Antonio in the big game of the day. If the Pels lose, everyone agrees that they will be done. I can't see a team with 40 losses making it. The winner of this game joins Portland and Phoenix as the main challengers to Memphis.

Question -- what is the league going to do about imbalanced number of games played? I guess it just comes down to win percentage. It is possible Memphis goes 34-39 while the Spurs go 33-38. In that case, Memphis goes ahead of San Antonio... but that feels pretty darn unfair.

[subzero02]

it is honestly amazing and a little scary how quickly Zion can rip rebounds away from opponents who have both hands on the ball and not even come close to fouling. If Williamson is on the offensive end, he usually has scored before the player he has stolen the ball from can react.

[Truth&Justise]

Memphis plays Toronto today. The Raptors are really good and Memphis has not been playing well. I'd be more than a bit surprised if Memphis pulled this out, especially without JJJr, who would have been an interesting matchup with Siakam. The game also marks Marc Gasol's first game against his old team since being traded last year. I suspect Memphis will lose and their final two, against Boston and Milwaukee, are no easier. If they win one of these then they have a good chance. Do they have it in them?

Given how long he played in Memphis, I would have expected more noise from the crowd when he was introduced. But not a peep from any Memphis fans, just silence!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Given how long he played in Memphis, I would have expected more noise from the crowd when he was introduced. But not a peep from any Memphis fans, just silence!

Rude!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

JJ looks like the only one who came to play today. Too bad.

[SouthernDukie]

JJ looks like the only one who came to play today. Too bad.

Yep. I’m ready to sing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.”

[subzero02]

Yep. I’m ready to sing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.”

Start warming up your voice; the difference in overall team effort level is sad.