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Duke 104 Duke 80 |
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Duke
104, Portland 62. Duke
80, Iowa 62. It's
interesting that a 42 point win can be considered a bad game, while an
18-point victory is called by some the team's best win of the year.
But it makes sense when you consider the quality of the opponent.
Portland is a struggling squad playing in Cameron against the Maui
champs, but their scrappy play made this game much closer than it should
have been. Iowa is one of the
top teams in the country. But
beyond that, the way in which Duke approached both games is what made the
difference. I did not see the
Portland game, but I will briefly summarize from the play-by-play. In the
first half, Duke had 8 turnovers, half by Chris Duhon.
The Devils also had 7 missed layups, with 5 by the big men.
As a result, it's easy to see what they only scored 37 points.
Duke led 37-21 at the half, but had to go on a 6-2 run to close the
half to achieve even that lead. Duke
also missed a mind-boggling 13 threes, making only 1.
The team was playing with so little energy on offense that Coach K
brought in Matt Christensen and Mark Causey to inject a little life into
the proceedings. The Devils
were playing solid defense, but were simply not playing as a unit on
offense. Coach
K shook things up a bit by starting Dan Ewing in the second half ahead of
Duhon. After Portland started
with a three, Ewing immediately went into action by grabbing his own
rebound after he missed a foul shot and layed it in.
Boozer also stepped up on defense, blocking a shot and then running
the floor and getting a pass from Williams.
Carlos also had a three point play and started sweeping the boards.
Ewing followed up a Dunleavy miss with a short jumper after he
snagged the rebound. Duke
went on a 12-0 run to lead 51-26, essentially putting the game away.
After a Portland basket, Duke went on an 8-0 run, fueled by a
couple of Williams steals. Another
Portland basket brought another 8-0 run, and by this time, Coach K was
bringing in the reserves. Duke
pounded the Pilots in the second half to the tune of 67-41 despite only
hitting 5-25 from three. Duke
abused Portland for 23 offensive rebounds.
Still, Coach K was not pleased.
There was on-court bickering, something that never happened with
last year's squad. Not to keep harping on Shane Battier, but he did a great job
of talking to his teammates and keeping them together.
This year's team doesn't
have a communicator like Shane, which means that both the coach and the
players will have to work harder to get everyone on the same page. With
a poor effort behind them, Duke played their fifth game in nine days
against the Iowa Hawkeyes. This
very solid team came in with a couple of potential all-americans in guard
Luke Recker and forward Reggie Evans. Evans is one of the top rebounders
in the country and it was feared that he might dominate a Duke frontline
that sometimes had trouble with strong players.
The rest of Iowa's lineup was solid but unspectacular, with point
guard a significant concern. The
game was in Chicago, just four hours away from the Iowa campus, so the
stadium was packed with Hawkeye fans. Iowa
was pumped up right from the start, and drove right at Duke.
This is often the best way of attacking Duke's defense, by driving
by the guards and going straight to the basket.
Too much passing plays right into Duke's hands, as they will
overplay the lanes and step in for steals, fueling their fast break.
The first four minutes were mostly even, as Jones hit a long jumper
after being left open, Dunleavy rebounded a miss, and Duhon found Boozer
in transition. After Jones
fired a pass downcourt to Williams for an easy dunk, Duke led 10-8.
After the Hawkeyes tied things up, Jason levitated to the hoop for
another score. Duke started
missing shots and Iowa went on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a Ryan Hogan
three. Williams kept the
pressure up with a drive and a dish to Boozer for a dunk.
Iowa
scored again to go up 19-16 with nine minutes left in the half, but Jones
hit another jumper and Duhon took a rebound and fired it down to Boozer.
Carlos was having a solid first half after blowing an easy dunk in
the early going. Iowa cut
Duke's led to 22-21, but Duke was starting to warm up.
Williams and Dunleavy found Duhon open for back-to-back threes, and
then Jason followed that up with a drive to put Duke up 30-23.
The teams traded baskets for awhile, with Williams sinking a couple
of foul shots and Dunleavy scoring with a pretty turnaround hook in the
lane. Duhon then nailed
Dunleavy on a cut and hit Jason with a lob pass that he tipped in.
And with time running down in the half, Jason found Mike D for a
long three (at least 25') that gave Duke a solid 41-32 lead.
Duke was only 3-13 from three and had just 6 free throw attempts,
but there were extremely efficient on offense, had racked up 7 steals, and
had completely shut down Reggie Evans.
Duke used an interesting scheme with him--instead of bodying him
up, Boozer gave him a little space. Evans
is not that creative with the ball, so have to think about what he was
doing instead of muscling around his man led to some bad shots, especially
when a second defender would magically appear at times.
The other thing that Duke did well was adjust to Iowa's
penetration. The defensive
rotation was much improved over earlier games, with Dunleavy, Boozer and
Jones all drawing charges. Duke
charged out to start the second half with a 10-2 run that basically gave
them all the lead they needed in this game.
It was a true team effort, as Jason found Mike for a three to start
the half off. Then Boozer
powered his way to the basket after a Duhon feed.
Dunleavy blocked an Evans shot on the next possession.
Jones picked it up and fired it to Williams, who finished with a
layup. Duhon then found
Williams for a three on Duke's next possession, and the Devils suddenly
led 51-34. The next four
minutes were not quite as pretty for Duke, but they were only outscored
6-3. Dunleavy fed
Boozer, who scored on a hook over Evans and got the "and one."
That put Duke up 57-42 with about twelve minutes left. Iowa
continued to chip away with a 4-0 run, but Duke responded with a Dunleavy
curl and 10' and a couple of Boozer free throws.
Boozer powering to the basket and getting fouled was about the only
offense Duke had for a while as the Devils were starting to throw the ball
away. It's a good thing
Carlos hit 7-8 foul shots in the half, because Duke racked up 13
giveaways. Duke righted
itself with Boozer dishing to Williams in transition
after snagging a rebound. Then
came one of the more inspiring plays of the year: Dunleavy had the ball at
the top of the key and had enough space to shoot.
Instead, he passed it to Williams on the wing, who pulled up and
then zipped it to a wide-open Duhon in the corner, who sank the three. That was Duke basketball at its finest and an indication that
the offense is starting to click. Duke
was up 69-50 with nine minutes left
and was starting to milk the clock. The
Devils didn't do a very good job of this, missing easy shots and turning
the ball over. The worst
example came when Williams threw a pass too high to Jones for a lob dunk
instead of simply using a simple bounce pass for an easy layup.
Coach K was displeased, to say the least. He called a timeout and let them know just how unhappy he was
with a play that cost his
team points, that was completely unnecessary.
Dunleavy came back with another long three as the shot clock was
winding down to put Duke up 72-55 with six minutes left. Duke scored 1 point in the next three minutes, but Iowa could
only get to within 73-61. That
was mostly thanks to excellent defense and Boozer's 13 second half
rebounds. Iowa started to
press and Duke responded by shredding it.
Spreading the floor, Williams found Jones for a dunk and Duhon
picked up a couple of easy assists
by dishing to Boozer for dunks. It
was Duke's best effort overall of the young season. The Devils shut down Recker and Evans, who combined for 10-29
shooting. Boozer, Dunleavy
and Williams combined to outscore the entire Iowa team!
While the delay game needs work and three point shooting still
looked shaky (just 7-22), Duke's defense was superb.
It was just what Duke needed: a great effort that still left plenty
of room for improvement, and a decisive win against a top-25 opponent.
** Negatives (for Iowa Game): 1. Turnovers. Duke got way too sloppy in the second half, with lazy passes and careless dribbling. The one sin you can commit in running a delay game is turning the ball over and giving your opponent an easy basket, and Duke did this a couple of times. 2. Bench play. Didn't provide much help, with Ewing looking very much like a rookie and Horvath making several bad mistakes. Sanders had his moments, however. 3.
Shooting. The team is still
struggling but is finding other ways to score. When the three point shots do fall, it tends to put away the
other team as they usually
come in flurries. ** Positives: 1. Team defense. In mid-season form. Duke took 5 charges, switched well on the perimeter and hit the passing lanes hard. 2. Rebounding. Duke was +6 in this game, which is a modest margin but remarkable when you consider that they were playing a physical Big 10 team with one of the nation's best rebounders. 3.
Penetration. Duke's guards
either drove all the way to the basket or drew defenders away to set up
easy dunks for the big men. This
was working for Duke all night. Player-by-Player: **
Boozer: A solid night against Portland (20 points on 8-14 shooting
with 13 rebounds) was followed by an even better night against Iowa (22
and 14). After a bad first game of the year, Carlos now has 3 consecutive
double- doubles and is 12-14 from the foul line.
The way he recovered from a blown dunk to absolutely torture Evans
shows how far he's come as a player.
And the way he played Evans defensively proves just how coachable
he is. By strictly following
the gameplan, he forced Evans into a horrible night. Most importantly, his
13 second half rebounds shut down any comeback attempts by Iowa.
He used both hands and his tremendous strength to block out the
Hawkeyes, and his positioning was flawless.
A spirited game from Boozer, who rose to the challenge against an
excellent opponent. **
Dunleavy: I am now convinced that Mike is a Replicant.
He just downloaded all of Shane's old defensive protocols and is
running them flawlessly. Exhibit
a: his Battier-like strip of a player going up to the basket for a
seemingly easy shot. Mike
slapped the ball away as he was going up and came down with it.
Exhibit b: Mike going down hard after being undercut and bouncing
up with nary a grimace. Could
an ordinary human do that? Exhibit c: Rotating perfectly towards the
baseline and taking two charges. Throw
in 4 steals, a big-time block (truly a "Wake up! Time to die!"
sort of moment) and an uncanny (perhaps artificial?) ability to move
without the ball and get easy layups as a result, I am moved to conclude
that he is not human. His
penchant for the dramatic was also remarkable, especially the two long
threes that served to demoralize the Hawkeyes. It's clear that Mike has evolved from role player to star,
and is also becoming a leader. Note
the blown break by Dahntay Jones, where 'tay had Mike wide open but
decided to try a behind the back pass and wound up getting called for a
charge. Mike got in his face,
tapped his forehead and shouted "Think!" The best part is that
the message got through. **
Jones: The good news is that Dahntay made Recker's life extremely
unpleasant, limiting him to 7-18 from the floor.
The bad news is that Dahntay looked out of control at times.
In addition to the above-noted gaffe on the break, there was
another occasion where instead of passing to an open Dunleavy, he
attempted a difficult drive that missed.
The better news is that he hit a couple of open 18' jumpers and
snaged 5 rebounds. He's still turning the ball over too much (4 in this game) and
looks a bit uncomfortable on offense, but his defense is impeccable. ** Williams: This was the first game where Jason was officially considered to be the shooting guard. The result was an excellent 8-13 showing from the floor, though only 1-6 from three. Jason attacked the Hawkeyes off the dribble and they didn't have anyone to really stop him. His one big negative was his 6 turnovers, most of which were in the second half. Once his jumpshooting touch comes back, he'll be even more of a force. Now to unveil for the season: the Jason Williams StatWatch (TM)! Williams Career Assist Watch: (11/29) 5.
Danny Ferry 506 Williams Career Scoring Watch: (11/29) 20.
Thomas Hill 1594 **
Duhon: Chris' first official game at point guard showed that he really
belongs there. 11 assists and
just 2 turnovers (though both led to Iowa scores) is the sort of
performance we're all used to from him. Throw in 3 threes (2 in a run that blew the game open),
superb defense all the way through (3 steals and a charge) and a confident
attitude, and one can declare that Chris is "back"--though he
certainly hadn't gone too far away. His
alley-oop to Williams was a thing of beauty, but he also had multiple
assists to Dunleavy and Boozer. He
was definitely the engine that made Duke's Big Three run. **
Ewing: His 14 minutes was just right, considering that he looked
completely out of synch on offense. This
was his first game in a big NBA arena and it showed, as he seemed
completely bewildered at times. Every
player has to go through this experience, and so I expect him to be fine.
He was superb against Portland, running the point for much of the second
half and notching 4 assists.
**
Horvath: Had a couple of big defensive plays against Iowa, with 2 big
blocks as the Hawkeyes went right after him.
In the second half, he turned the ball over twice and fouled right
after one turnover, a big no-no for Coach K.
He didn't see any time after that mistake.
Nick is clearly still trying to fit into the offense in much the
same way Dahntay is, and it will take time.
He musn't get too impatient at this point and has to understand his
role as a rebounder/defender and occasional shooter. **
Sanders: I thought Casey played decently in his 4 minutes, snagging a
couple of offensive rebounds and getting an assist.
I think Coach K just wanted Carlos out there as much as possible,
especially since he avoided foul trouble.
Evans was probably too much for Casey to handle at this point.
Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu
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| Rob is a thirty two year old Duke grad who's been an ACC fan since he was nine years old, when a young Duke team was beaten in the finals by Kentucky. Since that time, he has been fascinated by the entire league and started writing volumes on it in rec.sport.basketball.college and other electronic forums in 1991. Recently, he has been writing ACC analyses for Jazzy J's About.com site and regularly contributes features on women's basketball for the Duke Basketball Report. |