Just because we lose a game doesn’t mean we’re not the best in the nation. We look the best consistently. Our defense is still elite and our offense is damn good too. I never trip on losing conference road games. That’s going to happen in major basketball. It’s a make or miss game. And on that every team will play their best against Duke and it’s hard. Goldwire is playing a little too much those. 20 minutes a game is fine. 30+ is too much for him every game. Forget the record, just keep playing these guys in these close games. How else will they learn.
***DUKE VS CLEMSON OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***
- Thread starter krzyzewskiville
- Start date
One positive that we can take from this loss is that our number of losses in the ACC is equal to UNC’s number of wins in the ACC.
Yeah i mean looking back at it that wasn’t my best comment but it was just in the moment and he had me very frustrated. Just feel like he should be much improved but instead i feel like he’s declining. He’s not awful but he definitely isn’t playing up to what he should be.
Amazing that there are actually unc fans talking smack about us losing to clemson. unc is a garbage team that won’t even make the NIT or heck the cbi for that matter( if they still have the cbi tournament that is)
A friend of mine that’s a UNC fan commented on my Facebook post after the game and we’ve been going back and forth on and off since he first commented on my Facebook post but he’s one of only a few of the UNC fans that I’m friends with that we can have fun trash talking with because it’s always all in fun and neither of us gets obnoxious with the trash talking. In fact out the few UNC fans that I’ve seen post on Facebook about us losing (which it’s literally only been like maybe 2 or :3) all have been friends that I can have fun trash talking with. My friends that get obnoxious when trash talking are the ones that I actually haven’t seen any posts from yet.
Hopefully this loss wakes everyone up. But we really beat ourselves with missed free throws and layups (4 between J/Gold and AOC). Foul trouble and injuries also caught up with us and yet we still had a chance to win. Hurt was useless on defense and didn’t give us anything on offense. Great game plan by Clemson. Props to them and hopefully we meet in the ACCT. Moore’s absence is being felt.
This was a great learning experience for the team. Can’t take any team for granted.
This was a great learning experience for the team. Can’t take any team for granted.
Seriously though, did we run into the best team in the country last night? Or? I couldn’t really watch watch, there was just too much going on here. I saw my fair share of highlights from Clemson....great passing , hustle, shots, all that junk, which looked like the best team in the country that wanted it more lol
Clemson played well last night coming off that win in Cheatville. This will not be the last loss in the ACC and we all know that. The main goal is to win that last game in April. That's the thing with the ACC, if you don't come out with that knockout attitude you will tote an L most of the time on the road, no matter who you play. That's what makes the ACC the best in the business
Yea I was just reading a few comments on Twitter from other unc fans and how obnoxious they sounded being a twitter warrior and all. Lol
When Duke would press, they would leave a Clemson player open to get a really good 3pt attempt off, so that hurt Duke, but the press also helped Duke, because it allowed Duke to get turnovers to get back in the game.
We didn’t play well. We didn’t play with the right amount of focus or toughness that it takes to win on the road in conference. We have before, we didn’t last night. Shooting 10-20 from the line, yet another ~50% showing, is getting extremely frustrating. That is unacceptable. We’ve gotten away with a few of those outings in the last few games, so the urgency probably wasn’t there, and that’s pathetic. Add to it our turnovers and missed layups (which might as well be a turnover) and you have no business winning. We still had a chance, I thought we showed some real fight in the second half but it was a “one step forward and three steps back” kind of game.
While we missed Moore and Joey- Alex and Matthew made not having those two guys much much worse for the group. They were both negatives last night, no other way around it. It essentially limited K to six guys.
While we missed Moore and Joey- Alex and Matthew made not having those two guys much much worse for the group. They were both negatives last night, no other way around it. It essentially limited K to six guys.
I was at dinner with clients so only saw glimpses of the game from the bar area. I saw AOC clank one off the side of the back board again from the corner.
I only watched about 10 minutes of the first half but the plays leading up to that were AOC missed layup, AOC missed layup, AOC dunk on a fast break (was waiting for him to **** that up), and an AOC turnover - dribbling the ball off of his leg in the lane. It was like he was throwing the game on purpose.
I’m not necessarily gonna put all of the blame on Alex. JGold played well, but he missed two open layups. We left four points right there and Big Vern and Tre bricking FT’s absolutely didn’t help anything.
I know this sounds strange, but JGold needs to take some ballet and painting classes. His fine motor control sucks for someone of his athletic caliber and intellect.
Sorry guys, but let's not use the injuries as an excuse. Our injuries are a lot less than the Cheaters' injuries. We should have enough players to overcome injuries. Unfortunately, at least 3 of the remaining guys played really poorly (in my opinion) last night, and a 4th kind of showed why he should be a great rol player as opposed to a 30 minutes + starter. I have faith that Coach K will figure it out before Saturday and make a couple tweaks that will maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses.
Having said that, missed layups and foul shots and giving up open layups is a sure recipe for disaster.
Having said that, missed layups and foul shots and giving up open layups is a sure recipe for disaster.
Perfect storm of disarray for us.
It will be forgotten with win on Saturday however.
Big game obv.
- Missed easy bunnies or layups
- 9 TO’s in 1st half alone
- Terrible at FT line
- Forgot how to guard players cutting to rim
- Hurt literally disappeared - 15 min total
- AOC was not good
- Moore and Baker out
It will be forgotten with win on Saturday however.
Big game obv.
Alex needs some of the toughness Goldwire has, and Matthew needs some of Jack's toughness. When our lineup has Jordan, Javin, and Jack, that's a very limited offensive lineup. We also need to remember that is good as Tre is, shooting isn't what he's known for either.
Our x factor is Matthew. He's skilled and 6'9". If the light bulb comes on for him, we become a dangerous team. It would take so much pressure off Vernon, and he can stretch the defense. But he can't stretch them sitting the bench.
On the note of free throw shooting, we were 10-20. Clemson was 11-22. A wash out.
Our x factor is Matthew. He's skilled and 6'9". If the light bulb comes on for him, we become a dangerous team. It would take so much pressure off Vernon, and he can stretch the defense. But he can't stretch them sitting the bench.
On the note of free throw shooting, we were 10-20. Clemson was 11-22. A wash out.
I also think our spacing was atrocious last night. How many times did Clemson, granted they run a 5 out offense, have clear driving or cutting lanes to the hoop? How many did we have the same? In critical positions, late in the game, there was no room to operate. The paint might as well have had 12 Clemson guys in it.
As bad as we played, we still almost won.
Not a cause for concern. But with our depth being a strength this season, when it started taking a hit, that was going to catch up with us. Then with Cash in foul trouble, it caught up with us. It’s ok. We’ll be fine.
Ironically, in a game like last night, we needed a Zion/RJ (someone to will us to a win by creating offense on their own). I still love this team, tho and I’m glad we’re dealing with injuries now instead of at the end of the season.
Did everyone *gasp* when Tre was on the ground? Man
Not a cause for concern. But with our depth being a strength this season, when it started taking a hit, that was going to catch up with us. Then with Cash in foul trouble, it caught up with us. It’s ok. We’ll be fine.
Ironically, in a game like last night, we needed a Zion/RJ (someone to will us to a win by creating offense on their own). I still love this team, tho and I’m glad we’re dealing with injuries now instead of at the end of the season.
Did everyone *gasp* when Tre was on the ground? Man
Both Jack and JGold have started to shoot the 3 ball better. Still a small sample size as they don't shoot it much but Jack is up to a very respectable 37% and JGold at 35%. This should help the offensive flow when they are in.
I've got zero problems with Goldwire, yep, he missed a couple bunnies, but in case you weren't watching, while everyone else was walking around like night of the living dead, Goldy was hustling his ass off. He gives his all , all the time. I hate he had to miss those as hard as he worked to get them.
Although the game was terrible their was one positive to take from it. Jack played great. His shot is looking really good and he seems confident in it.
jordan jav jack def does limit some things offensively when together, it almost seems that you would want jordan to shoot more in this lineup at least knowing that jav and jack have very good odds of getting the potential rebound...?????
I would have to say the biggest thing is teams starting to really work on Carey. You take away his easy looks and make him really work and its tough. But the bigger (perhaps alarming) trend is teams going small ball to work on him. You would think he would terrorize smaller teams at the other end, but both our losses came to small ball teams that made it tough for Duke to play 2 bigs together, and even tough for the 1 big who was out there alone. Then they try to stop the lone big (Carey) with a quick double team, which means the guards have to be ready to shoot and score, which is still a weakness of this team. Then on defense it makes our pressure easier to deal with because the other team has a consistent outlet to beat that pressure. SFA didnt play through the bigs as much, but Clemson had Simms to make a play whenever the rest of the offense got bogged down.
There were other issues last night of course, but imo, the small ball thing is kind of the big picture breakdown. Duke will still win more than they lose vs. small ball teams, but its A WAY to give them trouble. Maybe K uses some zone in spurts (believe me I'm not a guy who cries zone every time we lose) but it would be a way to match up to small ball and still play 2 bigs more.
There were other issues last night of course, but imo, the small ball thing is kind of the big picture breakdown. Duke will still win more than they lose vs. small ball teams, but its A WAY to give them trouble. Maybe K uses some zone in spurts (believe me I'm not a guy who cries zone every time we lose) but it would be a way to match up to small ball and still play 2 bigs more.
Carey is getting that shaq and Zion treatment where he is getting banged around pretty hard (pause) in the lane without as many whistles as he should get. Granted he needs to actually convert when he does get to the line. Either way, i think he wore down at the end of the game. He played hard all night and played tough though. Can’t blame him for last night that’s for sure- although again, he needs to figure it out at the line. He’s a fine shooter so him being at ~70% should be more than reasonable.
He needs some help though from Hurt and Javin. Jack played admirably last night in that role but he’s more suited to being the third “big” on the floor.
He needs some help though from Hurt and Javin. Jack played admirably last night in that role but he’s more suited to being the third “big” on the floor.
I prefer to talk after a game each game and not during. Y’all get all emotional during games and talk all game long smh. That’s why you miss so much. Too much talking
Yeah no one is saying there was a disparity with FT, WE missed our FT’s and wasn’t getting lots of points from our offense and Clemson was.
I think there is a lot of validity to what you say, particularly about how teams are guarding Carey. He is seeing doubles consistently now, last night included. That being said, as good as Clemson guarded, this was easily a game where Duke should/could have been in the 80's between the missed bunnies, turnovers, and 50% free throws. For their D to work last night, Duke had to help a little - and they surely did.
I agree that the most difficult matchups for Duke are teams that go 4 or 5 out. That puts an incredible amount of pressure on Carey and Hurt, who are guys Duke needs in the game. Luckily, Duke will have seen that look multiple times in the ACC (Clemson, VT, other teams skewing their personnel that way for Duke, etc.). Does anybody have an idea who the teams are on a national level that play that way that Duke would love to avoid in the NCAA Tournament?
Agree. And when he starts wearing down/getting frustrated he also starts missing point blank bunnies that he's accustomed to making. He had at least 2 looks where he got fouled and should have been easy and-1s. He missed the shot and then missed the free throws. What easily could have been 2 or 3 points resulted in 0. That is biiiiiig in those types of games. And that's not just Vern, numerous guys missed easy looks. The small things add up quickly.
Yeah, no one is saying anything about the disparity in free throw shooting. I posted both teams free throw shooting to show that Clemson was just as poor as we were.
The stats are real similar, other than we got out rebounded by 8.
Duke: 27-54, 8-20 3 pt
Clemson: 30-53, 8-19 3 pt
As Bill Belichick says, they made more plays than we did. On to Louisville
Well, shucks. Not only did we lose, but we didn't extend it to overtime and we lost by more points than UNC did, so the law of transitive property means UNC is better than us.
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