I’ll admit, I didn’t think Brown would be this good on defense and cleaning the boards. He’s been nothing short of amazing and it’s so nice to have a junior big man who’s been battle tested.
Official game day thread- Duke vs Auburn
- Thread starter pisgah101
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Maluach wasn't great last night but he was also going against the possible National POY. Most believe we win the Kentucky game if Maluach doesn't get cramps, there is an important role for him still on this team. I think it's more matchup dependant but overall I see Mal/Brown getting about a 20/20 minute split. And no, they can't be on the court together, Jon tried this in the Seattle game and the best shots we could get were Mal/Brown open 3's because they weren't being guarded. Maybe they could for a defensive possesion or 2.
Regardless......HUGE WIN!!! EVANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be in the building Sunday.
Regardless......HUGE WIN!!! EVANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be in the building Sunday.
This board is undefeated when it comes to breakout individual performances resulting in someone posting about how he could have done that in every game if only the coach was as smart as us.
In the second half, we were starting to come unglued. I was starting to get the vibes of our two losses. I thought we had gotten wobbly, (I know I was) and too reliant on Cooper. We got the break we needed, and Proctor righted the ship with that big 3. Like everyone is saying, a really big win, and solid efforts from everyone that played. When out there, Foster was aggressive. We need that.
I agree that Evans needs to play a little more, but his defense is way behind. That brings up the old debate we've had. Is his defense weak because he isn't getting to play, or is that why he isn't playing? I don't like seeing Cooper play 38 minutes. On Kon, he's no surprise to anyone anymore. So he's going to have to do a better job going to the basket, and we may need to run multiple screens to free him up. He played 31 minutes last night, which I think is fair.
I agree that Evans needs to play a little more, but his defense is way behind. That brings up the old debate we've had. Is his defense weak because he isn't getting to play, or is that why he isn't playing? I don't like seeing Cooper play 38 minutes. On Kon, he's no surprise to anyone anymore. So he's going to have to do a better job going to the basket, and we may need to run multiple screens to free him up. He played 31 minutes last night, which I think is fair.
Kon will need to adjust his game as well. He started to attack the rim and reminded many he's 6'6/6'7 and strong. That makes a world of difference
If Pat can get healthy and earn some PT at the 5, I'd like to see Malik at the 4. It would give us an option for matching up with a team with 2 good bigs.
Hard to imagine Evans going back to barely playing. In the postgame, Jon said he's been working hard on defense in practice. I thought he worked hard and was scrappy on D last night.
Proctor was so clutch. Caleb played really well off the bench. Sion and Malik don't stand out in the box score, but wow! Do they do the little things and help us stay calm.
Hard to imagine Evans going back to barely playing. In the postgame, Jon said he's been working hard on defense in practice. I thought he worked hard and was scrappy on D last night.
Proctor was so clutch. Caleb played really well off the bench. Sion and Malik don't stand out in the box score, but wow! Do they do the little things and help us stay calm.
Many on this board has stated that Evans needs playing time instead of rotting on the bench because his shooting would make a difference. Jon finally stopped being a bone head about it last night and look at the results. Duke was +16 with Evans on the floor last night, by the way.
Thought Proctor hit the 2 biggest shots of the game. The long 3 at the shot clock buzzer and then the dagger in the lane with about 2 minutes left.
That long 3 was HUGE! We were reeling, that absolutely saved us. Some Cameron magic never hurts.
That long 3 was HUGE! We were reeling, that absolutely saved us. Some Cameron magic never hurts.
Accidentally posted this in the Seattle thread. Intended for here …
Well, I’ve never been so happy to be wrong about a game. We played really tough down the stretch. But thanks be to the basketball gods for Isaiah Evans. What a half!
Flagg is just a force to be reckoned with. And Malik Brown. What a player. He reminds me of Dennis Rodman. Always pesky and difficult to deal with.
Good grief, though, the rest of our 3 point shooting—until Proctor came through late—and our FT shooting was atrocious.
Evans is the real deal as a shooter. We need to give him more minutes. He is too pure and we are on the whole a team that often shoots terribly from 3. Gotta create shots for him. And Proctor and Foster. They are all better 3 point shooters than Flagg is at the moment.
Still, a huge win.
Well, I’ve never been so happy to be wrong about a game. We played really tough down the stretch. But thanks be to the basketball gods for Isaiah Evans. What a half!
Flagg is just a force to be reckoned with. And Malik Brown. What a player. He reminds me of Dennis Rodman. Always pesky and difficult to deal with.
Good grief, though, the rest of our 3 point shooting—until Proctor came through late—and our FT shooting was atrocious.
Evans is the real deal as a shooter. We need to give him more minutes. He is too pure and we are on the whole a team that often shoots terribly from 3. Gotta create shots for him. And Proctor and Foster. They are all better 3 point shooters than Flagg is at the moment.
Still, a huge win.
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I’ve been making that point re Malik at the 4 in nearly every game thread. The defense would be so strong with Cooper-Maluach-Brown on the front line. So much more versatility. Even without using Pat that could be useful here and there. Flagg can play just about anyone from the 1-4 and Brown from the 1-5 on switches. But I have my doubts Jon will do that as I think has that coach K stubbornness to stay with one rotation and not deviate. But I would be glad to be wrong. 😊
Jon tried this in the Seattle game. We had 3 offensive possessions and scored 0. Maliq missed an open 3, we had a turnover, and Flagg missed a contested jumper. Defenses aren't guarding Mal/Brown away from the basket. So our only hope is for one of them to make an open 3. Not ideal.
Defensively the lineup would be insane, but our defense is fine, we need more offense, and this lineup is our worst possible offensive lineup.
There are some limitations offensively, no doubt. But 3 possessions is not a useful sampling. Cooper and the other guards have to drive and dish down low. And they can still go two post low and play inside out. Malik can hit the 3 on occasion (36% last year at cuse). His 3 he hit this year looks like good form and touch. Still work to do on that shot. In fact, he needs to develop that if he wants to prolong his post college career.
It’s not a 25 minute lineup (which I pointed out in other posts) but for 1 or 2 5-7 minute stretches in a game could be very useful.
Same! Want to meet up somewhere to do some pregaming before the game?
I’ll more than likely arrive around 2 or 3pm on Sunday.
Ah, the hit dog yelps.
I think that's a really stupid take. Jon sees him practice every day. He knows he has great upside. That's why he recruited him. There is a reason he hasn't played much and we're unlikely to know it any time soon.
He played great last night and I hope it's a sign that he is ready for more consistent minutes.
I don't think that was a 'for real' moment. It might've been, 'let me see what it looks like'.
Big time win last night over #2 Auburn, a tough team. They’re gonna have a great year and both teams may see each other again.
I’ve brought up in passing the Evans/Harris thing, but for those of you who have consistently hammered the Evans/playing time thing. Tip of the hat to you! What a performance in that first half! And that was all in one half but absolutely critical.
Duke missed ten (10) free throws, the game would have been a little less dramatic had they hit a few more. They must get better at that! A very fun game overall last night!
A word of caution to our SEC friends, remember how it has turned out in March so often regarding conference performance in the NCAA Tournament? How many times have we seen the so called best leagues all go down in the first weekend?
ACC’s history in the NCAA’s speaks for itself..
Note* Proctor’s “top of the key 3” last night, killer shot!
Any place to see the stats by half...curious to see the difference in mins, shot attempts etc...but no idea where to find that sort of info.
The box scores at the Duke site (goduke.com) are incredibly detailed. Usually run 20+ pages.
Looking forward to watching the game tonight. Not much free time this week. I will have the Chris Coors 10 point breakdown, sponsored by Hebrew National.
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I enjoy your Chris’ Coors Court Commentary. It’s a lot better than gary’s game garbage where he talks about blown assists and corrupt officials
You can play Maliq at the high post. One thing Duke is missing is a threat on the block. Kon and Evans would get great shots with the pass off the block. Flagg has asked for the ball on the block.
Caught the 20 minute game recap after a long work week. Here are my thoughts.
1. My only negative. 13-2. There is no excuse for that. I get Jon is the slow and steady type, but this kind of slow start could doom us against the wrong team on a neutral floor.
2. Evans. Wow. This kid has star quality. 6 3 pointers in a half? Against the #2 team. Several of them were contested. My goodness this guy could be our Maggette off the bench.
3. Tyrese Proctor are you a dog? Well done sir. Several daggers, and some cockiness. We need this. Play with this edge and you could be special.
4. More subtle; but Foster had a really nice game. Some nice drives and finishes.
5. Cooper is figuring out how to score in the open court, and it is a thing of beauty. The kid is so smooth.
6. Brown is otherworldly on defense. His knack to disrupt the ball handler is uncanny. He needs more minutes.
7. Nate James (sorry Sion James) is a bulldog. we need that physicality. Really like his game. Can get carried away but you need that toughness.
8. Kon had a quiet game but made some big plays and sweet passes. This kid will be a factor for us this year.
9. It got physical/borderline dirty at one point and Brown was right there. He was like "not in our house." We need that guy.
10. No coincidence that Brown and Sion were in at crunch time, and made some key plays. Huge win. This team still has some issues(free throw shooting could be our doom) but they seem to be figuring it out. Great win coach Jon and team. This is something to build on.
1. My only negative. 13-2. There is no excuse for that. I get Jon is the slow and steady type, but this kind of slow start could doom us against the wrong team on a neutral floor.
2. Evans. Wow. This kid has star quality. 6 3 pointers in a half? Against the #2 team. Several of them were contested. My goodness this guy could be our Maggette off the bench.
3. Tyrese Proctor are you a dog? Well done sir. Several daggers, and some cockiness. We need this. Play with this edge and you could be special.
4. More subtle; but Foster had a really nice game. Some nice drives and finishes.
5. Cooper is figuring out how to score in the open court, and it is a thing of beauty. The kid is so smooth.
6. Brown is otherworldly on defense. His knack to disrupt the ball handler is uncanny. He needs more minutes.
7. Nate James (sorry Sion James) is a bulldog. we need that physicality. Really like his game. Can get carried away but you need that toughness.
8. Kon had a quiet game but made some big plays and sweet passes. This kid will be a factor for us this year.
9. It got physical/borderline dirty at one point and Brown was right there. He was like "not in our house." We need that guy.
10. No coincidence that Brown and Sion were in at crunch time, and made some key plays. Huge win. This team still has some issues(free throw shooting could be our doom) but they seem to be figuring it out. Great win coach Jon and team. This is something to build on.
The pick and roll as well as the back door cuts need to be defended better by Duke.
Guru Gary take notes. Coors Chris puts you to shame.
Nah, buddy, you don't ramble; I always enjoy your musings. Good stuff.
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