The last thing Duke fans want to see is their team down 18-13 seven minutes into the game against the worst team in the ACC, but that’s just life. No one can blame even this Duke team if they didn’t “get up” and motivate against this team like they do others.
After a slow star, the Duke Blue Devils eventually crushed Wake Forest, 83-59. Duke improved to 18-1 on the season (5-1 in the ACC). The Demon Deacons fell to 7-13 on the year, 0-5 in the ACC.
RANDOM RANTS
KELLY CAN’T MISS
Obviously most of the talk after the game was about Ryan Kelly’s huge game. Many are calling it his breakout game. Of course I’m excited for his performance (20 points, six rebounds, two assists, no turnovers), but I’m going to hold off on all the “breakout game” talk. We’ve seen a number of breakout games by a number Duke players, only to watch them disappear the following game.
Remember Mason Plumlee’s breakout game? 25 points on 12-16 shooting against Marquette…he’s scored in double figures only three times since.
There was Andre Dawkins’ breakout game against Bradley (28 points, hitting 8 of 14 three-point shots). The following game, he scored only two points and since that game, he’s only hitting 34-percent from three.
For me, I’d like less breakout games and just more consistency from these role players.
Now I know what you’re saying, damn it BDB, why do you have to be such a buzz-kill? And you’re right. I will say this, if you’ve been paying attention, you would know this wasn’t really a breakout game for Kelly. It’s been a breakout week and half.
A few weeks ago, I expressed from frustration with Kelly after the Maryland. While he clearly wasn’t afraid to shoot, he simply wasn’t making enough shots to be launching as many as he was.
The fact is, while everyone always mentioned that Kelly won the three-point contest in the McDonald’s All-American game, he had yet to develop into a legit three-point threat (at least not the kind that justifies 4-5 three attempts per game). Prior the Virginia game, Kelly was in fact hitting just 29-percent of his threes. Like me in spandex, that’s just ugly.
Yet, in the Virginia game something happened, or rather, something didn’t happen. Ryan Kelly didn’t shoot a three…not once. He took all his shots inside the paint, hitting 4-7. He hit his last three in the game and hasn’t missed since. Currently, Kelly has made 13 straight shots dating back to the Virginia game. Six of which have been threes.
Of course shooting is only half the battle. I’ve been more impressed with Kelly’s defensive skills. He’s grabbing rebounds (6+ in four of his last seven games) and blocking shots (at least one in 13 of his last 14 games). He’s done a fine job holding his ground inside and plays smarter than both Plumlees (which is why he starts).
Secondly, he’s shown to be a vocal leader, despite only being a sophomore. A great example happened halfway through the first half. Wake was taking the ball out of bounds under their own basic. Andre Dawkins was running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Kelly barked at him, pointed Andre to the spot he needed to be and directed traffic. Leadership.
ZOUBEK-LITE
Mason Plumlee continues to put up Brian Zoubek-like numbers. Saturday he scored zero points (missing his only shot and missing two free throws), yet pulled down double-digit rebounds for the fourth straight games. He’s averaged over 12 per game over the last two weeks, including 16 offensive boards.
Against the Demon Deacons, it looked like the Blue Devils made a effort to post up Mason and get the ball inside to him. I counted about four times this happened in the first half. Three times though, Plumlee got the ball and quickly looked to pass out. The final time, he dribbled and missed his only shot.
My question is, why isn’t Mason improving in this area? Let’s discuss what he’s doing wrong?
- First, he posts up too far away, typically both feet outside the paint. You’re not a scoring threat that far out. He needs to stop being afraid of contact with his back to the basket. He needs to get position closer.
- Second, when Mason looks to shoot, he refuses to muscle his way inside. In fact, he avoids the contact completely. While he still prefers to turn around and face the basket, he’ll typically dribble, turn back around and then do his fade away (that almost never goes in).
He’s nearly seven-foot tall and can jump out of the building, why is he fading back? Turn and shoot, straight up. Try a min-hook shot. Better yet, try a fake towards the middle then swing around towards the baseline. Mason never goes towards the baseline.
Why is this important? The fact is, the point of passing the ball inside is to eventually force double teams. If you do that, it opens things up for the outside shooters. Watch the game. When Mason receives a pass inside, he is almost never doubled up.
Having said all that, the reason why he’s starting is the fact he’s dominating the boards and he’s becoming a shot-blocking presence inside. That’s what Coach K is looking for.
THORNTON’S 20+
Clearly Coach K reads this blog daily because how else do you explain Tornton’s big game (in terms of minutes)?After NC State, I talked about my concern over Nolan’s playing time. He can’t hold up if he continues to not only play 40 per game, but run the point the whole time.
Against Wake, Thornton played 22 minutes, often taking over ball-handling duties. His numbers aren’t going to jump out at you, (one point, two assists), but that’s not a huge deal. He’s in there for energy on the D, which he provides along with plenty of charges.
Most importantly, he doesn’t throw the ball away. Since facing St. Louis, Ty has played 94 minutes and he’s turned it over only once in that time (he’s dished out 15 assists during that time frame). The fact is, he should only get better. It’s probably not fair that he’s being ask to grow up smack in the middle of the ACC schedule, but that’s life after Kyrie Irving.
CURRY/DAWKINS RAOD WOES
The duo of Seth Curry Andre Dawkins just aren’t road warriors…yet. Against Wake, the pair went 2-8, 1-7 from deep. At home against ACC teams, Curry/Dawkins are a decent 43-percent from three. On the road in the ACC, that percentage falls to 32-percent.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE SENIORS
Sometimes I tend to not write about Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, but that’s just because they are basically consistent game in and game out. They’re taking a ton of shots (67-percent of Duke’s shots against Wake, 55-percent of the shots against NC State, 52-percent against Virginia…I think you get my point). The two seniors are responsible for over half of Duke’s shots.
Now last year Duke relied on only three players to do their scoring. Singler, Smith and Jon Scheyer accounted for 68-percent of Duke’s points, while taking 69-percent of Duke’s shots. On the season, Singler and Smith are taking 46-percent of Duke’s shots and accounting 44-percent of the points. Not bad. However, in ACC play, those numbers change.
Duke is scoring less in the ACC (76 points per game). Smith and Singler’s are shooting 56-percent of Duke’s shots in ACC play, scoring 52-percent of Duke’s shots. Overall, they are hitting just 42-percent from the floor in ACC play. However, it’s not like the rest of the team is dominating. The rest of the team is just 43-percent from the floor in the ACC. If the shooting percentage isn’t going to change, it doesn’t really matter who is shooting.
