Every year I look for teams that can potentially derail Duke from winning another title. With that being said, I think our fate comes down to three point shooting. Okafor is the best player in the country, I thought he proved it when he took it to Frank Kaminsky in his house...and then we won at UVA. Okafor is going to keep us going deep into the tourney...but if Cook's three pointers stop falling (see ACC tournament semi final) then I think that is our poison. If Winslow can attack the way he has been lately, I think we can beat anyone. But when those shots stop falling...I don't know how far Okafor and Winslow can take us.
How I am viewing the rest of the tournament
- Thread starter Chis-nives
- Start date
Like you said, Jah is the most dominating big man in the country, but he's human. We've seen that at the free throw line. That's honestly my biggest concern with this team. It's the NCAAT and there will be tight games. Where there are tight games there are also free throws. Besides Tyus and Quinn (and maybe somewhat Grayson) I don't really feel comfortable with anyone else at the line.
Lastly, to your point about Quinn being cold in the ACC semis, what about Jahlil? He played great, but when he had to go to the line he had every Duke fan holding their breath....and for good reason, he was 2-8 in the game and nine out of his last 35 coming into the tournament. That's more scary to me. This Duke team, because of the versatility within our offense, can get by with sub-par shooting. Free throws are different, IMO. If LSU had made one FT in the last two minutes instead of going 0-6 we're not even talking about NC State anymore.
This team has some room for error. If Jah isn't great, or Quinn, or Justise, or Tyus (well, you get the message) we can still survive. That's an advantage to the better teams. But if one of our guys is off and we don't make free throws? Then we can go home.
I was worried about depth and the condition of our guys coming into the dance.
Jah's ankle held up well in the last two games. I only noticed him recoil twice. Maybe with this week of rest it's even better.
Justise looks almost completely healthy.
Tyus and Quinn don't look tired at all.
The other 4 guys should be well rested and ready to play their parts. We have everything going for us right now. All 8 guys look committed to defense. Let the chips fall where they may (not those chips, Kennedy).
Jah's ankle held up well in the last two games. I only noticed him recoil twice. Maybe with this week of rest it's even better.
Justise looks almost completely healthy.
Tyus and Quinn don't look tired at all.
The other 4 guys should be well rested and ready to play their parts. We have everything going for us right now. All 8 guys look committed to defense. Let the chips fall where they may (not those chips, Kennedy).
Funny, because of your subject line
I expected to read a potentially humorous post about the rituals you will perform: what you will wear, what you will drink, where you will sit, how you will sit, etc...
FWIW, I suspect I will be viewing the majority of the tournament with a Manhattan in hand. This is, of course, apropos of nothing, but traditions have to start somewhere.
I expected to read a potentially humorous post about the rituals you will perform: what you will wear, what you will drink, where you will sit, how you will sit, etc...
FWIW, I suspect I will be viewing the majority of the tournament with a Manhattan in hand. This is, of course, apropos of nothing, but traditions have to start somewhere.
Concerning Duke, I am hoping that we keep our Focus, talk on defense, switch, and help. If we do these things, we will be fine.
Jah just needs to keep imposing his will in the post.
Justise just needs to keep his consistency from the last game and be aggressive.
Matt just needs to lock down on defense.
Tyus & Quinn just need to take over when they see a struggle from anyone else, mainly on Jah. They need to penetrate and let Jah feed off of them.
Lastly, as soon as K sees the defense struggling, I hope he goes immediately to the 3/4 court trap, to take Utah out of what they want to do. I would be satisfied if he started out in it.
Mix up the defenses, if need be.
Subs, just give energy when they come in.
That's how I am viewing the rest of the Tournament for Duke, and if these things happen, fasten your seat belt!
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
Jah just needs to keep imposing his will in the post.
Justise just needs to keep his consistency from the last game and be aggressive.
Matt just needs to lock down on defense.
Tyus & Quinn just need to take over when they see a struggle from anyone else, mainly on Jah. They need to penetrate and let Jah feed off of them.
Lastly, as soon as K sees the defense struggling, I hope he goes immediately to the 3/4 court trap, to take Utah out of what they want to do. I would be satisfied if he started out in it.
Mix up the defenses, if need be.
Subs, just give energy when they come in.
That's how I am viewing the rest of the Tournament for Duke, and if these things happen, fasten your seat belt!
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
While I disagree that Jah is the best player in the country (he's certainly the most dominate big man offensively) I do agree that Quinn has to keep hitting his three ball. Jah is going to get his, but like DJ said, he is a huge liability at the line. If a game comes down to free throws, I'm going to be very worried. We need Quinn, Justise, and Tyus to score as well. Both Justise and Tyus have a tendency to coast at times. I don't expect all four to score in the doubles every game, but we need solid games out of everyone if we're going to continue to move forward at this point.
Amen!
I think there are two components to Duke faulting in the stretch.
1. IF the opponents start to foul Okafor early and send him to the line....and he bonks the first few AND
2. IF the opponents shut down the 3-point shooting or our guards go cold.
THEN...we might not like the outcome of the game.
Sidenote: I remember Mason Plumlee's senior year....his ft% for the last three years were 54%, 44%, 53%. I remember in his senior year that he shot 68%! Big jump. By the end of the season, players were not as eager to send him to the line. I can only imagine that the staff are working with Jahil on his free throw fundamentals now until the end of Duke's run.
Similar threads
