NBA PLAYOFFS!
The grueling NBA regular season has come to a close, and five Blue Devils are now fighting for an NBA Title. Each of the past two seasons has seen members of the Duke family lead their teams on impressive runs through the tough Western Conference, with Elton Brand and Corey Maggette taking the Clippers to within one shot of the Conference Finals two years ago, and Carlos Boozer powering the Jazz one step further last season. This season, three of Duke’s former NCAA Champions are fighting to lead their teams to the top of the unbelievably competitive Western Conference, while two other former Blue Devils battle in the East.
*Carlos Boozer leads Utah against Shane Battier and the Houston Rockets in a matchup of the Jazz’s potent post offense against the Rockets’ vaunted defense, keyed by Battier. In a game one Utah win, Carlos recorded a double-double with 20 points and 16 boards while Shane lit it up with 22 points (7-7 FG, 4-4 3pt).
*Grant Hill is fully healthy for a trip to the Playoffs for the first time in close to a decade, as he and the Phoenix Suns start out against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs took game one in a double OT thriller.
*The Orlando Magic, including the ACC’s all-time leading scorer J.J. Redick, match up against the Toronto Raptors in hopes of getting to out of the first round of the Playoffs for the first time since the departure of Shaq.
*Shavlik Randolph and the Philadelphia 76ers take on Eastern Conference power Detroit.
Line of the Week
Chris Duhon enjoyed a career game Monday night in an astounding victory over the Bucks. Duhon played 30 minutes and finished with 22 points on 8-of-9 (.889) from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc, a career-high 15 assists against ZERO turnovers, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals to lead the Bulls to victory and an incredible offensive output of 151 points. Former Duke and current Bulls teammate Luol Deng more than did his part as well, adding 32 points to the cause.
After a string of DNP-CD’s in the box score prompted many observers to wonder if Duhon’s days as a Bull were over, Chris saw his minutes steadily increase as the season came to a close, playing 20+ minutes in his final four games and averaging 12 points and 7 assists per game in that stretch while shooting better than 50% from the field each time out. Entering free agency this summer, Duhon will likely explore other opportunities on the open market, but one thing is for sure… Chris has proven his value over and over during his NBA career, even against the odds.
Top Performer
The Indiana Pacers fell one game short of the playoffs this season after finishing the regular season winning 11 of their last 16 games. The driving force behind the playoff push was Mike Dunleavy, Jr., whose production this season improved as much as anyone in the league. Averaging 24.4 points per game in his last seven games as the Pacers fought for the final playoff spot, Dunleavy ended the year with yet another career-high-tying 36-point, 7-rebound, 6-assist outburst. That terrific game followed up games of 26 and 22 points earlier in the week as Mike played at an All-Star level down the stretch and for most of the regular season. At 27 years old and just entering his NBA prime, the future looks bright for the former Blue Devil All-American.
J.J. Proving His Value
It has been a tough year for J.J. Redick with the Orlando Magic. After starring in the summer league, Redick anticipated playing big minutes for the Magic this season and providing an outside scoring punch to complement the power of Dwight Howard inside. However, with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu both bombing away from outside and the team needing defense more than offense from its shooting guard position, J.J. has been forced to watch most of the season from the sideline while his coach and GM tell him his time is coming next year. Fortunately, heading into the playoffs Orlando decided to get a better look at Redick on the court, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. In his final regular season game, J.J. poured in 18 points shooting 50% from the field and long range to lead the Magic to a 20-point win over the Wizards. In his last two games, Redick averaged 14.5 points and shot 6-for-11 from long range. This article, appropriately titled “J.J. Redick Unleashed”, takes a closer look at what he’s been able to do when given good minutes during the regular season. Specifically, J.J. averaged 12.7 points and shot 52% from the field (50% from long range) when he played over 15 minutes.
Shelden Stepping Up in Sacramento
J.J. Redick isn’t the only player making the most of increased minutes late in the season. Shelden Williams has seen a steady increase in both his playing time and his production in April, and Tuesday night finished the season with a double-double. The two-time National Defensive Player of the Year at Duke recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 3 steals. That brought his April averages to 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds as he looks to establish his position with the Kings heading into the summer.
Change of Scenery Coming?
Elton Brand and Corey Maggette have been the faces of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise for most of this decade and have led the Clips to some of the most successful seasons in franchise history. Now it’s up to the front office to make sure they remain in Clippers uniforms next season. Both have the option to opt out of the final year of their contract, and both are exploring that possibility, according to this article from the L.A. Times. Brand returned for the final eight games of the season and averaged 17.6 points and 8.0 rebounds in that stretch, while experiencing no issues with the Achilles injury that kept him out all season. In his absence, Maggette stepped up big time for the team, averaging 22.1 points (11th in the NBA), 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists for the season.
Elton Brand soars for the swat on April 16th against Shane Battier’s Rockets
Coach K, Boozer Gearing Up for Olympics
As USA Basketball looks forward to fighting for the Gold this summer in China, Coach Mike Krzyzewski has some tough decisions to make. When you have a couple dozen All-Stars fighting for 12 roster spots, that tends to happen. This article takes a look at how Coach K and his USA team are approaching these games differently than past years. One player that is looking forward to the chance to play for his college coach again is Carlos Boozer. After missing last year’s games due to his son’s battle with sickle cell anemia, Boozer has a terrific shot at the final 12-man squad this summer due to his unique blend of power and touch around the basket as well as his impressive rebounding ability.
Duke Blue Planet NBA Fantasy League Final Results
After winning last year’s Fantasy League handily, the Blue Devils finished third this season. With Elton Brand’s return including only the final eight games of the regular season, it was too little, too late for the Duke squad. However, the results of the last week would seem to indicate that next year’s competition is Duke’s to lose. To simplify matters, Duke finishes the competition 2776.6 points out of first place, after making up over 200 points in only the past two weeks. Last season, using the exact same scoring system, Elton Brand finished with 3578.4 points, a total which would’ve given Duke an easy victory this season.
1. Connecticut Huskies: 20,319.2
2. North Carolina Tar Heels: 20,063.7
3. Duke Blue Devils: 17,542.6
4. Arizona Wildcats: 14,404.9
5. Florida Gators: 13,710.1
6. Kentucky Wildcats: 11,734.1
7. Kansas Jayhawks: 10,974.3
2. North Carolina Tar Heels: 20,063.7
3. Duke Blue Devils: 17,542.6
4. Arizona Wildcats: 14,404.9
5. Florida Gators: 13,710.1
6. Kentucky Wildcats: 11,734.1
7. Kansas Jayhawks: 10,974.3
Quote of the Week
“I think any high school athlete playing the game of basketball should automatically make Duke one of their choices because of the history they have and Coach K speaks for himself. You want to become a better player coming out of high school and I think Duke is one of those colleges that will help you become a better player and a better person at the end of the day.”
-Lebron James (April 6, 2008)
