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31 for 31!
Duke defeated Davidson 109-65 on 12/21/99 in Cameron.
While Duke played well in spurts, it was another example of a lack
of consistent intensity and attention to detail. The most
glaring stat: Davidson had 15 offensive rebounds,
while Duke had 8. Granted, Duke shot 61% but failed to block
out Davidson a number
of times. K was generally pleased afterwards, especially with
the defense in the second half, the play of Boozer, and the fact
that Battier stepped up his offense.
The game was just not very pretty to
watch. Duke was trying to get its low-post game in working
order early on, but fell prey to a series of fouls to its big men.
Boozer went out at the 16:52 mark with two fouls, so Sanders was
brought in. Casey went out two minutes later with two fouls of
his own, so Christensen was brought in. When Matt picked up
his second foul five minutes
later, Horvath was brought in. Meanwhile, Davidson took
advantage by going to agile center Stephen Marshall, who
aggressively took Duke to the hoop all night. Duke countered
with zen master Shane Battier, who was 8-9 from the floor and 12-12
from the foul line, for a career high 31 points. He was scoring from
all angles and locations, with drives, jumpers, threes and foul
shots. His smooth performance took a lot of pressure off the
rest of the offense.
The game had very little flow to it, as
Davidson was fouling early and often in an effort to slow Duke down.
Duke returned the favor as its big men were caught out of position
and forced to foul themselves. Davidson really hurt itself
with this strategy in the second half, because Duke got to the
one-and-one rather quickly and just killed them from there.
The Wildcats really hung in there for quite some time. They
were only down 10-7 with four minutes gone by, and were within 6 at
22-16 with nine minutes gone by. Two things were helping them: lots
of fouls on Duke big men, which took away some of the defensive
power inside and prevented Duke from getting a steady offensive
rhythm. Davidson had a very crisp, precise offense built on
dribble penetration, high screens and reversing the ball. They
were able to get lots of open shots until Duke took away their
penetration in the second half, where they scored a meager 28
points.
Duke never went on a gigantic run that
put them away, but they had several mini-runs: 6-0, 8-0, 5-0, and
never let the Wildcats get any sustained runs themselves. Duke
started the second half on a 22-8 run and simply cruised from there.
Various players sparked the runs, with Dunleavy scoring and passing
late in the first half, Battier using the first ten minutes of the
game to drive and draw fouls, and Boozer going nuts in the second
half with a number of great individual moves. The deep
reserves also played very well, keeping up the defensive intensity
and even scoring a little. Duke did things like establishing
the inside game better than against A&T, but the Devils will
need to work on defending quality big men and limiting penetration
more consistency.
** Negatives:
1. Offensive rebounding. Duke was tipping and tapping the ball
a lot, but had trouble grabbing it. Davidson was doing a good
job getting extra possessions and taking advantage of them.
2. Ball pressure. This was especially problematic in the first
half. Duke was not attacking the point hard enough or
overplaying on the wings. Davidson was getting all kinds of
easy shots and got the ball down low several times. Duke picked up
the pressure a bit in the second half but never really shut them
down by establishing a dominant defensive presence.
3. Valuing the ball. Duke only had 13 turnovers, but a number
of those were from pure carelessness, not because Davidson was
applying any undue pressure. In fact, the Wildcats sat back in
a zone for much of the game, not extending it very far. There
were several occasions where a player just lost control of the ball,
or made a stupid pass into a crowd. Mind you, it wasn't as bad
as it was against A&T, but Duke had a number of less-than- crisp
possessions.
** Positives:
1. Shooting. 64% speaks volumes. The best thing about
this was the way Duke attacked the basket with drive after drive.
Boozer and Battier were especially proficient in either drawing
fouls on their way to the basket (19-22), pulling up for shot shots,
or going all the way to the hole.
2. Inside game. This was an area of
emphasis, and the big men did well. After Boozer's forgettable first
half, he exploded in the second and Davidson had no way of
containing his combination of explosiveness and power. Sanders
played much better defense in this game, getting 3 blocks and not
leaving his feet. He also had a couple of nice post moves.
Christensen came in and gave a lot of effort down low, adding a
physical presence that took the Wildcats a bit aback.
3. Penetration. Williams and Carrawell did a great job of
getting inside position and drawing double teams. Williams
finished a lot of his drives himself, while Carrawell was dishing
off to the open man. Playing against a team in a 2-3 zone most
of the game, Duke did a good job in finding the seams.
Player-by-Player Analysis:
** Boozer: 'los had some early
foul trouble, going out just three minutes into the game and not
returning until there were six minutes left in the half. This
was partly due to Coach K wanting to give some of the other big men
some time to develop. But when Carlos came back in the second
half, he was a one man gang. He outscored Davidson 11-6 in the
first five minutes of the half, scoring on athletic drives and
drawing three fouls. This was the first time I've seen him put
the ball on the floor and take it to the basket strong, a move that
was positively Laettnerian. Carlos was doing a lot
of the little things well. First, he was really starting to
disrupt the passing lanes ala Brand. Duke has long used their
"center" to overplay the pass and the good ones have been
able to take advantage with steals. He managed a couple of steals in the second half doing this.
Second, he's moving much better on offense. He's running the
floor on breaks as well as finding ways to make himself a target
moving without the ball. He's still doing other good stuff
like working on his turnaround jumper in the lane. His rebounding
positioning was a little off and he was soft on defense in the lane;
he just needs to play a little more physically. Of course, the
foul trouble didn't help. Boozer is slowly turning into a very
good player.
** Battier: After criticizing
Shane for not taking enough shots in the last game, he certainly
shut my mouth after his performance here. While his stats were
obviously spectacular, what I liked was that he was making very
simple plays. He opened the game with a pass to Williams for a
three. Then he simply drove again and again to the basket, drawing
fouls. He also made himself available on the wing for
relocation passes, getting assists for Sanders and Dunleavy using
this method. He was also cutting to the basket quickly when he
saw one of his teammates get doubleteamed. In the second half,
Shane switched gears and swished 3 threes, all from a pretty great
distance. He was open and sensed that he could completely
demoralize Davidson if he made them, and that's exactly what
happened. Shane also took a charge and played his usual good
defense. About the only thing he didn't do was rebound; a
couple of rebounds went through his hands. I would love to see
him play this way every night, displaying the wide variety of
methods he has for scoring.
** Carrawell: Chris seems to
have this sixth sense that lets him know when he needs to help out
with ballhandling, take over playmaking duties and make
momentum-changing shots. This is precisely what he did in this
game, another in a series of solid, fundamentally sound performances
by C'well. He quickly went to his best weapon, penetration, finding
an open Battier when he was double-teamed. With the score tied
at 7, he drove, got fouled and made the basket. Later, he
drove and again found Battier when he was doubleteamed. He
also got a layup on a drive and scored on a break, and finished the
half with a basket on a rebound. All told: 9 points, 5 boards,
3 assists. He opened the second with a tough jumper in the
lane and had one spectacular play that seemed to drain some of the
energy out of the Wildcats. He was under intense pressure in
the backcourt and had fallen down with the ball. He managed to
keep control of it and tipped it to an
alert Boozer, who got an easy dunk. Chris then found Carlos on
the break, Battier for three, and Christensen inside. He
played hard and he played smart.
** Dunleavy: Mike had an
OK game as he was sluggish at first but came on to make
some big contributions in the second half. He started off
well, taking a charge, but had a lot of trouble breaking through
screens, which resulted in some wide-open shots. He was also
letting his man take him off the dribble too often. Mike seems
to play well in spurts. In the first half, he drove and found
Battier open in the right corner for a jumper. Williams then
found him on the next possession for a three. Then Dunleavy
returned the favor right after that, assisting Jason on a three with
nice perimeter passing. Two possessions later, Horvath found
Mike D down low for a nice layup. The lead ballooned from 11
to 17 in that time span. Duke has a number
of players who can initiate runs, and Mike's unique skills have made
him a big part of some of those rallies. Even though he was
only 1-3 in the second half (on a three), he was much more active
throughout the half, especially when passing. He found Battier
for a three and nailed C'well beautifully on an outlet pass for a
dunk. Defensively, he was much more aggressive and he was also
hitting the boards. Overall, a good but not great game, where
he performed credibly in his second start.
** Williams: Jason has so much
talent that it sounds a little ridiculous to say that his 20 point,
5 assist, 4 turnover, 2 steal, 2 rebound game was not his best
performance, but it's true. Jason had a lot of trouble dealing
with Davidson's precise offense, and spent a lot of time dealing
with chasing their little guys around. He also seemed a bit
perplexed at the variety of zones he saw, limiting his his ability
to get assists by penetrating up the middle. But his shot
selection was excellent, and he was taking advantage of his
ability to drive whenever possible. He shot 50% and actually
missed a couple of
layups that were rebounded by alert Duke players. One of my
favorites of his shots was an open 12' jumper that he nailed.
I hadn't really seen him take that kind of shot before, but it's one
that he'll get all day and one that he can certainly make. He
still takes an alarming number of threes (8 in this game), but he is
forcing fewer of them. He's shooting right after he's already
spotted up with a screen, within the flow of the offense, rather
than simply walking the ball up and shooting a 30' off the dribble.
** Sanders: Casey continued to make
progress, even if his performance wasn't quite as flashy as Sunday's
game. Both of his baskets were notable. First, he ran
the floor on a Williams steal, and followed up when Jason blew the
layup with a rebound and layin. A basic move, but it showed
that Casey was alert and within the flow of the offense. His
second one was a nice turnaround jumper in the lane, the kind of
shot that he'll get all day if he wants it. If this becomes a
real weapon, then watch out. While Casey got in foul trouble
by occasionally biting on a fake, he's doing a much better job of
standing his ground. Speaking of which, he drew another charge
in this game, an event that pumped up his teammates. Casey
also had three blocks, the part of his game that's the least
surprising. Now, I've always thought that the block was a
somewhat overrated stat because while it prevents the ball from
going in, it doesn't establish possession. Battier is very
skilled at blocking and tipping the ball to his man simultaneously.
Casey is also pretty good at this, though not quite as good.
He does avoid the showy but pointless hard swats into the crowd,
which are impressive-looking but serve no real purpose. His
hands are also getting better, catching the ball more cleanly than
before. It still remains to be seen if he'll crack the top 7 or 8, but things are looking up.
** James: Nate's knee was acting up a
bit before the game, and Coach K revealed
that he had been having problems all year. Thus, he didn't
start, but went in after warming it up a bit. K said they're
going to have it MRI'd just in case. Nate's actual play was
pretty forgettable. He only took two field goal attempts, both
three point misses, and was 2-4 from the foul line. He snagged a
couple of steals that he promptly threw away. Luckily, he
wasn't really needed in this one and it was good to see him moving
well. Hopefully, his knee problems will disappear with 12 days rest.
I was a bit concerned when he not only didn't start, but wasn't even
in the pre-game huddle!
** Horvath: Tough game for Nick.
He too was hit with foul trouble, and didn't ever get a good look at
the ball. He did have a nice pass to Dunleavy on the break,
and managed to snag a couple of boards towards the end of the game.
But it was clear that his foul trouble made him tentative,
especially on defense of course.
** Christensen: Matt was
brought in when the other big men had foul trouble, and he did an OK
job. He fought hard on the boards and pushed people around.
When he missed a foul shot, he stepped in and grabbed his own
rebound, sending it out. He also (finally) was able to finish
one of his layups, on a very nice pass from C'well. C'well was
pumping his fist when Matt converted--it's very clear that this team
is very supportive of one another. I've yet to see any instances of
jealousy or bickering on the court. Matt is clearly behind all
of the other big men in the rotation at this point, but he's still
battling. If nothing else, he's acting as a good practice
player.
** Buckner: Played some spot
duty at the end of the first half, sent out to make sure Jason
didn't pick up a foul and to lay down some heavy defensive pressure.
He did an excellent job, shadowing his man all the way and eluding
some picks. Set up Simpson for a three, grabbed a rebound on
the run and took it to the rack, getting fouled. I'd say he's
playing his role perfectly. I like the idea of him coming in
for a minute or so, picking up the defensive pressure from a fresh
body. It also keeps him sharp, because he knows he has to stay
alert at all times, knowing Coach K might actually need him.
And he's aware that if he blows these opportunities, they might not
come again.
** Simpson: Canned a three pointer for
Duke's last points of the game. Again looked very confident
out there.
** Caldbeck: Passed up a
couple of shots, but was trying to get JD an open look.
** Borman: Got his first appearance in a Duke
basketball game with a minute left, as the crowd was calling for
him. Earned a rebound for his efforts.
Cameron Craziness: Not much, as you might expect from
the nature of the crowd. Very low-volume game as Cameron was
sticky and humid. There were a lot of slips in the game and I
attribute that to the humidity.
When Shane was ahead of the entire
Davidson team, "Shane is winning" broke out. One
Wildcat left the game with "5 fouls, no points!"
Next Game: January 2nd against William & Mary.
The Tribe are currently 4-3, having beaten teams like Orel Roberts,
Hampton and Clemson-conquerors Wofford and losing to Hawaii,
Virginia Tech (narrowly) and UNC-W. They have a balanced
attack led by Adam Duggins and Tom Strohbehn, both at 12.3 ppg and
around 7 rpg. The cleverly-named Scotty Scott averages around
5 assists a game. The average around 16 turnovers a game, so
this is an area Duke will try to take advantage of. They
actually have a little bit of size, as Duggins is 6-11 (and blocks 2
shots a game) and Strohbehn is 6-9. This will be a nice
challenge for the big men before they play Georgia Tech.
Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu
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