Duke has a lot to work on, did before they break. But the ceiling is still extremely high and we have 18 games in conference to become that well oiled and highly efficient machine we know they can be. Defensively, we have the ability to be lethal. We have great ball pressure and rim protection capabilities. We’ve seen it on numerous occasions. It has to become consistent. Wendell will be back once he gets going again, so with him, Paolo, and now AJ, I can’t think of three better players at their position when they all play together. At the end of games we have a death lineup.
The great thing I see with this team in this regard, and you talk about it with the ceiling being so high, is that the trajectory is upward -- they are trending that direction and not the other way around. The other thing the team has not done is tease us with progress only to take five steps backward. Instead, we've seen them steadily improve. Until they get their legs back under them completely and regain the cohesion they had before the long pause we may see more inconsistency for a few games, but I definitely don't feel that will be the norm.
AJ continues to look more comfortable with each game. I like having the depth of both he and Keels available as options. Both are good shooters and strong finishers who can defend multiple positions.
AJ really has the ability to just be "different" when he's healthy. He has a little extra something to his game and it's fun to see it evolving and slowly revealing itself. He's really a powerful guy. That's something that has really jumped out to me sitting court-side is how strong and physically imposing he can be to other wings.
Duke has a lot to work on, did before they break. But the ceiling is still extremely high and we have 18 games in conference to become that well oiled and highly efficient machine we know they can be. Defensively, we have the ability to be lethal. We have great ball pressure and rim protection capabilities. We’ve seen it on numerous occasions. It has to become consistent. Wendell will be back once he gets going again, so with him, Paolo, and now AJ, I can’t think of three better players at their position when they all play together. At the end of games we have a death lineup.
The great thing I see with this team in this regard, and you talk about it with the ceiling being so high, is that the trajectory is upward -- they are trending that direction and not the other way around. The other thing the team has not done is tease us with progress only to take five steps backward. Instead, we've seen them steadily improve. Until they get their legs back under them completely and regain the cohesion they had before the long pause we may see more inconsistency for a few games, but I definitely don't feel that will be the norm.
AJ continues to look more comfortable with each game. I like having the depth of both he and Keels available as options. Both are good shooters and strong finishers who can defend multiple positions.
AJ really has the ability to just be "different" when he's healthy. He has a little extra something to his game and it's fun to see it evolving and slowly revealing itself. He's really a powerful guy. That's something that has really jumped out to me sitting court-side is how strong and physically imposing he can be to other wings.