King Leads Duke Past Eastern Kentucky
No one would call Duke’s game against Eastern Kentucky a masterpiece, but the 78-43 win had a lot of interesting points, and Taylor King’s considerable eruption was just part of it.
King had, as it turns out, the greatest off-the-bench performance in Duke history, breaking the previous record of 25, last reached by Luol Deng. And he did it with style, hitting his first three long-range bombs, and just killing Eastern Kentucky from deep in the corners, where their zone was vulnerable.
But as fine as his shooting performance was (6-11 from behind the line and 9-14 overall), King’s overall game was maybe better. King didn’t play much at all in Hawaii, and Coach K said when he got back, his attitude was “I’m going to work,” and apparently, he did. He played like a guy whose defense had been questioned, and like a guy who went to Wojo for advice. He was all over his man defensively, was diving for loose balls, and just generally played a brilliant all-around game.
It wasn’t like Duke couldn’t have won without him – that would be a gross exaggeration – but he was the match that lit the Roman Candle, if you will.
Duke’s defense was superb throughout the game, as Duke forced 30 turnovers and held the Colonels, an outfit which loves threes, to 4-14. They kept EKU in single digits deep into the first half (until the 2:52 mark).
As good as their defense was, though, their offense for much of the first half was erratic. Partly this was because EKU saw what they did in Hawaii and decided to limit their penetration by pushing a confusing series of zones. As best anyone could tell (Coach K, King, and the radio guys all admitted they were never sure what exactly it was, at least according to the radio guys),
This worked to an extent. While Duke kept the Colonels out of double digits, they only broke 20 15 minutes in and finished the half 34-12 – and without King’s 13, they only scored 21.
EKU also did an effective job of keeping Duke from running too much. They had a lot of turnovers, but of the turnovers, only 11 were steals, and not that many of them turned into fast breaks.
It’s entirely possible, actually likely, that Duke had a bit of fatigue after three straight days of basketball and then a long flight home. It’s to their credit that their defense was so solid (aside from the turnovers, they held EKU to 39% from the floor), but also understandable that they might be tired.
At Duke that doesn’t cut it, though, so at halftime, Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson took a seat as King and Jon Scheyer started the second half. King continued his onslaught and actually got better: his defense was ridiculously intense, and his confidence soared: after a steal, he headed to the basket, dribbled behind his back, and finished with a dunk. He also took a shot from about 5-7 feet behind the line and drained it.
As we suggested, Duke’s offense, overall, was ragged for much of the game, but DeMarcus Nelson and Jon Scheyer both played well. Nelson had a lot more energy than just about anyone on the court, with the exception of King and EKU’s Dialls, who showed a lot of athleticism and desire in defeat.
At times, he really can startle, rising out of a crowd to grab a rebound over bigger players, or muscling into situations where you wouldn’t expect him to be. It’s nice to see him healthy for a prolonged period. He still has a tendency at times to drive too far under the basket at times, but overall, he’s playing at a much higher level than he ever has, and he’s really taking his captaincy seriously. The season is young, but watching his growth this year has been a pleasure.
Kyle Singler, Greg Paulus, and Gerald Henderson didn’t have their best games. Singler did have a spectacular block, but he didn’t reach the stellar level he’s already established for himself.
Paulus wasn’t awful, and he defended tenaciously, but it wasn’t his best game either. And Henderson just seemed off. He had five turnovers and he flubbed an alley-oop, which is rapidly becoming a trademark.
So what was learned in this game? Well, a number of things. First, Duke faced adversity on several levels: fatigue, poor offensive output, and a confusing defensive strategy, and overcame them all. Secondly, as we’ve learned already this season, Duke has several players who are capable of having big nights. Singler has show it already; so have Nelson and Henderson. Scheyer and Paulus will have their moments as well.
They’ll get a very different challenge from Wisconsin on Tuesday. The Badgers will come into Cameron with five – that’s five – players over 6-11. That’s a lot to overcome. We’ll know a lot more about this group after that game. What we’ve learned so far, we like.
One real down moment: Marty Pocius went down with an injured left ankle. It looks like a sprain, and we hope he’ll ba back for Wisconsin.
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