MBB: Duke 88, BC 63 Post-game Thread

Some morning after box score notes:

- BC got too many easy buckets early, scoring on 10 of their first 15 possessions, and then scoring on their last 5 possessions of the first half. In the second half, they scored on just 7 of their first 21 possessions as we built our big lead.

- Despite the easy buckets in the paint early, BC only got 17 attempts at the rim, while shooting 17 from midrange and 15 from 3. That's a solid shot distribution, and I'm sure it would look a lot better if you only looked at the final 30 minutes.

- Duke's shot selection remains elite. 27 attempts at the rim, including 7 dunks, just 6 from midrange (more dunks than long 2s over 40 minutes!), and 24 3s.

- thought the small lineup was effective last night, so I took a closer look:

At the 6:55 mark of the first half, Jon went small with a 24-24 score. We outscored them 11-5 and built a 35-29 lead when Pat came in at 2:30.

At the 15 minute mark of the second half, Pat picked up his 3rd foul, and Jon went to the small lineup with a 50-42 lead. In 4 minutes with the small lineup we outscored them 11-1 before Pat came back in at 10:55.

So, the small lineup was +16 over those ~8 minutes. What would it take for Jon to consider sprinkling in a little small ball when Maliq comes back? At this point I'm intrigued, at the very least. Cooper particularly took advantage of the extra space on the floor during those minutes.
 
Metrics

Rough first half, better second half, very solid 25-pt road win. I will take it. Not our A game, but when you can win by 25 without your A game, that will work.

OFFENSE:
Possessions: 66.6 (a faster pace than usual for us, but still slow-ish)
oRtg: 132.1 (124.5 adjusted; would be #6 nationally, and our 6th elite performance offensively in the last 7 games)
eFG%: 59.6% (excellent)
3pt%: 33.3% (mediocre)
2pt%: 66.7% (outstanding)
%threes: 42.1% (slightly high)
FT rate: 43.9% (decent, but very good for us)
OR%: 33.3% (decent)
TO%: 12.0% (excellent)
a/to: 2.3 (very good)
fast break pts: 5 (poor)

DEFENSE:
dRtg: 94.5 (99.7 adjusted; would be #68 in the country)
eFG%: 50.0 (mediocre to poor)
3pt%: 33.3% (mediocre)
2pt%: 50.0% (mediocre to poor)
%threes: 30.6% (low)
FT rate: 53.1% (quite bad)
DR%: 87.1% (excellent)
TO%: 12.0 (awful)
a/to: 0.9 (excellent)
stl%: 6.0% (middling to poor)
blk%: 8.8% (2pt shots) (middling)
fast break pts: 3 (great)

In terms of the four factors, we won the shooting game thanks to 2s, dominated the boards, tied the turnover battle, and lost the FTR battle (but won overall thanks to %).

The defense struggled a bit, allowing too many good looks at the rim (especially early). But they found their rhythm late in the first half and steadily pulled away thereafter. The offense really seems to be clicking right now, which is great.
 
Sooo...how about that officiating, huh?? 🤣
Sorry if I misinterpreted your thoughts upthread, but in the chat, it seemed like you thought the T on Cooper was justified. lol. I don’t think ANYBODY in their right mind could justify that one! Cooper blocked the shot, didn’t talk, didn’t stare, nothing! Ref gave a T bc ?someone else? Said something? Groover is the worse of the worst. He just surpassed Ayers and Cassell!
 
The referee’ing over the last 4 games is now an undeniable pattern this team is just going to have to live with. We will just have to render it moot by building comfortable margins to absorb referees managing the score.

I don’t know if Kon’s lack of production was affected by some under-the-weather condition or not, but I do give some credit to BC’s defense of him. He wasn’t given much space on the perimeter and he’s a couple of inches too short to get his way down low. But, as long as he and Proctor balance each one’s off-nights, we should be ok.

While Maluach did suffer from some soft foul calls, I also note his go-to defense posture is an extremely wide stance. It sets him up to be spun on down low and not be able to stay between the basket and his man. Trying to block from behind can work on short shooters, but not guys who are tall as well or use soft hook shots.

Nice to have a week to prepare while Wake and the Cheats have to beat each other up
 
Sorry if I misinterpreted your thoughts upthread, but in the chat, it seemed like you thought the T on Cooper was justified. lol. I don’t think ANYBODY in their right mind could justify that one! Cooper blocked the shot, didn’t talk, didn’t stare, nothing! Ref gave a T bc ?someone else? Said something? Groover is the worse of the worst. He just surpassed Ayers and Cassell!
No worries. I wanted to post last night in this thread after my comments in the chat last night calling the tech a "temperature T". But I ended up falling asleep 🤣

But I'll try to shed a little light on what I think Groover was doing, and this is in no way trying to justify the tech, but just to offer some explanation.

As we saw, this was a physical game particularly in the post, and when you mix physical postplay with 2 teams that are mismatched from a skill and athletic standpoint, it's never a good mixture, especially when the less-talented team is the home team.

BC had 2 non-common fouls called against them, the F1 where Pat gets elbowed, and then the dead ball T where Coop caught a forearm to the face. Both calls correct and justified. On top of these 2, you've got the rebounding fouls Gillis drew, one with an elbow to the top of the head. So there were an inordinate amount of "weird" calls (all justified and correct) go against BC.

Officials are aware of this and veteran officials sense the "temperature" of a game. And the temperature was high. So officials will be on the lookout for anything that might heighten the temp of the game too much.

Coop said something after the block. It wasn't much of anything but at that point to give the visual impression of a little balance and to keep the temperature of the game down, he got a tech.

Again, I'm not arguing about the justification of what he said. Because it certainly wasn't anything that doesn't get said a hundred times in a game by other players. But the purpose of a "temperature T" like this is to let players breath and take a little air out of the game.

Some may think this is wrong, but I can assure you a tech like this would not be called in a closely contested game. The purpose was to let the game breath and get both teams out in one piece, particularly Duke.

Hopefully this sheds a little light into thought process of officials in situations like this. Again, I'm not trying to justify Groovers whistle here, but I understand what he was trying to do, in a game that had already been decided and was extremely physical and a temperature through the roof.
 
No worries. I wanted to post last night in this thread after my comments in the chat last night calling the tech a "temperature T". But I ended up falling asleep 🤣

But I'll try to shed a little light on what I think Groover was doing, and this is in no way trying to justify the tech, but just to offer some explanation.

As we saw, this was a physical game particularly in the post, and when you mix physical postplay with 2 teams that are mismatched from a skill and athletic standpoint, it's never a good mixture, especially when the less-talented team is the home team.

BC had 2 non-common fouls called against them, the F1 where Pat gets elbowed, and then the dead ball T where Coop caught a forearm to the face. Both calls correct and justified. On top of these 2, you've got the rebounding fouls Gillis drew, one with an elbow to the top of the head. So there were an inordinate amount of "weird" calls (all justified and correct) go against BC.

Officials are aware of this and veteran officials sense the "temperature" of a game. And the temperature was high. So officials will be on the lookout for anything that might heighten the temp of the game too much.

Coop said something after the block. It wasn't much of anything but at that point to give the visual impression of a little balance and to keep the temperature of the game down, he got a tech.

Again, I'm not arguing about the justification of what he said. Because it certainly wasn't anything that doesn't get said a hundred times in a game by other players. But the purpose of a "temperature T" like this is to let players breath and take a little air out of the game.

Some may think this is wrong, but I can assure you a tech like this would not be called in a closely contested game. The purpose was to let the game breath and get both teams out in one piece, particularly Duke.

Hopefully this sheds a little light into thought process of officials in situations like this. Again, I'm not trying to justify Groovers whistle here, but I understand what he was trying to do, in a game that had already been decided and was extremely physical and a temperature through the roof.
This would be more justifiable if it wasn’t the 4th foul on Duke’s best player. Maybe call one on a role player?
 
No worries. I wanted to post last night in this thread after my comments in the chat last night calling the tech a "temperature T". But I ended up falling asleep 🤣

But I'll try to shed a little light on what I think Groover was doing, and this is in no way trying to justify the tech, but just to offer some explanation.

As we saw, this was a physical game particularly in the post, and when you mix physical postplay with 2 teams that are mismatched from a skill and athletic standpoint, it's never a good mixture, especially when the less-talented team is the home team.

BC had 2 non-common fouls called against them, the F1 where Pat gets elbowed, and then the dead ball T where Coop caught a forearm to the face. Both calls correct and justified. On top of these 2, you've got the rebounding fouls Gillis drew, one with an elbow to the top of the head. So there were an inordinate amount of "weird" calls (all justified and correct) go against BC.

Officials are aware of this and veteran officials sense the "temperature" of a game. And the temperature was high. So officials will be on the lookout for anything that might heighten the temp of the game too much.

Coop said something after the block. It wasn't much of anything but at that point to give the visual impression of a little balance and to keep the temperature of the game down, he got a tech.

Again, I'm not arguing about the justification of what he said. Because it certainly wasn't anything that doesn't get said a hundred times in a game by other players. But the purpose of a "temperature T" like this is to let players breath and take a little air out of the game.

Some may think this is wrong, but I can assure you a tech like this would not be called in a closely contested game. The purpose was to let the game breath and get both teams out in one piece, particularly Duke.

Hopefully this sheds a little light into thought process of officials in situations like this. Again, I'm not trying to justify Groovers whistle here, but I understand what he was trying to do, in a game that had already been decided and was extremely physical and a temperature through the roof.
Good explanation. Sounds like if the refs had actually called it better earlier on, they wouldn’t have had to calm things down.

The call on the elbow to the face of big Pat was actually a “dead ball technical”, and not even a flagrant, IIRC. I really thought that play deserved a F2. If the ref thought Coop said something, he could have discussed privately on the next dead ball.

I’m about 99% certain Groover, Ayers, and Cassell are on the take,likely betting on games they are calling. Either that, or they are truly horrible and inconsistent refs. In either case, they should be fired.
 
No worries. I wanted to post last night in this thread after my comments in the chat last night calling the tech a "temperature T". But I ended up falling asleep 🤣

But I'll try to shed a little light on what I think Groover was doing, and this is in no way trying to justify the tech, but just to offer some explanation.

As we saw, this was a physical game particularly in the post, and when you mix physical postplay with 2 teams that are mismatched from a skill and athletic standpoint, it's never a good mixture, especially when the less-talented team is the home team.

BC had 2 non-common fouls called against them, the F1 where Pat gets elbowed, and then the dead ball T where Coop caught a forearm to the face. Both calls correct and justified. On top of these 2, you've got the rebounding fouls Gillis drew, one with an elbow to the top of the head. So there were an inordinate amount of "weird" calls (all justified and correct) go against BC.

Officials are aware of this and veteran officials sense the "temperature" of a game. And the temperature was high. So officials will be on the lookout for anything that might heighten the temp of the game too much.

Coop said something after the block. It wasn't much of anything but at that point to give the visual impression of a little balance and to keep the temperature of the game down, he got a tech.

Again, I'm not arguing about the justification of what he said. Because it certainly wasn't anything that doesn't get said a hundred times in a game by other players. But the purpose of a "temperature T" like this is to let players breath and take a little air out of the game.

Some may think this is wrong, but I can assure you a tech like this would not be called in a closely contested game. The purpose was to let the game breath and get both teams out in one piece, particularly Duke.

Hopefully this sheds a little light into thought process of officials in situations like this. Again, I'm not trying to justify Groovers whistle here, but I understand what he was trying to do, in a game that had already been decided and was extremely physical and a temperature through the roof.
Great explanation! I really appreciate your perspective.
 
No worries. I wanted to post last night in this thread after my comments in the chat last night calling the tech a "temperature T". But I ended up falling asleep 🤣

But I'll try to shed a little light on what I think Groover was doing, and this is in no way trying to justify the tech, but just to offer some explanation.

As we saw, this was a physical game particularly in the post, and when you mix physical postplay with 2 teams that are mismatched from a skill and athletic standpoint, it's never a good mixture, especially when the less-talented team is the home team.

BC had 2 non-common fouls called against them, the F1 where Pat gets elbowed, and then the dead ball T where Coop caught a forearm to the face. Both calls correct and justified. On top of these 2, you've got the rebounding fouls Gillis drew, one with an elbow to the top of the head. So there were an inordinate amount of "weird" calls (all justified and correct) go against BC.

Officials are aware of this and veteran officials sense the "temperature" of a game. And the temperature was high. So officials will be on the lookout for anything that might heighten the temp of the game too much.

Coop said something after the block. It wasn't much of anything but at that point to give the visual impression of a little balance and to keep the temperature of the game down, he got a tech.

Again, I'm not arguing about the justification of what he said. Because it certainly wasn't anything that doesn't get said a hundred times in a game by other players. But the purpose of a "temperature T" like this is to let players breath and take a little air out of the game.

Some may think this is wrong, but I can assure you a tech like this would not be called in a closely contested game. The purpose was to let the game breath and get both teams out in one piece, particularly Duke.

Hopefully this sheds a little light into thought process of officials in situations like this. Again, I'm not trying to justify Groovers whistle here, but I understand what he was trying to do, in a game that had already been decided and was extremely physical and a temperature through the roof.
Thanks, this is an important perspective.
 
I do think BC showed how to attack Maluach. Venning went right at him and overpowered ManMan. Maluach was bent over and grabbing his shorts before the first TV timeout. He is a good on weak side help but ,at least for last night,he was exposed as a challenged one-on-one defender in the post. PN will need to contribute more, and quickly, while Maliq recuperates.
 
I do think BC showed how to attack Maluach. Venning went right at him and overpowered ManMan. Maluach was bent over and grabbing his shorts before the first TV timeout. He is a good on weak side help but ,at least for last night,he was exposed as a challenged one-on-one defender in the post. PN will need to contribute more, and quickly, while Maliq recuperates.
Also helps if you’re allowed to hook the defender to get by them easier.
 
I will get killed here, but I didn't love some of our team's behavior on the court last night. Cooper and Evans were doing a little too much jawing for my taste. If Evans were on another team, we would be calling him unsportsmanlike.

That isn't to say I didn't love their intensity and spirit! And it wasn't egregious....was good-spirited. I just wish it was directed towards their team, not the opponent or fans.
 
Duke comfortably won on the road with multiple players having subpar games. Great games from Cooper, Sion and Tyrese. Mason stepped up big. Pat looked better as the game went on. Isaiah has to drive opposing fanbases batty. I also think that Isaiah's defense is improving

Khaman did not have a good game but I don't think the officiating did him any favors. I was having DJ Burns flashbacks most of the evening.

The positive aspect of Kon's play last night was maybe he got his dreadful game out of his system.

I thought the officiating was dreadful last night. They "let them play" until they didn't. You don't need to call a "temperature T" if you don't allow the game to get out of hand.
 
As a PSA to opposing fans, chanting "over rated" at Cooper is just not smart or original. He has heard it for awhile and he uses it as motivation. It felt like he could have scored as much as he wanted in the second half. BC had no one who could guard him. And Duke does a great job of spreading the floor with shooters if he gets doubled teamed.

I know Gillis isn't the most skilled player on this team, as evident when he threw that cross court pass 10 ft over Evans' head :LOL: , but he brings so much to this group. He is a tough, gritty veteran player that is constantly communicating with his teammates, especially the freshman. He seems like a player that will truly do whatever the team needs to win, including playing the 5 spot. We are lucky to have him on this team.

Veteran performance by Proctor after a lousy game against Miami.

On the negative side, the defense was not good in the first half. As Jon said after the game they have a lot to work on during this week stretch before Wake. Kon and Maluach obviously struggled, but I expect they will learn from this game. Maluach is too important to pick up cheap fouls. This was a game more suited for Maliq IMO.

It sucks to watch Caleb continue to struggle. From afar, he appears to be in his own head. He seems to hesitate and overthink every pass, shot or drive.

I do think it was hilarious Cooper got a technical for essentially nothing, and Evans didn't. Evans will be a future Duke villain, and I think he will embrace that.
 
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