I am in the crowd that thinks a solid NCAA run is more likely than an ACC Tournament run. Two games in three days and then five off is way more doable than winning 4 in 4 days with this group and its current health. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Allen sitting to open the ACCT.
4 in 4.
- Thread starter Mac9192
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Duke isn't built to win 4 games in 4 days. Its to late in the season to start playing players that have rode the pine most of the year. That's just not Coaches thing anymore. This team could make a run at a FF due to playing a game and getting a day off. He has proven he can win a Natty with 6 or 7 guys in rotation,,but not a ACC tourney.Duke is just not prepared for that kind of run. Actually the quicker they get knocked out the better it might be for next weekend. The only thing that bothers me for the NCAAs is they never blow teams away. No matter who they play its a dog fight at the end and Coach has to keep his starters in to try and win whether its UNC or UNCG. I know there's some optimism after Sat. game but Duke still lost 3 out of there last 4 games. Not really a streak that you go into March with and make a deep run at anything IMO.
I agree that Duke is more likely to win a national championship than win the ACCT. As you said, 4 games in 4 days is tough for a team that plays no more players than we do (hell, it's tough for any team).
But the strange thing (to me) is though Duke has lost 3 of the last 4 games (all on the road), I'm not too worried about it, because our ending schedule has been brutal. Amile is starting to look better, and Grayson maybe a little too. If Grayson makes it to 90% or better, this may be the healthiest we've been all season.
For some reason, I think we're quietly getting to the point that we're going to make some serious noise. We'll just have to wait and see.
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Believe me I hope you are spot on with this. It certainly would not hurt my feelings one bit. I'm hoping that with Frank coming out as of late maybe this gives Duke a second wind and takes off for them.
Be careful guys, with all this optimistic talk, ya'll getting me so excited I'm about to piss my pants
I'm glad you added that Germanton, because I forgot it. Frank is playing, by far, his best basketball of the season. And Amile was pretty hobbled up until the UNC game. Now we need Grayson to get better...and if he does, we're in pretty good shape for a run. And the piece that would really put us over the top is if Matt gets his shot back, to go along with his excellent defense. He's kinda streaky, so I think he's due.
I guess that is a lot of things that have to go right, but every team has to have things go right to make a run. No guarantees are made, just think it's our turn...but who knows.
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Hahaha, Mac, it doesn't take too much for me to piss mine...my prostate is the size of a grapefruit!
But seriously things can change so quickly. By the end of this week, Duke may be on the upswing, and UNC could crash and burn. Even though the Heels are an excellent team, I'm not so sure they can win anything away from the Dome.
The regular season is over, it's what comes next that matters. I'm excited to see what happens.
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I agree. Like I've said before....K is invested much more than any of us on a message board. The man might be stubborn, but he's not playing a guy who he feels doesn't give Duke their "best" shot at winning.
Kentucky had the number one high school player in the country on their roster last season and he couldn't get off the bench. Kansas had a top 10 kid who also happened to win MVP of the McDonald's game....he couldn't get off the bench, either. Bolden isn't an anomaly.
Trust me, like you I wish it was an exact science with top 15 kids that each one comes in and contributes right off the bat. Unfortunately, that's not reality. Bolden, even the limited time he has given us, has proved nothing to me that makes me think he's being wasted on the bench.
Well, I did a little research and maybe I was the one that was a little tipsy...or at least wishful thinking.
The real question is can we win 6 in 21? I think we can. We have been playing better basketball as of late IMO despite losing 3 of the last 4. Talent seems to show up best in March and on a neutral court. I think we make a run.
You're so rite...."6 in 21 is the real question." I do think we can make a run, and think Frank Jackson's emergence is going to pay dividends toward that effort!
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Doesn't do us any good to make it to the championship game fatigued ..I think k knows this and will play his bench more this week..we lose we lose. Guys get a rest before the run..the thing I don't like about hat though is we haven't played well coming off a lot of rest..I'll just sit back and root for them and see lol.
I'm kind of scratching my head at some of you thinking K is going to begin doing something different in the post season that he didn't do during the regular season.
I agree. K is going to try and win. We might see some small lineup tinkering where K plays Bolden early like he has all season, but by and large, in the second half the rotation will shorten. K loves tournament formats. I always go back to the analogy he's used so many times in the past....for the ACCT it's about winning one game per day, three days in a row (or this year, in our case, four), or for the NCAAT about approaching each weekend as a small, four-team tournament. Survive and advance.
It's not thinking he will, it's hoping he will. I would love to see some zone sprinkled in from time to time, but K is K and doesn't care what me or any others think he should do
My guess is K has probably tried some of those things. Just because we don't see them in the game doesn't mean it's not something he and the staff haven't tinkered with. But because we haven't seen them with our own eyes, we assume it's something that can work.
Even in 2015 when we went to that zone against Louisville we weren't incredibly effective. What made it most effective was Louisville not being prepared for it...at all. By mid-February we had pretty much abandoned the zone and got back to playing man defense.
To your last point....I agree K doesn't care what he thinks. I'd be worried if he did.
I see what you're saying but hard to argue the results the zone gave Duke. K even admitted that today's kids not being in program but a year, maybe 2 are slow to learn Duke system. The results in 15 in that game then going 1-3-1 against UVA late helped result in victories, which lead to confidence, and yes by end of year team was solid as a man to man defensive unit. Sometimes when a team does what the other is not expecting, it throws them off, and sometimes that can be enough to pull out the win.
Zone is always the answer DJ!
Joking aside, I do think we see K stick to what he trusts. Which clearly is the six guys he plays the most, like it or not. It's who we are this year and we've got to accept it.
Duke plays poor 2-3 zone for any length of time. The 1-3-1 is a good trick zone for a minute at a time. I think if the team needs to buy time it is likely to slow down the game at the offensive end. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Coach K has played more people in the ACC tournament than the regular season or NCAA tournament when faced with multiple days of games.
I agree, it's a pet peeve of mine every year- "go zone," it can't get worse!
One thing I think we've had some success this year was the 2/3 court press. Basically you're trying to not allow them to set up their offense until about 18-20sec on the clock. It's hardly sustainable the whole game when we only play 7 guys, but it has been effective at times this season.
I think he probably has played a few more people in those circumstances. I recall Reggie Love making a tremendous contribution on an opening nite game vs State I believe on a Thursday nite game.
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Once again, don't confuse people suggesting zone as the answer to fix the problems. It's not like the team would be abandoning a form of defense that is locking the opponent down at the present time. When K does something different some of you are like he's the greatest, yet when he's questioned, like this year, when the defense is weaker than we'd like, then it's like "he knows more than any of us". That is true, but your last comment about 2/3 court press proves my point, why, because it's something different, and for a short time, has proven to be effective.
I agree about mixing things up a bit, especially when we go on a run and the opposing coach calls time out. I would like to throw something at our opponents that they're not expecting, even if it is just for one possession. I think his controlled press has been very effective at times.
For the billionth time, just because we don't agree with the specific critiques or criticisms of the team and/or staff doesn't mean we think any are beyond reproach. This is such a tired and played out retort. Sometimes we just don't agree with the suggested solution, in this case going zone. Which comes up every year it feels like. I highly doubt that the staff hasn't thought of this simple adjustment. I'm sure they're not reading this board and doing it to spite those who are critiquing them. Again, I think we've had some limited success with the 2/3 court press bc it slows down teams from getting into their offense until 18-20 sec left on the shot clock. Again it's not sustainable, because we don't play enough guys. But it is something we've shown the ability to run this year which is why I brought it up. You don't magically have success now with a 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone bc our man also is weak.
Timo, what's your thoughts on us trying to double other bigs in the post like UVA did against the holes? I thought that could have been effective for us had we tried Saturday. Is that too difficult to put in for one game without a lot of practice time?
I'm hardly an expert and don't pretend to be. My immediate thought would be we already give up so many layups as it is that it might be allowing that even more. UVA is so sound on preventing shots at the rim, I agree it might be tough for us to understand how to play that. Amile is the only guy that would understand how to play that defense on our front line. We can't even guard the pick and roll without losing their big in the lane.
You know, you are a smart man, I can tell but on this point we agree to disagree. Louisville, UVA 2015 ring a bell?
You guys are incredible. That's your response? Is it pointless because you say it is? Because you two say it, no one else can have an opinion that disagrees with yours. Ok for tim0 to say something works in small stretches but not someone else to suggest something huh?
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Mac I remember that zone at U of L two years ago, after Miami obliterated our man D in Durham. Turned our season around if I recall...I think its a great idea, per the timing especially of the ACC Tourney and prospect of"4 in 4." Also, this group just doesnt have the defensive prowess of some Duke teams in the past....
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Thanks Hart, with some of the kickback I'm getting over suggesting the team do something occasionally to mix it up , you'd think I shot their dog. One of our mods brought up a good point, yet another mod come running over crying foul at me for voicing my view, which IS based on actual events. And we all pull for same team too, how about that?
No problem my friend- we are all Blue Devil diehards and I enjoy the different views. The wrinkle of the little half court trap worked especially well at UVA...
No reason a little zone might not work well this week...OFC
The idea of it is certainly worth thinking about. The thing is, as many have mentioned, don't you think K has stayed up at night trying to figure this team out?
Without question he has....Hes the master and G.O.A.T. We're nothing but armchair qb's as Duke fans hoping the team gets its mojo together for a post season run....OFC
Yes most definitely, he's very competitive, military, and extremely stubborn, the latter an opinion formed from watching him coach over 30 years. My opinion is he has used his style of play for so long, and to do something different would be to admit his way isn't working. The same said for Boeheim. Seems like they will lose with their brand of play than attempt to win by a method they feel inferior to their way. That's just my view though