deepdarkblue
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I think a zero offensive rating would be a lofty goal for him this year. Maybe if he works really hard in the off-season, he'll be able to make a wide-open layup by his junior year.
[2018-19] Boston College, at Virginia, at Louisville, NC State
- Thread starter SeanMayTriedToEatMe
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I think a zero offensive rating would be a lofty goal for him this year. Maybe if he works really hard in the off-season, he'll be able to make a wide-open layup by his junior year.
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Probably one-time use only. Opposing coaches didn’t even consider the thought of him being a factor, but now they should be spending a few minutes teaching their players how to best defend a 4-player offense at Duke. I don’t think anyone will be getting open looks from 3 again if Goldwire is in for extended minutes. A wide open layup attempt by Goldwire is a better result for the defense than any shot by any other Duke player.
StopThePumpFakesShav
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Pretty jacked this year. Seems to really have worked on his body. Either that or Tucker not being around to steal his protein shakes has helped him build muscle.
childress22
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I mean, I think we might see the Zion-at-the-5 death lineup a few more times this year, and I think it's probably best without White on the floor, so that the other team has to have their three frontcourt players trying to cover Zion/RJ/Cam. The only lineup options that make this work are Jones/Goldwire or Jones/O'Connell in the backcourt. We might see it some both way depending on defensive need.
deepdarkblue
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Make time today to watch this. Start at around 8:46 if you get tired of Jack White's commentary.
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I agree it will be used again, but what I meant to say is I don't think the lineup with Goldwire will be ever be effective offensively against a good coach again. Why wouldn't you just run a triangle and 2, with the 2 on Zion and Reddish? No 3s for Reddish, Zion smothered inside. A lot of open jumpers for Barrett, Tre and Goldwire, who each get you about 0.8 ppp or worse on uncontested jumpers, bringing Duke's overall efficiency to around 1.0 ppp at best, assuming Zion can get us 1.1 going alone against 4 guys in the paint. I think if a good coach puts together a defense that exploits Goldwire's tragicness on offense, K will be left with no other option than to play the worst overall person to ever put on a Duke uniform, O'Connell.
rhfarmer
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Sean, I think you're underestimating how hard it is to play a triangle and two effectively. No one ever practices defenses like these anymore, at any level honestly. In theory, you're correct as usual.
However, I'd take Barret, Tre and almost any Duke player in a game of 3 on 3 against any NCAA team that has already allocated it's two best defenders to Zion and Cam. Even with Goldwire out there on offense, Tre and RJ would carve up the triangle, it's just too much space to operate in. I still think the best way to defend Duke is to play zone. Maybe you match up with Cam at certain spots to make it more difficult for him to get any clean looks.
But I would zone, and give up corner 3's to any Duke player not named Reddish. I hate to say it, but Jack White ain't gonna make you pay.
rome8180
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Still feel like the secret of the "death lineup" is for O'Connell to be functional enough on defense to justify putting him out there.
While his offensive efficiency isn't what it was last year, that's mostly because he's missed four more three pointers than he did last year on a roughly equal sample size. That's just random variance, to my mind. His two-point percentage has gone up. The other issue on offense is that he's second guessing himself too much, which is leading to an increase in turnovers.
I still feel like I've seen enough to believe that O'Connell, who came in with the reputation as a great scorer and shooter, is in fact a great scorer and shooter. He could be lethal in that role of 4th option, perhaps enough so that the tradeoff in defense would be worth it in certain scenarios.
While his offensive efficiency isn't what it was last year, that's mostly because he's missed four more three pointers than he did last year on a roughly equal sample size. That's just random variance, to my mind. His two-point percentage has gone up. The other issue on offense is that he's second guessing himself too much, which is leading to an increase in turnovers.
I still feel like I've seen enough to believe that O'Connell, who came in with the reputation as a great scorer and shooter, is in fact a great scorer and shooter. He could be lethal in that role of 4th option, perhaps enough so that the tradeoff in defense would be worth it in certain scenarios.
rome8180
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Perhaps most importantly: he's taking 66% of his attempts from three. Even at his slightly decreased percentage, he's still the best shooter on the team. He's providing a lot of spacing while he's out there (granted, it's usually for 30 seconds or against teams we're already clobbering).
deepdarkblue
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Yeah, we're going to lose.
dukeboy911
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https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article226261505.html#navlink=SecList
DJ Funderburk (RS Soph, Forward):
“I’m ready for anybody on Duke’s team,” Funderburk told the Raleigh News & Observer. “No offense to them or anything, they have a great basketball team, but we have have a great basketball team, too, and they have to lace up their shoes just like us.”
And on Williamson specifically?
“Athletic ability ... but he’s really a regular player to me. I’m not really in awe about basketball players, especially not in the same conference or younger than me or the same age as me. I’m just going to go out there and play as hard as I can. I’m known for playing in big games, I love to to play in big games, I love playing away.”
DJ Funderburk (RS Soph, Forward):
“I’m ready for anybody on Duke’s team,” Funderburk told the Raleigh News & Observer. “No offense to them or anything, they have a great basketball team, but we have have a great basketball team, too, and they have to lace up their shoes just like us.”
And on Williamson specifically?
“Athletic ability ... but he’s really a regular player to me. I’m not really in awe about basketball players, especially not in the same conference or younger than me or the same age as me. I’m just going to go out there and play as hard as I can. I’m known for playing in big games, I love to to play in big games, I love playing away.”
Devilsforlife
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We suck at home this year and Keatts owns K. I'll take a 16 point win given those factors.
physicsfactor
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Luckily, there are only three home games left: UNC, Miami, and Wake. Miami and Wake should be easy wins even with Duke not trying, and UNC is the only home game Duke cares about besides UVA. Maybe we’ll get real effort and adjustments in that UNC game. Probably be down double digits at some point like they always are at home vs UNC.