Duke vs Temple - East Rutherford, NJ, Dec 8, 3:15pm ESPN

[the boogeyman]

We're pretty damn good right now. Put up 90 like it was nothing against a top 50 team/defense who isn't in the top 150 in tempo. Still some questions on defense, mainly/obviously rebounding (only rebounded 59% of their misses tonight per ESPN box), but we've got five guys on offense who all look like they could be #1 options on good teams. If Kelly continues to put the ball on the floor effectively and create his own shot like that, we're going to be pretty close to impossible to gameplan for. I mean, who is even our fifth option? Cook, I guess?

I'm not getting too cocky because early dominance due to everything clicking can be a little misleading, but it's hard not to love how good we are right now.

I agree. I will admit that i am really excited about this team's potential in march, though. IMO, tourny runs are all about match ups, and there are no glaring weaknesses (besides d. rebounding) on this team on either end, so there arent any teams that are just really bad match ups for them, imo. our offense has too much talent for more than 1-2 guys to have a below average game, and that can be cancelled out by a good game from someone else. for the most part, cook, kelly, and sheed seem pretty reliable. on the other end, cook and rs have been huge upgrades, and kelly is challenging shots, instead of going for charges.

i was not very high on kelly coming into this year, but he has really stepped up. he is not settling for 3s. driving, and hunting mid range jumpers make him a lot more consistent on that end, even though his 3-point shot hasnt been great this year. defensively, he is challenging shots, like i said. it is a whole lot tougher to finish at the rim against us this year, and that is with mason playing (imo) mediocre defense around the rim.

i do worry that the defensive rebounding wont improve much, though. marshall will only be a slight help, imo. he will only play in the 6-10 minutes mason doesnt. we get killed on high rebounds that are just out of our guards' reach. i am glad that amile and murphy are getting a few minutes, but i wish they were being worked in at the 3 beside ryan and mason. today, they came in together and played with mason, and the team was unsurprisingly sloppy-looking. we just need to be able to rely on them for 10-15 mpg at the 3 to turn the tide if we are getting hammered.

 

[Pantone287]

only rebounded 59% of their misses tonight per ESPN box

*65%, I suck at maths.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

For game stats:
http://www.scacchoops.com/

For season team stats:
http://www.teamrankings.com/

For individual stats:
http://www.statsheet.com/

If you have $20 to blow on getting it all at once in the most convenient form:
http://www.kenpom.com/

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

The rebounding continues to be terrible but maybe it's not a problem. If the philosophy is to get back on defense and eliminate transition opportunities for the opponent, then maybe it's worth the offensive rebounding deficiency. Duke was one of the worst transition defense teams in the country last season, according to Luke Winn via Synergy Sports. If the philosophy is to leak out on offense to get more transition opportunities instead of making sure of getting defensive rebounds, then maybe it's worth the defensive rebounding deficiency (though this is less likely). Mason is the 2nd most efficient big man in the country in transition this season, according to Luke Winn via Synergy Sports, and I assume Duke as a team is benefiting quite a bit from transition baskets, even with a great halfcourt offense. I'd still rather have Singler than Sulaimon at SF, but this is probably as good as it gets with the current roster.

 

[Pantone287]

Wish there was a site that ranked transition scoring so we could see if there really is a reasonable tradeoff there.

I'm with you on offensive rebounding, but I'm not sure how much of our poor defensive rebounding is guys leaking out by design. More often than not, it seems like we have guards around the rim, they're just not really boxing out and going up to get it. Mason and Quinn are the two guys you see most often in transition, and they're our two best defensive rebounders by position.

 

[rome8180]

Some thoughts:

Sulaimon is amazing at finding our bigs.

Thornton is an absolute bulldog.

Cook really has it going on offense.

Transition basketball is fun to watch.

We gave up way too many open layups. Temple is one of those really annoying teams to play because they may not have the talent but they execute perfectly.

What Curry is doing is incredible.

Mason's worst game.

Love Kelly's pump fake.

God,we suck on the glass.

Hit your freaking layups, Murphy.

 

[rome8180]

We are getting game of six and seven assists out of our freshman shooting guard.

Last nights game dropped Mason's shooting percentage from 65% to 61%. The last two games have dropped his FT shooting from 80% to 73%.

 

[oval4]

really the only thing about this team I can find to complain about is how Kelly never lands on his feet after any shot/or drive. always falling down. Rivers was the same way. especially on drives. just kind of annoys me.

love this team.

 

[deepdarkblue]

really the only thing about this team I can find to complain about is how Kelly never lands on his feet after any shot/or drive. always falling down. Rivers was the same way. especially on drives. just kind of annoys me.

love this team.

Sometimes, it's the best thing a player can do, but not every stinking time. I'd like to see some sort of graph that follows the number of fouls Kelly draws. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that refs are more and more not making that call.