UNC at Duke - Keys to the Game

[dukiejay]

Well, it's finally here....Duke/Carolina week!

A little odd that the game is being played on Thursday night this year as traditionally it's always been a Wednesday night affair. Ironically, it also worked out well for me as we have family plans Wednesday evening and I wouldn't have been able to watch until later. Win for me.

So what Duke does need to do? A few things, IMO....

-Share the ball. On Saturday against Pitt we assisted on 19 of our 25 made field goals. We've been doing a nice job sharing and making the additional pass the last 10 days. That must continue Thursday night.

-Rebound. UNC is the best rebounding team in the country and they're incredibly active. I don't think we need to win the glass, but we have to be competitive. If you remember last year in the game at Cameron, it was ugly when it came to rebounding. A repeat performance like that probably means we lose.

-Shoot well. Against Pitt we made something like 11 of 29 from behind the arc. Not a bad percentage and a little above our season average. But if you remember, we went a stretch where we made five of six in the second half or that number is a lot lower. I don't think we can afford a slow start against UNC or we might be in trouble.

-Key minutes from Giles. I'd say Bolden too, but I'm not sure he'll get any run in this one. Harry needs to be active and provide production from the bench.

-Controlled intensity from the young guys. Past Duke players will tell you there's nothing like Duke/Carolina. They'll also tell you that at the outset playing at home can be harder than on the road. You use a lot of energy just in warm-ups and with the crowd. Take a look at the last 10 years or so and you'll see that traditionally Duke has played better at the start of the game against Carolina when we've been on the road. Basically the young guys can't get caught up in the hype.

-Get the refs their money. Lastly, and most importantly, we come back to @skysdad. It's been his job for the last 10 years to funnel money to the right places and assure Duke gets big wins. We already have the advantage of the entire NCAA and all officials being against UNC, but you never want to take a chance. Do your job, skysdad....and we'll all thank you afterwards.

 

[germantondevil]

Its going to be a great game to watch. Both teams are pretty good. The bigs for the holes bother me some but Duke has bigs and Coach will use them as need be. UNC gives up a lot of open 3s so if the boys are hitting on all cylinders and draining threes I believe Duke could win this one by double digits but if they are not hitting those open 3s it will be a dogfight.

 

[dukiejay]

One thing I do like about this UNC team is that besides Berry and a little bit Britt, they don't tend to attack off the bounce much. It's just not Williams game as right now he's pretty much a defender and spot-up shooter. Jackson likes to slash but he does a lot of moving without the basketball....who ever is guarding him will have their hands full.

 

[HuffyJB]

If Duke is really trending in the right direction, as many of us feel they are, they have to win this game.

I think Tatum will be huge here. If Duke uses him at he 4, as they have been, he will be real match-up problem for Hicks. Now obviously the same goes the other way as well. Tatum will have to keep him off the boards.

 

[Showenuff]

Got to D up on Berry and Jackson. If we do decent at that and the 3 ball is going well, we can win this one. Luke is going to be stupid good in this one.

 

[skysdad]

Well, it's finally here....Duke/Carolina week!

A little odd that the game is being played on Thursday night this year as traditionally it's always been a Wednesday night affair. Ironically, it also worked out well for me as we have family plans Wednesday evening and I wouldn't have been able to watch until later. Win for me.

So what Duke does need to do? A few things, IMO....

-Share the ball. On Saturday against Pitt we assisted on 19 of our 25 made field goals. We've been doing a nice job sharing and making the additional pass the last 10 days. That must continue Thursday night.

-Rebound. UNC is the best rebounding team in the country and they're incredibly active. I don't think we need to win the glass, but we have to be competitive. If you remember last year in the game at Cameron, it was ugly when it came to rebounding. A repeat performance like that probably means we lose.

-Shoot well. Against Pitt we made something like 11 of 29 from behind the arc. Not a bad percentage and a little above our season average. But if you remember, we went a stretch where we made five of six in the second half or that number is a lot lower. I don't think we can afford a slow start against UNC or we might be in trouble.

-Key minutes from Giles. I'd say Bolden too, but I'm not sure he'll get any run in this one. Harry needs to be active and provide production from the bench.

-Controlled intensity from the young guys. Past Duke players will tell you there's nothing like Duke/Carolina. They'll also tell you that at the outset playing at home can be harder than on the road. You use a lot of energy just in warm-ups and with the crowd. Take a look at the last 10 years or so and you'll see that traditionally Duke has played better at the start of the game against Carolina when we've been on the road. Basically the young guys can't get caught up in the hype.

-Get the refs their money. Lastly, and most importantly, we come back to @skysdad. It's been his job for the last 10 years to funnel money to the right places and assure Duke gets big wins. We already have the advantage of the entire NCAA and all officials being against UNC, but you never want to take a chance. Do your job, skysdad....and we'll all thank you afterwards.

You are pretty much all over it dj and the only thing my only input is we control their transition game . They are so good in getting into their offense quickly after a team scores on them. We can't celebrate our baskets by watching them fast break at the other end of the court. In other words be defensive ready all the time.

As far as the PTRF goes they are a corrupt bunch of slime balls. They are asking a lot this tear and are telling me that unc has made better offers. I don't know if we can top it. Even the possibility of Trump/ Putin and the Russian funds doesn't seem feasible because Coach K took care of that and I agree our integrity shouldn't be compromised plus the refs are out to get Grayson and I'm afraid even if we get the money to outbid unc they may still make the calls go against us. I'm beginning to think that we don't get the calls anyway and when we win we would have won anyway without paying the slime. Look the unc fans complain all the time if when they win. They do it to cover up. It's a conspiracy. Plus the fact that some of you out there for the last few losses didn't send me what you promised you would send and I didn't have enough to cover so we lost. You know who you are. We are all in this together and if you don't pay up then the refs are going the other way so as of right now I am refusing and will no longer the front man. We will have to win Thursday straight up. OFC

 

[Mac9192]

We all know the specifics: Don't get killed on boards, limit Berry... I'm wanting to see the Duke team that was projected as the best at the beginning of the season. If the Duke team shows up that we all have waited patiently for, it doesn't matter how well the Holes play. To me it's that simple. We've seen the Holes at their best, and if Duke is near their best, we will be happy, happy, happy Thursday night

 

[Mac9192]

You are pretty much all over it dj and the only thing my only input is we control their transition game . They are so good in getting into their offense quickly after a team scores on them. We can't celebrate our baskets by watching them fast break at the other end of the court. In other words be defensive ready all the time.

As far as the PTRF goes they are a corrupt bunch of slime balls. They are asking a lot this tear and are telling me that unc has made better offers. I don't know if we can top it. Even the possibility of Trump/ Putin and the Russian funds doesn't seem feasible because Coach K took care of that and I agree our integrity shouldn't be compromised plus the refs are out to get Grayson and I'm afraid even if we get the money to outbid unc they may still make the calls go against us. I'm beginning to think that we don't get the calls anyway and when we win we would have won anyway without paying the slime. Look the unc fans complain all the time if when they win. They do it to cover up. It's a conspiracy. Plus the fact that some of you out there for the last few losses didn't send me what you promised you would send and I didn't have enough to cover so we lost. You know who you are. We are all in this together and if you don't pay up then the refs are going the other way so as of right now I am refusing and will no longer the front man. We will have to win Thursday straight up. OFC

How much do you need Skysdad? If we all need to meet at the Krispy Kreme when the Hot&Now sign is on then I'll be there with my checkbook. Anything to help pal

 

[WI#1Dukie22]

I think we match up well. Hicks vs Tatum is a Mis match both ways but more so when hicks is guarding imo. I'm not sure what to do with Jackson. I'd like to say go big as I think Tatum gives him fits but that would be playing to there advantage when we have the ball. Although I think Giles could neutralize Meeks or Hicks on the glass. It's always there bigs vs our guards..... it's been working well. Kennard and Allen will get Many looks, just gotta hit. If Berry is hot, along with UNC controlling the glass it will be extremely up hill regardless of what we do offensively. Don't sleep on Matt or Frank hitting a few deep balls that break there back. I feel good going into this one. Not often have we had an equal (body wise) stable of bigs to afford us play physically down low. I think this is a big factor. I'd love to see Bolden and Jeter steal minutes early, maybe they prove effective.

 

[pisgah101]

Keep Jackson off the three point line! Run a lot through Luke and Grayson. Get jayson to continue to play through the flow of the team. We can deff beat the but we need a good effort and most importantly team ball. Jackson is the only player for them that "scares" me because when he gets hot he doesn't miss

 

[dbav]

In my opinion, the key to the game will be our superior coaching.

 

[hart2chesson]

I'd love to see Giles, Bolden and Chase get some effective 1st half burn just to preserve Amile/Tatum for late, and they can use up some fouls on potential stickbacks. The more we limit the Meeks/Hicks stickbacks and their transition, better off we are.

Sky brought up a great point- we MUST GET BACK after made shots the way they LOVE to run it up floor....Something tells me we could see "ORANGE" possession or two, just to cross em up, and they have had some problems w/zones.

To offset probable deficit on boards we must shoot 3s well and share ball (dukie jay), hit our fts, limit turnovers, etc...

OFC

 

[BluePhil]

I'd love to see Giles, Bolden and Chase get some effective 1st half burn just to preserve Amile/Tatum for late, and they can use up some fouls on potential stickbacks. The more we limit the Meeks/Hicks stickbacks and their transition, better off we are.

Sky brought up a great point- we MUST GET BACK after made shots the way they LOVE to run it up floor....Something tells me we could see "ORANGE" possession or two, just to cross em up, and they have had some problems w/zones.

To offset probable deficit on boards we must shoot 3s well and share ball (dukie jay), hit our fts, limit turnovers, etc...

OFC

Is Chase going to be back?

 

[LetsGoDukies]

Two more keys...

1. Force them to have a ton of blown assists, blown rebounds, blown turnovers, etc.
2. Force Roy to use every timeout he has.......wait is that even possible??

 

[jwill133]

Has anyone else noticed the change in our defense????????

Starting with the Notre Dame game, it seems like we are switching to the pack-line defense!!!!! Which our 2010 team implemented and we all know how that worked out. Our defense was great against ND, we didn't gamble and forced many tough shots. We played the same defense against Pitt (think we should have pressured Pitt more) but we still got the W.

I'm shocked this has not been a main talking point on this board. As all of us (including myself) have complained about how poorly our pressure on-the-ball defense has been, and that we should protect the paint more. I think the pack-line will work great against UNC and I welcome them to shoot as many contested 3's as they please.

 

[carolinablue34]

These teams are more even than people realize. Even at the beginning of the season I wasn't convinced Duke was miles ahead of UNC.

At our best, we win this game. But besting Duke at Cameron indoor is no small task. I think the keys will be how well Berry plays and whether or not Duke can get into a consistent offensive flow. Theo Pinson will also factor heavily

 

[Mac9192]

Has anyone else noticed the change in our defense????????

Starting with the Notre Dame game, it seems like we are switching to the pack-line defense!!!!! Which our 2010 team implemented and we all know how that worked out. Our defense was great against ND, we didn't gamble and forced many tough shots. We played the same defense against Pitt (think we should have pressured Pitt more) but we still got the W.

I'm shocked this has not been a main talking point on this board. As all of us (including myself) have complained about how poorly our pressure on-the-ball defense has been, and that we should protect the paint more. I think the pack-line will work great against UNC and I welcome them to shoot as many contested 3's as they please.

Yes Jwill, the defense of last 2 games reminds me of 2015 team when they went on the run. You are right my man

 

[Mac9192]

Two more keys...

1. Force them to have a ton of blown assists, blown rebounds, blown turnovers, etc.
2. Force Roy to use every timeout he has.......wait is that even possible??

You had me believing you until I got to #2

 

[dukephysics]

Luke Maye is going to get his. We just have to keep the other guys from beating us.

 

[gottagonow]

What scares me most about UNC is their rebounding both off and def and their ability to get out in the fast break plus getting the off rebound back up for easy baskets. Everyone knows they are shooting the 3 better than years past and if they are hot it could be an uphill battle for us. We also need to worry about Williams hitting 3's like he did against ND. We need to limit our offensive charge fouls and play smarter or we might find our stars watching from the bench the last 5 minutes or so. If we are hot shooting from outside UNC will be in for a beat down.

 

[skysdad]

How much do you need Skysdad? If we all need to meet at the Krispy Kreme when the Hot&Now sign is on then I'll be there with my checkbook. Anything to help pal

We are short about fifty thousand for the unc game. OFC

 

[Mac9192]

We are short about fifty thousand for the unc game. OFC

OK I'll get it from Dukejay & Hart2chesson. They waste that much a month on loose women & cheap wiskey

 

[sheyduke]

These teams are more even than people realize. Even at the beginning of the season I wasn't convinced Duke was miles ahead of UNC.

At our best, we win this game. But besting Duke at Cameron indoor is no small task. I think the keys will be how well Berry plays and whether or not Duke can get into a consistent offensive flow. Theo Pinson will also factor heavily

Would like to know on the "more even" part.

Imo, UNC is still the better team especially in the paint and that's where their scoring will start at.
Is it Hicks or Bradley that has that nice little jump shot?

 

[hart2chesson]

Is Chase going to be back?

Chase was actually available Saturday but DNP.....

OFC

 

[carolinablue34]

Would like to know on the "more even" part.

Imo, UNC is still the better team especially in the paint and that's where their scoring will start at.
Is it Hicks or Bradley that has that nice little jump shot?

With UNC and Duke, I take nothing for granted. I think in terms of chemistry right now, we are better. But you still have a shit ton of talent on that team.

 

[sheyduke]

With UNC and Duke, I take nothing for granted. I think in terms of chemistry right now, we are better. But you still have a shit ton of talent on that team.

While I would normally agree on the talent it's more that UNC has a variety of offense not just jack up threes and hope they drop. This will be a test for Tatum and Amile because UNC bolsters four players that play with their back to the basket and not actually drive and lay ups. I just see a couple mental mistakes on the defensive end that will cost Duke

 

[crazyduke3]

Cannot settle for Jayson at the 4. Cannot.

 

[dukiejay]

It's not settling. Jayson at the four is when Duke is its best.

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

I'm hoping Duke stays out of foul trouble!

 

[jwill133]

I'm completely fine with Jayson at the 4 against Hicks/Bradley. No way they can keep up with Jayson. And if UNC wants to play through Hicks, go ahead.

 

[WI#1Dukie22]

EXACTLY

 

[Mac9192]

Wouldn't we all just be shickled titless if we saw Duke clicking on all cylinders Thursday night. I believe they're close to that, and after a hard fought game against Pitt, with K having his first game back and 4 days to get ready I'm thinking they will. If that happens then our buddy Bilas will be left with no choice but to sing Dukes praises

 

[carolinablue34]

It's not settling. Jayson at the four is when Duke is its best.

But he's not as strong as Hicks or Bradley. So if that matchup is to work in your favor you need to get Hicks in foul trouble.

 

[hart2chesson]

But he's not as strong as Hicks or Bradley. So if that matchup is to work in your favor you need to get Hicks in foul trouble.

Tatum is pretty ripped if you ask me....Pound for pound I feel pretty good about his strength against either. I think you have to factor in his quickness too. However you have to factor in Hicks experience as well.

 

[dukephysics]

Don't forget, K and the NCAA conspired to poison the water in Chapel Hill thus pushing the UNC/Notre Dame game back one day so that UNC would have one less day to prepare for Duke. The refs then used that game as a practice game to warm up for the shafting they are going to give UNC on Thursday night. They key to winning for Duke will be to keep Grayson from hurting the rest of the team as he tries to trip everyone walking into the locker room. Amile and Coach K with their recent injuries will be especially vulnerable. The key to UNC winning will be beating Duke 5 on 8, on short rest, in a true road game. Should be an even match.

 

[skysdad]

I'm hoping Duke stays out of foul trouble!

Me too but don't count on it. The heels are going to pound the ball inside and also go after Grayson. I hope I'm way off base on this. OFC

 

[hart2chesson]

Sky I think you're right on target. I look for Pinson/Williams both taking turns on Grayson w/both doing a lot of trash talking to him. Roy will have them instructed to get under his skin..

However I have noticed a real change in Grayson, and see him keeping his cool, just like at Wake.

OFC

 

[hart2chesson]

Wouldn't we all just be shickled titless if we saw Duke clicking on all cylinders Thursday night. If that happens then our buddy Bilas will be left with no choice but to sing Dukes praises

Wouldn a certain place have to freeze over first before he would do it Mac?

OFC

 

[Mac9192]

Sky I think you're right on target. I look for Pinson/Williams both taking turns on Grayson w/both doing a lot of trash talking to him. Roy will have them instructed to get under his skin..

However I have noticed a real change in Grayson, and see him keeping his cool, just like at Wake.

OFC

Just because you're agreeing with Sky doesn't get you off the hook with the payoff $$ you are to give him by tomorrow evening

 

[Mac9192]

Wouldn a certain place have to freeze over first before he would do it Mac?

OFC

You mean to tell me Ol Roys basement isn't heated?