Built Ford Tough

Scoring point guards (or combo guards) work when they are adept at getting into the paint and creating contact like Rose, Westbrook, Ellis, Parker, etc... The problem with Kemba is he can't get into the paint without eating up a lot of clock playing around with the ball and relies heavily upon jumpers as 81% of his attempts are jumpers. That would be fine if he was actually a decent shooter, but he has an eFG% of just 40.8% on jumpers. Even when Kemba gets into the paint, he either struggles to finish (just 45.7 eFG%) or gets his shot blocked (20% of the time) due to his lack of size and length. He also has little to no point guard instincts at this point. Now he can improve in these areas of course but he doesn't exactly have PG instincts and his size and lack of explosion will always make it difficult for him to get good looks. His lack of off the ball game, like you mentioned, is worrisome as well. Which is why, at the end of the day, I believe he will always be a scoring guard off the bench and I think you can agree with that.

The dude scored 19 points in the 2nd half of the game to extend UNC's lead from 3 to basically 10-12 for the entire 2nd half. Yeah, the charge wasn't a good play on his part and he missed some free throws, but do those two plays suddenly mean he is overrated and cancel out all of the good things he did in not only that game, but numerous others throughout his college career? - He scored 40 points in an overtime game last season against Clemson to get his team to the finals of the ACC Tournament. - He drained a game winning 3 against Florida State with 2 seconds left. - He hit another game winning 3 against Miami. - In ACC games last season with less than 5 minutes and a 10 point game, Barnes shot 62% (don't have the numbers this year, but I'd bet they are greater than 50%) - He scored something like 18 points, including 9 straight, in the 2nd half against Virgina Tech that blew what was a close game, and a game that UNC was losing at half, wide open. Even in that game last night, Barnes hit a jumper with 2:38 left to give the Heels a 10 point lead. I just love how the guy has proven to be one of the most clutch players in all of college basketball over the past two seasons and he makes one bad play (the charge) down the stretch of this game and suddenly he is overrated and can't close. If Zeller doesn't tip the ball in his own basket or go 2-4 from the free throw line in the final minute of this game, Barnes is being applauded for going off in the 2nd half and leading his team to the win all while playing on a sprained ankle that limited his mobility. Fair enough, although when UNC is playing up to their potential, they are just as good as Kentucky is. They just are, like you said, inconsistent. Yes it was. In that situation you have to get up on him. Who cares if he blows by you? It is a 2 point game. The worst case scenario is that he hits a shot and ties the game. With how hot Rivers was from three all night you absolutely have to get up on him and prevent him from getting a clear look at the basket. I'm not saying to get right up into his body where you risk fouling him, but you can't sag off him like Zeller did. Get up on him, take away the clear look from three and trust your teammates to rotate over if he does go by you. The fact that Rivers was dribbling the ball for that long makes it even worse that Zeller gave him that much room. I know he is a 7 footer and Rivers is a 6'4 guard, but uou know that the guy is going to be pulling up for three not only because of that (his dribbling down the clock to the point where he could do nothing other than shoot), but because he was hot all game long from deep and road teams always go for the 3 in those situations. When he was just wasting clock there, you know he is going to take two dribbles and pull up so close the gap between the two of you and don't let him get the open look. Rivers did a nice job of getting the switch, but other than that what exactly was so impressive about the offense? He was allowed to dribble into an in rythym three pointer without a hand in his face. That is bad defense, not good offense. I'm not trying to take anything away from the shot because it was nice, but the offensive sequence leading up to it was pretty basic and wouldn't have worked with better defense.

Video of the game winner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X1ewxVwhug&feature=player_embedded That really was a rough final 15 seconds for Zeller. Tips the ball in his own basket to make it a 1 point game, goes one of two from the strip and gets the game winner scored on him. Ouch. He really played that final possession poorly, though. With UNC up by 2 in that situation you do everything you can to provent a good look at the basket from three. He needed to get up tighter on Rivers. Even if Austin blew by him, it really wouldn't be a big deal. Worst case scenario you go into overtime in your own barn and with the way that game was going, Carolina would've likely pulled out the win. Duke just happened to go on a run at the perfect time but Carolina was clearly the better team tonight. Instead, he sags off him way too much and allows him to dribble into an in rythym three to win the game which is basically the last thing you want to allow in that situation. Not trying to take anything away from the shot because it was a hell of a shot from Rivers. Once Zeller missed the 2nd free throw and Rivers got the switch, you just knew he was going to drain a 3 for the win.

What makes you think Barnes is overrated? He scored 25 points, 19 in the 2nd half, on 50% shooting in a game that features arguably the biggest rivalry in all of sports all while playing with a sprained ankle. I'd say he showed in this game just why he is a high regarded player. I'd agree that he would be overrated if he was still getting the "next Kobe" hype that he had coming out of high school but that hype train left the station a long time ago. People question whether he is even going to be an All-Star at the next level. It is also pretty funny that you think neither one of these teams are that good. If neither one of these teams are any good, exactly how many teams in college basketball are good? Kentucky, Cuse and OSU and only them?

What a comeback from Duke. Down 10 with about 2 and a half minutes left in teh game. Then Austin Rivers drains a three at the buzzer to give Duke the win. Guy was nasty all night long.

Rivers completely lost Bullock on that backdoor cut leading to the easy duece. Duke is really shooting themselves in the foot with all of these missed free throws. Curry missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Miles Plumlee misses 2 and then Rivers missed 2 straight. They hit their free throws and this game could possibly be a 6 point game. Instead, it is a 12 point Tar Heel lead. Zeller just picked up his 4th foul and Marshall, Bullock and Barnes all have 3 as well.

Barnes and Rivers going shot for shot for 2.5 staight possessions. Barnes hits a three - Rivers hits a three Barnes hits a 10 foot fade - Rivers hits another 3 Barnes hits a jumper Then Rivers missed a three. Pretty impressive showing from the last two #1 ranked high school players.

Marshall is just an outstanding floor general. It seems like he never makes a mistake out there. His lack of an outside shot, sub-par athleticism and poor defense will likely prevent him from being a great pro, but man, can he ever run a team. So much fun to watch. Nice step back jumper from Barnes earlier, although that post up fade was just a terrible shot from him. He really isn't playing that well tonight. I don't know how much of it is because of his ankle or what, but he has been off. Rivers with one fantastic take to the rim, but on the next possession he showed some of his flaws. He gets tunnel vision and has no left. When he drew the defense he had two wide open teammates on the perimeter and he also had the entire left side of the rim open. Instead, he forces a shot with his right and ends up getting it blocked.

Nice to see Carolina finally using Barnes in the post. With Duke having a small perimeter featuring Curry, Dawkins and Rivers, there really is no reason why Barnes shouldn't make a living in the post tonight. He has a huge size, length and strength advantage over all three of those players and he has the post game to really exploit that. Nice move to draw the foul. Rivers has been excellent for Duke in the first. For his first taste of this heated rivalry, he has played a fantastic half. I'm also loving the chippiness of this game. Lots of trash talk, physical and some realy fiesty play. Henson especially has been playing with an edge.

Really tough matchup for Barnes defensively when he is healthy. Him having a sprained ankle and having to guard Rivers? He really doesn't have a chance in that one. Rivers is just too quick. This is the type of game where UNC really misses Strickland's defense. Zeller dominating insider, though. 19 points and 7 rebounds already. At the rate he is going he is going to have 20/10 before the half is even over.

Zeller is so fundamentally sound. UNC really struggling to defend the 3 point line to start, though. Duke with 6 threes already. They really need to tighten up their perimeter defense. If they do that there really isn't any reason why they can't get a solid lead in this one considering they are only down 5 as is despite Duke's fantastic perimeter shooting. Nice move by Barnes to get to the line. Great up fake followed by a nice move to go under the defender who left his feet.

This is a classic example of how stats are misleading. Calderon got 15 assists in this game. Looks like he had a fantastic game but really, he was brutal out there. Constant over dribbling, no penetration, terrible shooting and the offense was very stagnant with him on the floor. I'd be willing to bet that a vast majority of his assists came in late clock situations or him dumping the ball off to a teammate who would make a move and get credited with an assist (such as a Kleiza pass where Linas caught the ball, spun off his man and hit a fadeaway). His impact on the game wasn't even close to what the 15 assists suggest it was. I just hope that some GM is suckered into believing that his numbers are an accurate representation of his play and gives the Raptors something of value for him.

And after I type this he hits two straight 3's to tie the game. Go back to your usual, shot bricking self. You are killing the tank out there.

When Calderon gets tired he really pounds the rock out there, which is saying something considering he is brutal at it to begin with. You can really see when he gets tired, though. He just stands around doing next to nothing, pounding the ball and pounding the ball. These last few possessions have been brutal with his over dribbling. He also tends to make some really stupid decisions with the ball as well. An example of that is the last possession where he passes the ball to Ed Davis 21 feet away from the basket with 2 seconds left on the clock. Know who you are passing to. PS: Rasual Butler, you [expletive]ing suck! Seriously, he may be the worst player in the league.

So Kansas is absolutely destroying Baylor in the 2nd half. The game was 33-30 for KU and the end of the 1st half and it is now about 60-40 for KU with 10 minutes left in the 2nd half. Pure domination from the Jayhawks.

Nasty dunk from JJ and then follows it with a block on the defensive end. When he is on his game, there is not a more entertaining player to watch on this Raptors team. 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals for him.

DeRozan goes around 2 weeks without hitting a three and then drains 4 in this one. Guy is such a tease. He has these little flashes of greatness but never manages to put it all together for anymore than one game.

Bayless doing a nice job finding DeRozan for some in rythym jumpers. The pass is coming at the right time and in the perfect spot for DeRozan to just catch and go up without having to think about anything and it is showing. He has missed just one shot so far where he was able to catch and go straight up. Nice pass from Bayless to Davis. Drove into the paint, drew the defense and found Davis after everybody, myself included, thought he was going to pass it to DeRozan in the corner. Bayless has done a much better job of running the offense since coming back into the game. He was way too shot happy to start the game but has settled down nicely.

Bayless is just jacking it up the minute he touches the ball. 4 shots in 6 minutes for him and would be 5 if not for a turnover. DeRozan with a solid start hitting two threes, one from each corner. He hasn't really gotten any other touches on offense, aside from a bailout jumper at the end of the shot clock.

Yeah the Stars have a pretty nice team. Jamie Benn is one of the best young power forwards in the game. He is going to be a star. Loui Eriksson is another excellent young player. The two of them together are going to be 2/3rds of a great 1st line for years to come. Alex Gologoski is a pretty nice young defenseman as well. They also have some solid prospects coming through the system. Like Phigtins mentioned, Jack Campbell but they also have Scott Glennie (10th overall pick in 09), Jamie Oleksiak (14th overall pick in 2011) and Alex Chiasson (38th overall in 2009 but has been a point per game player for the last two years at Boston University). They don't just have young players. Mike Ribeiro is usually around a 70 point center, Brendan Morrow is a very good 2 way player (although he is having a poor year this season as age may be catching up to him), Michael Ryder just won a cup with the Bruins last year and has always been a solid player, Stephane Robidas is one of the more underrated defenseman and an absolute warrior and Kari Lehtonen is a nice goalie. I've never really been one to say "cheer for this team" because it is always more of watching different teams and seeing what team feels right, which.despite me being from British Columbia, was how I became a Leaf, Raptors and Blue Jay fan instead of teams like the Grizzlies, Canucks and Marriners who are in much closer proximity to me. The Grizzlies and Canucks are/were my 2nd favourite teams, but I've always been a fan of the Raptors and Leafs over them. Just go with your gut.

Supposedly Jackson and Jennings were out partying it up until 5 AM this morning in Toronto. The Bucks better not lose this game because of them being too hungover to actually play well.

Colangelo was just on Prime Time Sports and most of the interview was about the draft. Some highlights: - Just got back from watching Kentucky play last night. Was sitting courtside so he could get a great read on players body language, demeanor on the court and things like that. - Says that there is a consensous number 1, but isn't able to name names because of rules. Obviously, he is refering to Anthony Davis and you can tell when he describes the player as having exceptional length, athleticism, timing and a high motor. All of which have been used to describe Davis this season. - After number 1, he says that there are another 8-10 players he believes will be impact players in the NBA with around 4 or 5 of them having All-Star potential. If I had to guess based on the interview, the players he views with having star potential would be Harrison Barnes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Perry Jones, Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb, but this is pure speculation on my part. - Will draft BPA regardless of position, but says that they are talking about finding their point guard of the future and that their biggest need at the moment is a small forward. - Mentioned Kentucky and North Carolina on multiple occasions (also talked about UCONN, but not as much) and that, combined with his comments about small forward being a huge need, suggests that Barnes and MKG are at the top of his board, assuming they aren't picking first and taking Davis. - Didn't seem confident that they would be able to finish in the bottom three so would need lottery luck to move into that grouping. He didn't seem too worried though, as he said that there really is not much of a difference between picking 2nd and 8th in this draft. That was pretty much it in regards to the draft. He talked a bit about the current team, but nothing really noteworthy. One thing I could add, but this is purely speculation on my part, is that I think he is very interested in Myck Kabongo. With the comments about drafting a Canadian player coming out the other day, his comments about looking for a point guard for the future and mentioning the great depth in this draft I got the impression that he would love to acquire another first round pick to draft Kabongo. Again, this is just speculation on my part from piecing together a few seperate comments.

The only way that they keep their 1st round pick is if it is a top 7 selection, so that makes things difficult. Even if they tank, are they a worse team than anyone of: Charlotte Detroit Toronto Washington New Orleans Sacramento ??? You could argue Sacramento, but other than them they aren't worse than any of the other 5 teams. With them likely handing over their pick to the Jazz this year because of how bad the bottom teams are, I'd just play the season out and be as competitive as possible.

Yeah, Marshall is on UNC as well as John Henson and Tyler Zeller who both may end up as lottery pick as well and will definitely be first round picks. I'm guessing you are watching from a Raptors fans perpective towards the draft, right? If that is the case, Barnes is the big name. Nobody on either team would really be in consideration for the Raptors with their own pick. However, if they end up trading for another 1st or something, Marshall is a guy to look for as well as Austin Rivers from Duke. Steph Curry's brother, Seth, also plays for Duke and he could potentially be a possibility with a 2nd first or maybe even the Raptors 2nd rounder, but I don't think he has plans on declaring this year.

Starts at 9PM EST and is on ESPN (and The Score for my fellow Canadians). I know there is a General Discussion thread for games, but I figured with this being a marquee matchup I'd make a seperate thread and then merge it into that other one after the game is over, just so that everybody is aware of the game.