I hate Duke...but...

#1
zjcvols

zjcvols

"On a Tennessee Saturday night."
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#1
it's really hard to say they wouldn't have won the national title with Kyrie Irving healthy, and yet they still have a good shot. I actually thought they had a chance (with the weak ACC) to go undefeated this year. Thoughts?
 
#2
#2
Duke's problem is poor post play and a true lack of legitimate inside presence. Irving's return would do nothing to fix that.
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#3
#3
therealUT said:
Duke's problem is poor post play and a true lack of legitimate inside presence. Irving's return would do nothing to fix that.
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With Irving, they had plenty of post play. They almost do with Smith breaking down Ds, but he's half the threat Irving is.
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#4
#4
zjcvols said:
it's really hard to say they wouldn't have won the national title with Kyrie Irving healthy, and yet they still have a good shot. I actually thought they had a chance (with the weak ACC) to go undefeated this year. Thoughts?
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Favorites? Yes. Even odds-on favorites I would say. Undefeated? Probably not. Irving would have made their post players better, but they're still overly reliant on the three. Need better balance. Plus, more Irving would mean less time for Curry. I don't think you would have seen a lineup featuring Irving, Smith, and Curry at the same time. Would be a nice problem to have though.
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#5
#5
Regulator said:
Favorites? Yes. Even odds-on favorites I would say. Undefeated? Probably not. Irving would have made their post players better, but they're still overly reliant on the three. Need better balance. Plus, more Irving would mean less time for Curry. I don't think you would have seen a lineup featuring Irving, Smith, and Curry at the same time. Would be a nice problem to have though.
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There us no doubt that would be the lineup, along with Singler and Plumlee. Depth would be hard to deal with and big time scoters at every spot save the 5 is deadly.
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#6
#6
BigPapaVol said:
There us no doubt that would be the lineup, along with Singler and Plumlee. Depth would be hard to deal with and big time scoters at every spot save the 5 is deadly.
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Would be very undersized. Would work well in ACC, but maybe not so well against teams with bigger, athletic backcourts/wings.
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#7
#7
Regulator said:
Would be very undersized. Would work well in ACC, but maybe not so well against teams with bigger, athletic backcourts/wings.
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Not that undersized. I don't think anyone could even begin to defend them.
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#8
#8
Having KI would be nice, but I don't like to play that hypothetical game. There is enough of that going around these parts from UNC fans about their football team. They seem to think they wouldve been better than Auburn and won't shut up about it.
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#9
#9
BigPapaVol said:
Not that undersized. I don't think anyone could even begin to defend them.
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A lineup of Selby, Taylor, Robinson, and the Morris twins against that lineup would give the advantage to KU.
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#10
#10
therealUT said:
Duke's problem is poor post play and a true lack of legitimate inside presence. Irving's return would do nothing to fix that.
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The posts played MUCH better with Irving feeding them...Mason Plumlee had 25 and 12 against Marquette, and then a double-double against MSU (among other ones) but no one remembers that now.
 
#11
#11
therealUT said:
A lineup of Selby, Taylor, Robinson, and the Morris twins against that lineup would give the advantage to KU.
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No it wouldn't. That group wouldn't begin to defend Duke. If Duke would zone, it would be death.
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#15
#15
VKAman said:
No way they make it past that weekend unless they get a ridiculous draw...or unless Mason Plumlee goes full Zoubek on errbody
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Singler has to quit being a girl. Plumlee has to stop deferring. He will be a monster soon, and why not start now? Dude is a sick athlete.
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#16
#16
VKAman said:
The posts played MUCH better with Irving feeding them...Mason Plumlee had 25 and 12 against Marquette, and then a double-double against MSU (among other ones) but no one remembers that now.
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Plumlee w/ Irving:
5 and 4
10 and 14
9 and 4
25 and 12
10 and 5
7 and 12
10 and 10
8 and 8

Those numbers, aside from the Marquette game, are not materially different from his numbers post Iriving.
 
#17
#17
therealUT said:
Plumlee w/ Irving:
5 and 4
10 and 14
9 and 4
25 and 12
10 and 5
7 and 12
10 and 10
8 and 8

Those numbers, aside from the Marquette game, are not materially different from his numbers post Iriving.
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Plumlee's not the lone issue. Duke's ability to spread the floor makes him unguardable.
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#18
#18
BigPapaVol said:
Singler has to quit being a girl. Plumlee has to stop deferring. He will be a monster soon, and why not start now? Dude is a sick athlete.
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I've been wondering the same thing. He's a lottery pick at a key position that's playing like a role player. Can't even use the freshman excuse anymore either. I would actually have no problem with him taking more shots than Singler; they'd be so much better trading the (missed) 3s for post play.
 
#19
#19
therealUT said:
Plumlee w/ Irving:
5 and 4
10 and 14
9 and 4
25 and 12
10 and 5
7 and 12
10 and 10
8 and 8

Those numbers, aside from the Marquette game, are not materially different from his numbers post Iriving.
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10.5 PPG with, 5.9 PPG without. Duke was shooting about 12-15 threes per game with Irving penetrating and Plumlee scoring inside; against UNC, they shot 27.
 
#20
#20
VKAman said:
10.5 PPG with, 5.9 PPG without. Duke was shooting about 12-15 threes per game with Irving penetrating and Plumlee scoring inside; against UNC, they shot 27.
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And that's the difference. Since they refuse to lean on Plumlee at all (all K teams tend to ignore young post players), they have to have somebody who can consitently break down a defense. Otherwise, they end up settling for a truckload of threes because they dont truly have anyone that can get his own shot regularly.
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