Coach K said he was optimistic that Okafor plays against Va Tech, so I'm expecting that he plays. With that said, it would make sense to sit him IMO. If the team plays focused, we clearly have more than enough to win at Tech without him and it gets Marshall and Grayson some valuable playing time.
Any word on Jahlil's Ankle yet?
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I think he sits until Senior night against Wake. He may come back next Saturday at home against the Cuse. But I just don't see him playing at VT on Wednesday night.
i would seriously doubt he plays at Va Tech. Never a good idea to bring a guy back from injury on the road. I would expect the 'cuse game at the earliest.
but if he is cleared - i will be watching with fingers crossed.
but if he is cleared - i will be watching with fingers crossed.
I hope he plays against VT. Even for just 15-20 minutes. Don't want him to sit too long and have the team forget how to play with him and for him to get too rusty. If he sits out another game, we are going to start entering the realm of ruining some cohesion. He needs to play against VT and I bet he does. Anyone that can return to the same game he got hurt in and play tons of minutes can come back after a week's r3est.
^ I think I'm with you there. Its like a significantly smaller scale version of the situation with Kyrie: even with a talent of his level, the team had a hard time integrating him after developing without his services. Obviously I know Jah missing one or two games pales in comparison, but I don't want him to even miss those 80 minutes of development.
If he misses a couple weeks it won't mess up our chemistry. If anything, him missing time will allow for guys to step up and we could be even better with his return. I want him playing if he is healthy, but only if he is healthy. Hill, Hurley, and Boozer all missed significant time and returned to better teams and then those teams were even better with their inclusion. I am confident that if he misses the rest of the regular season, we will be better for it. But, that is just my two cents.
suit up for vatech and only play if for some reason we get down and could use his low post beasting...otherwise, just sit him until cuse this weekend
I probably would lean towards sitting Okafor as a precaution against Va Tech if he looks anything less than 90-100% in practice.
With that said, I wouldn't sit him beyond that point if he's capable of playing -- even if it's less than 100%. I say that b/c (i) this team is still trying to figure out its defensive identity and can't afford to have that progress halted b/c a linchpin of that defense is not out there; (ii) it so radically impacts how we play offense that it's disruptive to have him out; (iii) once you get up to a couple weeks, then you're introducing the element of rust -- which is a hard thing to work through @ UNC or in a highly-competitive ACC tournament; (iv) these end-of-season games mean a lot. As much as people try to downplay the importance of the regular season, reality is that securing a 1 seed has a lot of value. Particularly if we avoid Wisconsin, the draw as a 1 in the East, for instance, is dramatically easier than a 2 in the South or, god forbid, the Midwest.
To help the ankle heal, the team can try to limit Okafor's game minutes and significantly reduce his workload in practice for the next couple weeks --- but, I don't think shutting him down at this point of the year is smart move.
This post was edited on 2/23 2:03 PM by aah555
With that said, I wouldn't sit him beyond that point if he's capable of playing -- even if it's less than 100%. I say that b/c (i) this team is still trying to figure out its defensive identity and can't afford to have that progress halted b/c a linchpin of that defense is not out there; (ii) it so radically impacts how we play offense that it's disruptive to have him out; (iii) once you get up to a couple weeks, then you're introducing the element of rust -- which is a hard thing to work through @ UNC or in a highly-competitive ACC tournament; (iv) these end-of-season games mean a lot. As much as people try to downplay the importance of the regular season, reality is that securing a 1 seed has a lot of value. Particularly if we avoid Wisconsin, the draw as a 1 in the East, for instance, is dramatically easier than a 2 in the South or, god forbid, the Midwest.
To help the ankle heal, the team can try to limit Okafor's game minutes and significantly reduce his workload in practice for the next couple weeks --- but, I don't think shutting him down at this point of the year is smart move.
This post was edited on 2/23 2:03 PM by aah555
Just read an article from 247sports that Okafor was waking without a walking boot yesterday and Coach K said that he hopes that he can get Okafor out on the practice floor a little today and also Okafor could be available to play as early as Wednesday against Virginia Tech.
I would not do that. If he's going to play, he should play from the tip and hopefully the team runs out to a big enough lead that he can spend a lot of the 2nd half on the bench. I think the risk of injury goes up if you send in a cold-Jahlil into the middle of what -- in this hypothetical -- is a very competitive contest on the road. Either he warms-up and plays, or just sit him. I would not mess around with emergency spot-duty.
I tend to agree with ahh. The longer he's out the worse it is, IMO.
And I also agree about Wednesday night. If he's able to play you play him.
And I also agree about Wednesday night. If he's able to play you play him.
I think he should only play Wednesday if he's healthy enough to start. Even though we're going on the road to play Virginia Tech, like I said about Clemson I think we can beat them without Okafor. We'll need him to be healthy and ready to play against Syracuse next Saturday.
This post was edited on 2/23 6:19 PM by DiehardDukeFan4Life
This post was edited on 2/23 6:19 PM by DiehardDukeFan4Life
I don't understand the concerns over losing chemistry. These guys have practiced together since the summer and have 20+ games under their belt. Missing a week or two is not going to set all that back. If anything I am of the camp that it will make this team better come March, ie Jah gets in foul trouble during a Sweet 16 game. These types of ankle injuries are so easy to reinjure. The ligaments around the ankle are not as strong and the tendency is to re roll it. This is a major reason I don't see the purpose of playing 15-20 minutes. If he isn't ready to go full bore then he sits. If he sits through the weekend you still potentially have 6 games or so to reignite the chemistry before a round of 32 game. The Kyrie year is apples and oranges. He missed the majority of the season, was injured prior to any real chemistry being found, and was a player that needed the ball to impact the game. You aren't winning the ACC regular season so play for March at this point.
I don't think anyone's concerned about team chemistry / rhythm being interrupted if we hold Jah out until Saturday. IMO, that argument is in response to the suggestion that we hold Jah out for 2-3 weeks through the UNC game (or even until the start of the ACCs). Jah's presence completely changes how we play offensively, and, b/c of lack of depth, it also changes our defensive approach. I think it's a problem to waste these critical weeks of the year implementing a style of play that we intend to abandon when Jah returns. We're playing well, but both Jah and the team need to continue to improve. I don't think we can afford to thwart our development with him if he can play. As we saw at the beginning of January (after we had a lot of interruptions over a 2-3 week period), lack of continuity can have a huge impact on a team's level of play.
Also, while we may not win the ACC regular season (which I still haven't completely given up), these games still matter for March. 1 loss may easily drop us off the #1 line, and a couple losses may lead to us getting a really undesirable #2 (even in UK's bracket). In 12-13, I think we had a final four team. However, we didn't get there b/c we blew the first round of the ACC tournament, and fell all the MW regional with the clear cut #1 team from that year (Louisville). Winning now ensures something like that doesn't happen again. No guarantees that we'll win out -- but I do think winning out means we take UVA's spot as the presumptive #1 seed in the East. So, regardless of the regular season title, these games still matter.
This post was edited on 2/23 5:36 PM by aah555
i think jah's absence for the team has been a positive. its given other guys time to play. in prior final four years we had some crucial injuries where guys stepped up. Hurley was injured. grant hill etc. in the end these injuries were a net positive for the team. we can handle Va Tech without jah for sure.
the most important thing is for jah's ankle to heal. get 100% so he can play effectively. we need him healthy.
the most important thing is for jah's ankle to heal. get 100% so he can play effectively. we need him healthy.
I think the committee has shown in past years a loss without the NPOY would more than likely not be held against us as long as he is currently playing. I just cannot be convinced rushing him back would be a good thing for our March goals. If he is close to 100 fine but if you think an extra week gets the ankle to a spot where you don't worry about it going forward then you do that. High ankle sprains are the worst.
This post was edited on 2/23 10:37 PM by LastWaltz
This post was edited on 2/23 10:38 PM by LastWaltz
This post was edited on 2/23 10:37 PM by LastWaltz
This post was edited on 2/23 10:38 PM by LastWaltz
So what are you arguing? I don't think anyone is saying he should play if he can't. I'm saying don't sit him....just to sit him. If he's ready to go he plays.
Given the fact that he was able to walk around Sunday without needing the walking boot makes me believe that with the added rest of not playing Wednesday will be more beneficial and increase the chances of him being closer to 100% healthy and ready for the game against Syracuse on Saturday.
This post was edited on 2/23 11:13 PM by DiehardDukeFan4Life
This post was edited on 2/23 11:13 PM by DiehardDukeFan4Life
Don't worry....Duke has Jahlil's best interests at heart. And they are erring on the side of caution. They're not going to play him if he's not ready. But some of the reports coming in seem to suggest he'll be ready to go tomorrow night. If that's the case, he will play....and he should.
In all likelihood, Jah is going to have discomfort in the ankle until he's able to go without playing for a month. That's how ankles often times work. Luckily for Jah he has one of the best training staffs and medical centers in the world at his disposal. We have to trust they can make the correct call.
Like I said, ankles are tricky. And until an ankle is fully healed there's always a higher percentage chance he can do it again. The staff and Jah are both fully aware of what they're dealing with....much more than any of us.
In all likelihood, Jah is going to have discomfort in the ankle until he's able to go without playing for a month. That's how ankles often times work. Luckily for Jah he has one of the best training staffs and medical centers in the world at his disposal. We have to trust they can make the correct call.
Like I said, ankles are tricky. And until an ankle is fully healed there's always a higher percentage chance he can do it again. The staff and Jah are both fully aware of what they're dealing with....much more than any of us.
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