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This was a
brutal week for Duke basketball, yet one that showed the mental toughness
this team has developed. I don't think there's any question that these were
the sort of games that the Devils would have lost last year.
Boston College and Florida State are both physical and athletic teams, and
both got Duke into the kind of foul trouble that forces the Devils to back
off on defense. And of course, the Devils lost a number of games last year
that came down to one or two plays at the end. What these games further
reveal is that while this a very good Duke team, it isn't a great one.
Unlike the 92 or 99 teams that had overwhelming athletic talent, or the 01
team that had six players who could go off for double digit points in every
game, or even the 04 team's lockdown defense, this Duke edition has a number
of flaws.
Most notably,
they have been vulnerable on defense. This is less a result of a lack of
athleticism on Duke's part (though this is true in some respects), but
rather that the team's help defense has been inconsistent at best.
Any team that can utilize dribble penetration can hurt the Devils if they
use it intelligently: don't try to drive all the way to the basket, but
rather either pull up for short jumpers or draw Shelden Williams out and
pass to an open cutter. How much of an issue this has been has varied on
the opponent and the defensive game plan. Against BC, for example, Duke
wanted to concentrate on shutting down post star Craig Smith and so they let
them have open looks from three. The Eagles were able to knock down these
open shots, and Duke didn’t rotate back on these open looks. FSU used the
more conventional method of drive-and-draw, but foul trouble forced Duke to
back off more often than not.
The
circumstances of each game dictated some of Duke's strategy. Against
BC, Duke took advantage of their weak ball handling and preference for a
half court game to force a lot of turnovers and generate a devastating fast
break. What allowed BC to come back was less Duke's defensive problems
(though they did continue to give them open looks from three) and more
Duke's other difficulty this year: occasionally forcing things on offense.
The Devils got a lot of their points off of turnovers, and that "fool's
gold" as Coach K called it disguised the fact that Duke was not executing
that well in the half court. The Devils turned the ball over, missed free
throws and generally got sloppy enough to let BC back into the game. Smart
teams know that while JJ Redick and Shelden Williams are great players, they
are not so dominant that they can't be forced into mistakes and bad
shots--especially if no one else on the Duke team is scoring. 27 of Duke's
39 second-half points came from Redick and Williams.
Against FSU,
Duke was never really able to protect a lead, nor did they ever fall behind
by enough to resort to desperate measures on defense. With Duke’s foul
trouble, Coach K was willing to gamble that Duke could get enough stops down
the stretch to take a small lead and hold it by hitting foul shots.
Of course, the fact that Duke turned the ball over down the stretch and
missed some key free throws continued to give FSU life, but the Devils made
enough plays to win.
Truly, that's
what really needs to be said about these games. Duke made enough plays,
especially on the defensive end, to win. Of course, the story generated by
the less enlightened in the media world is "Duke gets all the calls" because
of Shelden's block on Tyrese Rice in the BC game or the ball going off
Shelden's hand in the FSU game. Of course, those same observers fail to
note that Rice jumped into Shelden and created the contact, or fail
to remember that there were only two referees left in the FSU game. The
officials did not see it because of a bad angle--in much the same way that
the officials did not see an FSU player level Sean Dockery with an elbow
after an offensive rebound.
Boston
College had rebounded from a slow start in the ACC and had won
several games in a row, and they knew that a win against Duke would not
only serve as a way to move up in the ACC standings, but as a win they
could really hang their hat on for NCAA tournament purposes. As with most
Duke road games, the atmosphere in tiny Conte Forum was intense, with all
sorts of famous faces making (most likely) their only appearance of the
entire season. This group of seniors has played in plenty of those games,
and that atmosphere is not really a big deal. Indeed, taking big leads on
the road can turn crowds against their home team, even if they're just
silent.
BC rode that
initial wave of intensity to an early lead, but Duke didn’t panic despite
some early misses. A Redick three, a Williams three point play and
a much-needed trey from Dockery tied thing up at 9. The two teams battled
back and forth for the next eight or nine minutes, with 12 ties or lead
changes. Duke got some nice balance from its offense, with DeMarcus Nelson
coming off the bench for 4 quick points, Josh McRoberts scoring 4 points
and Dockery getting a couple of lay-ups. Indeed, Williams and Redick
combined for just 6 points during this span.
With about
seven minutes to go in the half, Duke took over by using pressure defense
and attacking the basket. Redick and Williams kicked off the run with 4
free throws. Later, Redick took advantage of a Duke fast break by
throwing up a lob to McRoberts, who finished in traffic and got the foul.
That triggered a half-ending 12-4 run that also saw Redick get his second
career dunk on a breakaway, a nice post pass from McRoberts to Williams for
another dunk, a three by Lee Melchionni, and a block from Williams leading
to a Redick fast break. That gave Duke a 44-34 lead despite shooting only
3-10 from three. The offense was nicely balanced, with 11 apiece from
Redick & Williams, but 8 from McRoberts, 7 from Dockery and 7 from the
bench.
In the second
half, BC cut the lead to 8 but Duke bombed them with 3 straight threes,
including one from Redick on a 5-on-1 break. After BC scored 5 straight
points (including a three that really raised the confidence of BC wing Jared
Dudley), the Devils scored 6 straight points, including 4 from Redick and a
drive from McRoberts. With 12:40 left, Duke led 61-43. BC responded with
a 14-2 run that included 2 threes that featured 5 misses and 5 turnovers
from Duke, as well as a missed front end of a one-and-one by Williams. Shelden
did respond for Duke, grabbing and stuffing an offensive rebound and hitting
4-6 free throws to keep Duke ahead 69-62 with four minutes to go.
That's when
things started to get a little ugly. Dudley scored on a drive, but JJ found
Dockery in the lane for a floater. Dock has been doing a great job scoring
down the stretch in tight games. BC hit a three and Duke responded with
just 1 free throw from the usually-steady Greg Paulus. BC had cut
the margin to 5 and scored on a stick back to make it 3. After a number of
misses, Redick drove and scored when his team really needed him. Once
again, BC scored on a tip-in as Duke could not get crucial rebounds. Redick
was only able to hit 1 free throw with 1:25 left, but this time JJ grabbed a
steal and hit 2 free throws to give Duke a 6 point lead with a minute
left.
This should
have been enough, but the Devils gave up yet another look from three to cut
the lead to 77-74. Paulus was fouled and missed both, but McRoberts grabbed
the offensive rebound, was fouled and nailed both of them. Known to be a
fine free throw shooter in high school, he had lost his confidence at this
level. In this game, his form and stroke both looked smooth and in control,
and he nailed 2 high-pressure shots. That gave Duke a two-possession lead
with under forty seconds to play. BC scored on a quick drive, and then
Melchionni turned the ball over when Redick & Paulus got crossed up. The
Eagles went for the quick score inside instead of trying a game-tying three,
and cut it to 1 with fourteen seconds left. They fouled Redick, who coolly
sank both shots. Once again, they went for a quick drive instead of a tying
three, but this time Shelden was waiting for that controversial block (and
rebound). He nailed both to put the game away, and the half court fling by
the Eagles went in but was meaningless.
Coach K noted
later that the FSU game would be very difficult give the placement of the
game after the war in Chestnut Hill and the two crucial road games this
week. The 'noles were stocked with big, physical guards who can handle the
ball, a strongman center in Alex Johnson, and the sort of strong & quick
wing in Al Thornton that has haunted Duke in the past. Thornton has
had some scoring outputs this year, and he started off hot against Duke.
Simply put, he was too quick for McRoberts and Duke had to turn to Nelson
in an effort to stop him. Markie did his best, but not being at 100%
physically was not an ideal scenario for him to go up against such a lethal
scorer. When Duke started to face-guard him to keep the ball out of his
hands, FSU turned to Jason Rich's dribble penetration to keep the heat on
Duke.
The 'noles
were pretty much doing what they wanted on offense in the first half, with
Duke barely able to keep up. Redick had just 5 points in the first ten
minutes of the game and Williams 6. There was a very real chance that
this could have turned into a Georgetown scenario, where the Devils went
down by double figures in the first half and had to expend a huge amount of
energy just to get back into the game. Happily, Nelson's presence helped
prevent that. He had 15 crucial first-half points, including 3 threes.
Markie did also have a couple of bad turnovers, including an offensive foul
and a head-down turnover as he drove the lane. Still, without him in there,
Duke would have been in trouble.
As it was,
FSU took a 6 point lead with nine minutes left in the half before 2 Redick
foul shots (he scored 10 points in the last nine minutes of the half) and a
Nelson three. FSU struck back with a run to go up 32-25 with under
seven minutes left. The Devils responded with a 9-0 run, fueled by 4 FSU
turnovers. The two teams were even down the stretch, with Duke taking leads
on a three by Nelson, 2 Redick foul shots and a long Williams jumper. Duke
had a chance to take the lead at halftime, but Redick turned the ball over
and FSU scored in transition. Duke's scoring was decidedly unbalanced, with
Nelson, Redick and Williams scoring 41 of the Devils' 43 points at the
half. Paulus, Melchionni and Dockery were a combined 0-9 from the field.
Redick had 15 points but needed 11 shots to get there.
Duke took the
lead back on a three from Dockery to start the second half, and we were off
to the races for an intense half of basketball. Johnson and Rich put FSU
back up and continued to hold Duke off--but barely. Redick scored 9 points
in the early going of the second half, including a rare post-up for
a score. Finally, the Devils started turning the 'noles over, with a Redick
pass to McRoberts ending up as a crowd-pleasing slam for the lead at 63-62.
The Devils went up 69-64 after Williams was fouled intentionally on a
breakaway by Johnson. He then jumped up and got in Johnson's face, and the
result was a double-technical (even though Johnson protested, and rightly,
that he had backed away from the situation). Johnson wound up fouling out
on that play (the foul was his fourth--and his second intentional foul of
the game--and the tech counted as the fifth). That only served to fire up
FSU and hurt Duke because the tech counted as his fourth foul. He would
have to back off on defense for the rest of the game.
The Seminoles
went on an immediate 6-0 lead to take back the lead, but Redick dished to
Dockery for a three. Thornton got a stick back after a miss to tie the
game. Williams hit a turnaround jumper with two guys hanging on him,
but Thornton tied it up again. McRoberts nailed 2 free throws to give Duke
another lead, but Rich tied it up once again. After a Nelson turnover, FSU
got three cracks at the basket and took the lead with four minutes left.
After being held scoreless for nearly nine minutes, Redick sank a jumper to
tie things up for Duke. Thornton scored again, but Redick hit 2 free throws
to make it 80-80. With less than four minutes to go, Duke finally sent
everyone to the boards. Melchionni came up with a huge rebound, and
Williams hit a 17' jumper to put Duke back on top.
The
unstoppable Thornton scored over Shelden yet again. Redick passed up
a contested shot and dished to an open Melchionni, but he missed a three
with under a minute left. This time, Thornton missed a shot and Nelson came
up with a huge rebound. Duke took the clock all the way down as Redick
missed a three and Williams missed a tip-in. Overtime!
Williams
scored on a turnaround jumper to get things started. A three point play
gave FSU the lead again, but Williams tied the game at 87 with a
foul shot--his 8th straight point for Duke. Back and forth the two teams
went: FSU took 2 point leads but got tied by Redick on 2 free throws and a
15’ jumper. After missing a number of threes in the second half, he wisely
decided to try and regain his confidence with a shorter jumper. After
forcing a stop, Redick nailed a three in the corner to put Duke up by 3 with
a minute left in the game. After forcing another miss, Redick was
fouled--but only made 1 shot. With twenty seconds left, Duke still had a
two-possession lead. FSU scored immediately, and Duke several mistakes: 2
missed free throws and Redick turned the ball over on the sideline (after
some contact). Every time they made a mistake, they'd come up with an
answer. For example, after the Redick turnover, Williams stole the inbounds
pass. Finally, Shelden was fouled with seconds left and nailed 2 freebies
to make it a 2 possession game. For the second straight game, an opponent
nailed a meaningless three at the buzzer. Karmic payback for the Dockery
shot against Virginia Tech, without any real repercussions for Duke.
In some
respects, though the matchups this week against UNC and Maryland
are higher-profile and more intense than the games this week, the Devils
match up better with both teams. UNC plays excellent defense, but they
don’t have much inside other than Hansbrough (who was beaten up down the
stretch by Virginia) and they have ball handling difficulties. Duke has to
pound it inside and take care of the ball, and make sure that none of UNC's
inconsistent shooters get hot. Against Maryland, it will be easier for
Redick to get open looks without Chris McCray hounding him. Both games will
have insane crowds, but if Duke can take control of both games early on, the
crowds will get very quiet. With NC State playing well now, Duke has to
continue to get wins to stay two games ahead.
Rob's Archive
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