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February 9, 2003.
Cameron Indoor Stadium
When the
time comes to make up a postseason highlight reel, Coach K might include
footage from several defensive plays in this game. Of course, he'll also
want to burn the footage of Duke's offense. Duke shot 34% for the game
(including 31% in the second half), 21% from three and just 64% from the
foul line. Clemson was a respectable 39% from the field, including 5-8 from
three and 12-16 from the line. So why was this such a decisive loss for the
Tigers? The answer comes in the form of 20 Duke offensive rebounds
(resulting in 13 extra shot attempts) and 26 Clemson turnovers. Duke
outrebounded the rugged Tigers and "only" turned it over 16 times
themselves. It may not have been pretty, but there were a few positives.
First, Duke didn't panic after they blew all but 1 point of a lead in the
second half. The Devils have been in so many close games that they're used
to the pressure. Second, every player contributed, even if it was just in
some small way. Third, Duke fought hard on the defensive end, and did a good
job of dealing with Clemson's physical play.
It's odd;
Duke has played pretty well against teams with rugged front lines in a year
when its youth should have betrayed them in that area, but has struggled
with perimeter-heavy lineups when the perimeter is Duke's main strength.
In the
game's opening minutes, Duke's defense was absolutely sensational. Nick
Horvath opened the scoring with a stickback of a Dahntay Jones miss. After
giving up a three to Chey Christie (the only significant Tiger scoring
threat in this game and in last year's game in Cameron), Nick blocked a shot
that Casey Sanders recovered. Nick then rebounded a JJ Redick miss, and
threw it right back to him for a three that went down. Nick's energy and
savvy play has set a nice tone for the team in the early going. The Tigers
turned the ball over 4 times and missed twice in their next six possessions.
Meanwhile, Duke was scoring in a variety of ways. Sanders hit 2 from the
foul line and then cleaned up a miss by Jones after a steal. Dahntay also
went full court after a rebound, slicing through the entire Clemson defense
to do so. Duke went to its bench early and often, with Sean Dockery driving
and dishing to Shavlik Randolph for a dunk that put the Devils up 13-3 with
under fourteen minutes to go in the half.
The next
four minutes were hide-your-eyes awful offensive basketball from both teams.
JJ hit another three to put Duke up 16-5, and Duhon drove and dished to a
trailing Sanders for a fastbreak dounk to make it 18-7. Christie scored 7
straight points for Clemson, interrupted by a Lee Melchionni trey. Over the
next four minutes, Duke would only score 4 points, while the Tigers would
put up 12. Duke didn't help its cause with multiple offensive fouls, several
turnovers and bad shooting. Clemson could have come even closer, but they
missed a few free throws. Finally, Shelden Williams hit a couple of free
throws and Dan Ewing nailed a jumper to give Duke a 29-21 lead with under
three minutes to go in the half.
Sean Dockery
then came on to give his team a spark in the waning moments of the half.
After Dan Ewing came up with a steal, he threw it downcourt to a streaking
Dock, who finished a tough layup. Duke got the ball back with 17 seconds
left in the half after Ed Scott had cut the score to 32-25. Dock held the
ball and then drove to the hoop for a strong layup.
Duke did not
shoot well in the half, but they did rebound. The Devils forced 14 Clemson
turnovers but committed 11 of their own. Eleven different Devils saw playing
time, and ten managed to score, but no one was in double figures. Christie
had 10 for Clemson while Chris Hobbs scored 6.
If Duke was
looking to come out with a knockout punch in the opening minutes of the
second half, they sure didn't act like it. In fact, it was one whiff after
another. After two straight Redick misses, the Tigers scored 7 straight
points and then pulled to within 35-34 with seventeen minutes left.
Everything was going south for Duke until Chris Duhon dished to Dan Ewing,
who hit a huge three to relieve a bit of the pressure. Neither team made
much progress in the next few minutes, with Duke missing 8 shots and Clemson
turning it over several times. Finally, a big block by Shelden started a
break that he finished with a thunderous slam.
That seemed
to give Duke a huge confidence boost. After Clemson missed three straight
cracks at the basket, Duhon inbounded to Shav, who nailed a 15' jumper. That
gave Duke a 42-34 lead and a working margin. Redick missed another three,
and then decided to get three the old fashioned way--with a driving layup
and a foul. He used a bunnyhop move to get into the lane and accepted
contact beautifully. An untimely Clemson turnover led to Duhon dishing to
Jones for a 13 point lead with under eleven minutes left.
Over the
next three minutes, Clemson managed to score 7 points. Duke countered with 6
of their own, all on foul shots. Dahntay had 5 of those, coming on three
drives to the basket where he got knocked down hard going to the hoop,
dusted himself off, and drained the shots. With under eight to play, Duke
had a 53-41 lead and Clemson was starting to get desperate.
After
Dahntay finally hit a three, Casey erased a
Hobbs
attempt. On a weird play, the ball bounced high and into Casey's hands.
Unexpectedly, he drove to the hoop and dished to a cutting Chris Duhon for a
score.
That made it
58-43 with under seven to play, and effectively had finished off the Tigers.
From there
on in, it was mostly free throws, with Chris tipping in a missed Dockery
drive. Duke didn't score in the last couple of minutes in the game and
Clemson was able to work it down to a respectable margin, but for all
intents and purposes the game was over with seven minutes to play.
Duke
actually shot worse in the second half, but they took care of the ball (just
6 turnovers), got to the foul line (13-21) and kept the burly Tigers off the
foul line (only 6 attempts). Tough defense and a willingness to get physical
saved the day for the Devils. While Duke still hasn't come any closer to
putting together a consistent lineup, it may be time to accept that there
will be no consistent lineup this year.
The team may
well have to rely on situational substitution dictated by foul trouble, the
game's pace, how physical an opponent is, how tall an opponent is, and how
quick an opponent is.
This was a
game that Duke could not afford to lose, and they came through. Now the real
tests begin: @Wake, @ Virginia (where better Duke teams have lost the last
couple of years), home rematches with Maryland and NC State, and a road game
with Georgia Tech, which is undefeated at home. We'll see what this team is
made of over this stretch.
**
Negatives:
1. Perimeter
defense. Duke wanted to make Clemson prove that they could shoot it, but
when Christie's shots started going down, the Devils didn't start reversing
over to him quickly enough. They did start to put the heat on him otherwise,
forcing 8 turnovers
2. Valuing the
ball. Duke's guards were unusually careless at times, throwing bad
crosscourt passes. Once they settled down, Duke was able to establish a pace
that they liked and maintain control of the ball
3. Shot
selection. Until midway through the second half, I thought Duke was settling
for the first open three a bit too often. Penetrating Clemson's big men is
no easy task, but things tended to open up when someone at least tried to
penetrate and either get fouled, shoot from short range, or pitch it to an
open man
** Positives:
1. Toughness.
The team's veterans really showed the youngsters how to stand up to
punishment by fearlessly attacking the basket and the boards. No one was
afraid to give up their body.
2. Rebounding.
Casey Sanders in particular was maginificent, but Shelden Williams did a
great job in just 11 minutes of play. Casey's newfound ability to really
grab those boards singlehandedly prevented the Tigers from being able to
attack Duke inside.
3. Depth.
While no player really stood out in a Jason Williams sort of way, everyone
helped. Even guys who only played a minute or two had a positive
contribution.
Player-by-Player:
** Sanders:
This was one of Casey's best games ever. Against a rugged frontline, he
absolutely owned the boards. That's because he has stopped tipping balls and
is now grabbing them with both hands. Seeing him put it all together is
amazing, because he's using all of his tools to do so: his great leaping
ability allows him to get to the ball first, while his long arms also give
him an advantage. Now that his hands are stronger, he can actually get those
balls in traffic. What's more impressive is that he did a nice job of
adjusting his play after picking up his third foul and stayed in the game.
His 7 points were a nice bonus with his strong rebounding and defense. More
than anything, he's a great example for the younger players. He has
struggled throughout his career, but has fought his way into a starter's
role and has worked even harder once he got there. Casey does need to be
more careful with the ball and has to cut down on fouls, especially
offensive fouls
**
Horvath: Nick dominated the game in the early minutes: scoring,
rebounding, passing, and blocking shots. He set the tone for Duke early on.
After that, he struggled a bit. He couldn't connect on his jumper and was
called for an offensive foul. His teammates backed him and played with the
same kind of fire he showed early on.
** Jones:
Dahntay had another off-shooting game, much like in the FSU fiasco. The
difference is that Dahntay stopped taking jumpers and started taking the
ball to the hole. Clemson simply didn't have anyone quick enough and strong
enough to stop him once he made his mind up. The angle of attack he's using
to drive makes it very hard to draw offensive fouls on him, something he's
used to his benefit this year after being called for too many charges last
year. Of course, when his shot did fall, it simply killed Clemson. They
spent a lot of energy defending him, and all he did was get other players in
foul trouble. This wasn't a game where you worried about your shooting
percentage, it was a game where you did what you had to in order to win.
**
Redick: JJ's shot just wasn't falling after he hit his first couple, but
this guy is much more than just his jumper. In addition to finishing the
Tigers off with a driving three point play, he played excellent team
defense. He was quick to the ball on traps and deftly used the sideline as
an extra defender. He had assists to Melchionni, Randolph and Williams while
getting a few rebonds as well. JJ was doing a nice job as a ballhawk,
picking up 4 steals. He does need to improve his handle a bit, especially
when he's about to drive to the basket--he sometimes exposes the ball a bit
too much, something that defenders have picked up on. All-in-all, it speaks
well of JJ that he turned a 3-12 shooting performance into a good overall
game because of his hustle and smarts
** Duhon:
This was another ugly shooting game for Chris, even missing 3 foul
shots. He came to life a bit in the second half, scoring on a couple of
heads-up plays and dishing 3 assists in a row to stretch Duke's lead from 1
to 8. His defense on Ed Scott was fairly solid, forcing him to drive and hit
tough leaners. The difference between Duke and Clemson is that Scott is
their big gun, and he was simply average in this game, whereas Duhon didn't
have to be a big scorer.
**
Ewing: Dan didn't shoot that well, but he did sink two crucial shots: a
jumper that was Duke's first field goal in several minutes in the first
half, and a three that gave Duke some room after Clemson had closed to
within a single point. He was a bit sloppy with the ball and was called for
charging. Not a tremendous game, but he did contribute.
**
Thompson: Big Mike was the first big man off the bench, chosen to
provide a defensive punch for Duke. He absorbed a monster charge that fired
up his teammates. Of course, he is still helpless at the offensive end, as
one mechanical shot resulted in a held ball.
**
Randolph: Shav is another player who certainly isn't shy, with 7
attempts in just nine minutes. Still, his jumper in the second half lifted a
huge weight off the shoulders of the team--it was a big shot for a young
player. I had him down for 3 blocks but he was only credited with
one--regardless, he wasn't afraid to go after Clemson. He was still thrown
around a bit and is having a lot of trouble with off-ball defense, but he
showed a lot of energy in this game. I think he could be very useful against
Wake Forest, which has a number of long but lean forwards, perfect for Shav
to challenge.
**
Williams: Shelden is a lot like Carlos Boozer in that he moves well
without the basketball and can get open for easy finishes. Beyond that, he's
still struggling mightily on the offensive end. His fast break slam and
quick finish of a Redick pass show what he's capable of. Defensively, he's
capable of that spectacular swat that ignited a fast break but also is out
of position when the team is trying to help and recover. The big man has a
nice touch at the foul line but needs a bit more agility in the block. In
short, he's a very talented freshman who is fighting to earn minutes. His
showing against Clemson will definitely help his cause.
**
Dockery: Dock was super during his seven minutes. His two baskets at the
end of the half gave Duke a bit of breathing room. Dock's drive and dish to
Shav was a thing of beauty. Even his one miss was spectacular and he had
Duhon behind him to clean up. It's tough to get Sean more minutes
considering both Chris' importance and Dan Ewing's increased minutes at the
point, but as he matures and improves his decision-making, it's getting
harder and harder to keep him on the bench. Note that Coach K likes using
him in end-of-half situations and in late-game situations when Duke is
trying to run clock and needs another ballhandler and penetrator.
Expect to
see him come in whenever Coach K thinks that the defense needs a kick in the
pants.
**
Melchionni: The ever-confident Lee knocked down a big three. It was on a
great sequence for Duke--an open Duhon skipped it to a more open Redick, who
skipped it to a wide-open Lee M, who was ready and willing to shoot it. Lee
is thriving in his role as team sparkplug, a guy who can help get a key
basket when everyone else is struggling.
**
Cameron Craziness: Not very crazy tonight, alas. After the raucous UNC
game atmosphere, the students were a bit down. I did like cheer of "Calvin's
better" when Chris Hobbs went to the line.
Reported by Rob
Clough, tmc@duke.edu
Rob's Archive
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