Duke Coaching

[deepdarkblue]

I wonder if the true, Plan A version of "switch everything" is here to stay. I like it, if so, if for no other reason than ball screens being the bane of our existence this year again. Will be interesting to see if it holds up against better spread-and-drive teams, though.

I thought Bolden was excellent today defending guards on switches. They went after him pretty often, and he seemed to consistently force bad misses. Seems like the simplicity of switching everything makes him more confident defending in space, even if it creates mismatches against him.

Yeah, your boy Quezy has looked like a completely different person lately. He's fully engaged, smiling, and hasn't looked like a tourist who blundered onto the court like something in a Borat skit. I like this guy.

 

[rome8180]

On the TDD pod, Chris Bunn brought up the numbers against Bolden in isolation. I forget the exact numbers, but they were super impressive (something like 3/20). This matches the eye test, for me anyway. People should quit trying to go at him and accept the fact that he's a really good defender. It's like they didn't do any scouting and just picked the biggest guy on the floor to attack.

I feel like they'd have better luck attacking Cam, tbh.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

Last night was generally great and exactly what you want to see on the road. Beat the hell out of them early and make the environment a non factor. Get out to a 20ish point lead by halftime and don’t let them back in.

If there’s one complaint it’s that we gave up over 40% OR to a team that’s not even great at it. Turned an excellent defensive effort into a good one. But, as is being discussed above, Duke contested shots so well. Especially with Bolden on the floor, there’s always going to be a balance that needs to be struck between blocking/altering shots and defensive rebounding. Right now we’re leaning a lot on the former at the expense of the latter. Not sure that’s bad but would be interesting to see how the efficiency numbers stack up on defense with and without Bolden on the floor.

 

[TS9]

I'm just a random internet idiot, and I know all those offensive rebounds hurt our defensive numbers last night, but I feel like this team is better off continuing to go aggressively for blocks/tightly contested shots. We're not really being called for fouls at an excessive rate (knock on wood), and I have to think the psychological toll of having your shit repeatedly swatted is more demoralizing over the course of a game than a few more defensive rebounds would be.

Of course, the effectiveness of this philosophy is muted against the more efficient and skillful teams we will face going forward. But against the likes of ND, I certainly think the shot blocking was influencing their shot selection in a positive (for Duke) way.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

K is furthest to the right, obviously. Pretty impressive on both AxeS.

 

[Slap the Floor]

I think Coach K and the Duke coaching staff are having a very good season. Obviously the talent is off of the charts but I feel there are a lot of coaches who would have this team playing at a lesser level than Duke, or potentially even struggling to work things out together.

Just my opinion but I am disregarding most complaints about the coaching this year as extreme nit picking. The defense is definitely elite with Jones in the line-up, and the offense scores against everyone who matters.

 

[dukeboy911]

K has 4 freshmen starting and has pretty comfortably turned them into the best team in the country. Not a bad job from the guy.

 

[DukeCrow]

…and the offense scores against everyone who matters.

Until we meet Washington in the Round of 32.

 

[Slap the Floor]

 

[dukeboy911]

^goes to show you how much more complex the game is and how much of a mastermind K is at scheming.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

The extra day of preparation time makes no difference to a K-coached team. Brad Stevens' teams did significantly better with an extra day. Lamont Paris (Chattanooga) works miracles in his extra day of coaching. Barret Peery (Portland State) makes his team worse the more he coaches them.

 

[krsmith16]

Is there a single player on this roster who has improved since coming to Duke?

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

 

[Slap the Floor]

 

[DukeCrow]

Wish he told them that before the game. But I guess saving it for when we're down 23 is more fun.

 

[DukeNukem05]

That’s how you save the best for last.

And we all laughed at Slap. Shame on us.

He's proving to be the top basketball mind on this board, in AxeS' absence.

 

[deepdarkblue]

Is there a single player on this roster who has improved since coming to Duke?

We now know that there is one. If you overlook the fact that he's going to airball any wide-open layups he may be faced with.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Coaching based on face strength paid off. I don’t think O’Connell has ever looked like he wants to play basketball.

 

[DurhamSon]

That press feels like a nice little tactical nuclear warhead we can unleash for spurts. I don't think there's a guard who isn't already in the NBA in this country who could execute against it right away.

 

[surfpenguin]

Confirms the sandbag theory.