Can Duke Run The Table?

[O's are Legends]

Heck of a game so far between Duke and Florida State. Have UNLV/ San Diego State recording on the dvr as well.

[Sports Guy]

This is a very flawed team right now.

Nolan Smith isn't a PG. He is a scorer who can pass the ball. But he isn't a creator for other players and him being at the point is really hurting the low post game. No coincidence that Mason Plumlee has seen his production go down since Kyrie went out with an injury.

I am not sure what K needs to do here....I am thinking Thorton needs to play more minutes to be the true PG and let Smith play off the ball.

Right now, they are a jump shooting team that only has one guy that really attacks the basket(Smith) and he sometimes gets too out of control.

I am not sure they lose more than 3 games in the ACC and I do think they can be a final 4 team as currently constructed but they need to figure this out, much like they did last year, or they are going to be in trouble come tourney time.

[beaner]

This is a very flawed team right now.

Nolan Smith isn't a PG. He is a scorer who can pass the ball. But he isn't a creator for other players and him being at the point is really hurting the low post game. No coincidence that Mason Plumlee has seen his production go down since Kyrie went out with an injury.

I am not sure what K needs to do here....I am thinking Thorton needs to play more minutes to be the true PG and let Smith play off the ball.

Right now, they are a jump shooting team that only has one guy that really attacks the basket(Smith) and he sometimes gets too out of control.

I am not sure they lose more than 3 games in the ACC and I do think they can be a final 4 team as currently constructed but they need to figure this out, much like they did last year, or they are going to be in trouble come tourney time.

Play a road game before January 12 maybe?

This was the first tough atmosphere they've played in all year...They'll be fine, especially if Irving comes back, so I wouldn't worry Rob.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I was about to post how bad they're missing Irving.

The good news is (for duke fans at least) is that this isn't the most talented set of top tier teams the NCAA has seen and I don't think a lot of the top teams could be duke. Maybe Kansas but that's about it.

[PaulBako]

Really weak year in CBB. Duke with irviNg is top 5 but pretty meh. OSU has been in a few close games against mediocre teams and same with Kansas.

Let's see what San Diego St can do lol.

[Sports Guy]

Play a road game before January 12 maybe?

This was the first tough atmosphere they've played in all year...They'll be fine, especially if Irving comes back, so I wouldn't worry Rob.

Yea, they will be fine because they will adjust...But they are still flawed a lot right now.

According to NBAdraft.net, Kansas has 5 first round picks on that team. I think they are the team to contend with Duke the most.

[Dr. FLK]

I think all of the players leaving early is really starting to hurt CBB. The overall quality of play just seems so poor right now. There seem to be very few teams who looks like contenders, and few teams are hardly at the top for very long because of how hard it is to maintain competitive (making Duke's run of late even more impressive). So, even without Irving, I see Duke as a lock F4 team for the sole reason that there just aren't that many teams who impress me at all.

[Sports Guy]

I think all of the players leaving early is really starting to hurt CBB. The overall quality of play just seems so poor right now. There seem to be very few teams who looks like contenders, and few teams are hardly at the top for very long because of how hard it is to maintain competitive (making Duke's run of late even more impressive). So, even without Irving, I see Duke as a lock F4 team for the sole reason that there just aren't that many teams who impress me at all.

The tourney is all about matchups....FSU gave Duke problems because of their length and athleticism and if they play a team like that in tourney and Irving isn't there, they could lose.

Now, Duke is also in a shooting slump right now...Credit both MD and FSU for playing great defense the last 2 games but Duke was missing a lot of wide open shots as well.

[Sports Guy]

Duke's post play has to improve. I wonder if Singler will wind-up playing more 4?

Yea, i was thinking that.

To be honest Chris, I think the improved post play needs to come from better PG play.

As Vitale said last night, the guy most effected by the Irving injury has been Mason Plumlee...He hasn't scored more than 2 points in like the last 5 or 6 games. He is getting a lot of boards and blocking shots but he isn't getting the ball.

I mean, he isn't a true back to the basket scorer but he can do it and he can be a lot like Williams was against Duke..Get a lot of loose balls, stick backs and have dribble penetration that leaves him open.

Duke didn't get great low post scoring last year either but guys like Thomas and Zoubek were rebounding well and either getting put backs or kicking it back outside. The Plumlees do a decent job of that but Duke needs 12-15 a night from them, at least.

But the lack of a true PG, at least one that K trusts right now and wants out on the court a lot(Thornton) is hurting the low post game.

When Irving was there, he was better at feeding the post...Plus, with his ability to get into the lane, he was getting double teamed and the Plumlees were able to loose balls, dump offs, etc...

Now with Smith, he can do that but not as good as Kyrie and he also looks to score more than Irving did. Irving is a scoring PG who looks to dish off the ball, like Chris Paul.

I am sure Duke will make the neccassary adjustments and I am sure they will be fine if Kyrie doesn't get back...after all, even they will tell you that they are a work in progress and K definitely feels the team is much better with Irving than without him. Even though they have won all but one game with Kyrie out, they are still a different team without him and are clearly not as good.

[Frobby]

Yea, i was thinking that.

To be honest Chris, I think the improved post play needs to come from better PG play.

Not sure I totally buy this. Plumlee played like garbage last night. He had a number of balls go through his hands or lost the ball in the paint.

Duke's better with Irving, but their inside game is much weaker than last year after Zoubek became the starter, and I'm not sure that's going to change.

[Sports Guy]

Not sure I totally buy this. Plumlee played like garbage last night. He had a number of balls go through his hands or lost the ball in the paint.

Duke's better with Irving, but their inside game is much weaker than last year after Zoubek became the starter, and I'm not sure that's going to change.

He can have a bad game..it happens.

Both Plumlee's are leaps and bounds more talented than Zoubek.

What Zoubek did was take up space and get boards..especially offensive boards.

Zoubek didn't do a lot offensively, especially when it came to one on one post moves.

Mason is averaging 8 rebs a game in only 24 minutes, so that's not the issue.

With Kyrie as the PG, Mason averaged 10.5 PPG. With him out of the lineup, he is averaging 3.6 PPG.

That isn't a coincidence. Duke is settling for more jumpers, getting less pentration off the dribble and aren't looking to go inside to the big men at all.

Some of that is one the Plumlees, there is no doubt about that. But losing Kyrie is effecting everything in a big way.

[Frobby]

Some of that is one the Plumlees, there is no doubt about that. But losing Kyrie is effecting everything in a big way.

I'm not debating that Irving's loss hurts a lot. With him, I think Duke was a prohibitive favorite. Without him, they are a team that is a contender but quite vulnerable, as last night showed.

[Sports Guy]

Its being reported that Irving will come out of the cast and start rehab in early Feb....He could be ready by the end of Feb. I was hoping to get him back in mid Feb but I will certainly be happy if they can get him back for even just a few games before the ACC tourney.

The bright side is, if he can come back, that he will have fresh legs in the tourney.

[The Epic]

Maybe it's just my selfishness, but if he intends to be one-and-done, and wants to improve his draft stock...wouldn't he just consider the year a loss and move on? I mean, if he shows up and hurts himself further, that will cost him quite a bit of money.

But hey...I'm sure he knows better than I do. And I'm sure he wouldn't play unless he absolutely could.

[Sports Guy]

Maybe it's just my selfishness, but if he intends to be one-and-done, and wants to improve his draft stock...wouldn't he just consider the year a loss and move on? I mean, if he shows up and hurts himself further, that will cost him quite a bit of money.

But hey...I'm sure he knows better than I do. And I'm sure he wouldn't play unless he absolutely could.

His father said he will only play if he is 100%.

Maybe he wants to win a title?