NBA Draft Game Of The Week: Duke @ Pitt

Duke’s visit to Pittsburgh is our Draft Game of the Week

NBA Draft Game Of The Week

Duke (16-4. 5-2 AAC) @ Pittsburgh (18-2, 6-1 AAC)

Preview:

Pittsburgh  

Pittsburgh have sold out every regular season game for the last 12 years. For Pitt fans this was one of the most anticipated games in the last 12 years, with fans lining up since 9am in the morning to get tickets. Despite moving from the Big East into the AAC Pitt have been an early season surprise and lay just one game behind Syracuse at tip off. Pitt are lead by 5^th year senior Lemar Patterson who is having a breakout year averaging 17.6ppg 4.8rpg 4.5apg. Patterson reduced his body fat by 9% in the offseason and has lost 11lb altogether. Patterson wasn’t on the radar for any NBA scout at the start of the season, but he is rightfully getting some second round buzz right now.

Duke

Despite entering this season as favorites to win the ACC Duke have struggled at the start of conference play. Duke have had real problems stopping teams from scoring and the subpar play from Jabari Parker has lead to some poor losses against the likes of Notre Dame and Clemson. Despite Parker having the highest ceiling and being their most skilled player, you could argue Rodney Hood has been the most important player to this Duke Team. Hood has often been defending the other team’s best perimeter scorer and has had to carry Duke’s offense when Parker has been off (which early on in conference play was all the time).

Game Information

 It came as no surprise that Rodney Hood started the game guarding Lemar Patterson, Richard Sulaiman also came into the starting line up for Quinn Cook who Cook who turned his ankle against Florida State, however he did still play a minor role. One player that caught my eye early was Pitt’s sophomore guard James Robinson who leads the nation in assist to turnover ratio. He had a nice change of speed, always seemed under control and ran his team very well. By the end of the game he came away with 10 points 5 assists 0 turnovers, nothing flashy, but he really ran his team well and defended, reminded me a little of Louisville’s Peyton Siva.

Random Fact: The last time Pitt beat Duke was in 2007 when they had an overtime win, that was also the night that Lamar Patterson decided to go to Pitt.

Draft Prospect Watch

Jabari Parker –PF/SF

21 points (FG 7-19, 3FG 2-6, FT 5-7) , 11 rebounds (2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover  (Freshman)

At the start of the game it looked to be another one of those nights for Parker (shooting below 40% in ACC play), he looked to forcing bad shots and missed his first few field goals. However as the game went on he improved his shot selection and showed why many scouts have him as the 1^st pick in the draft. Parker displayed the ability to score in a number of ways against the 13^th best defense in the country. Due to Duke’s ability to drive from every position and the shooting prowess of Dawkins and Hood there are various open lanes for Parker to cut into, he does a great job of getting the ball in good positions and then finishing in traffic. His combination of speed, athleticism and body control make him almost impossible to stop if he gets the ball <10 feet out with any space to work with. Duke are most effective when they are finding Parker on his cuts and getting him high percentage shots. In the second half Pitt decided to double Parker and held him to just 2 points (before intentionally fouling), however he still found a way to be effective by using his good footwork and finding teammates spotting up outside on the perimeter, unfortunately their shots didn’t fall so his assist numbers don’t show it.

Perhaps the most eye opening aspect of Parker’s game against Pitt was his defensive positioning, he did a great job staying vertical and not drawing foul calls. There were numerous times where Pitt looked to have an easy lay up but Parker positioned himself well, but he was guilty being late on certain rotations and hedges.

Rodney Hood – SF/SG

13 points (FG 5-10, 3FG 3-7, FT 0-0), 3 Rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers (Sophomore)

Hood has been one of the most impressive prospects in the draft for me, not only for his performance on the court but also off it, as he was made captain of the team despite never having played a game for them. For me, Hood had a very impressive game, he showed me that he can affect the game in other ways than just scoring, something vital if he is to increase his draft stock any further. Hood managed to hold Patterson to 4-14 shooting and forced him into 5 turnovers, he moved his feet extremely well and picked up just 1 personal foul while defending one of the best players in the nation for the entire game. He also forced Patterson to catch the ball outside the three point line, he made it very difficult for Patterson to get to this sweet spots, this resulted in Patterson forcing plays and turning the ball over. When handling the ball he displayed some good pick and roll skills, finding Parker twice as he cut to the basket after setting the screen. When he had Zana switch on him he took advantage of the mismatch, drew the second defender and then found Dawkins for the open three, very impressive. However, he did struggle driving the ball inside (made 1-4 attempts), unless he is driving to his preferred left side he tends to show the ball and get stripped, that happened twice in the Pitt game. Another criticism is he looks for the stepback a little too much, there were two separate occasions where the lane opened up for him but he didn’t drive and instead did a stepback and then passed the ball up.

Rasheed Sulaiman – SG

3 Points (FG 1-7, 3FG 1-2, FT 0-0) 0 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers – Sophomore

Sulaiman had a relatively poor game going 1-7, he didn’t take many bad shots but the rim certainly wasn’t his friend. He did notch four assists and showed the ability to handle the ball and find the open man, but for what once seemed a promising 1^st round prospect, he is sliding further and further back and would most likely be better off staying in school for another year.

Lamar Patterson – SG/SF

 14 points (FG4-14, 3FG 1-5, FT 5-6) 5 Rebounds (2 offensive), 1 Assist, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 5 turnovers – Senior

Patterson started the game extremely well, but he failed to adjust when Duke started to double him when he was waiting for the pick. He did however show active hands on the defensive end, getting many deflections on the perimeter creating fast break opportunities. He also took advantage when he had mismatches, at one point he took Plumlee off the dribble, drew the second defender and made a superb interior pass. Patterson continuously displayed a good amount of court vision, but considering his age (22) then you can understand why he may have a more developed understanding of the game. His experience showed in other aspects of his play as well, he used a variety of pump fakes and hesitation dribbles to either get past his man or draw the foul.  Overall Patterson struggled on the big stage against a future nba player, that will surely hurt his draft stock and probably helps cement his position as a mid-late second rounder.

Conclusion

Overall it was a very useful game for scouts, they saw both the good and bad of all the major prospects. For me, Parker despite his inefficiencies showed his versatile skill set and proved why he should stay number one. Hood also showed glimpses of being more than just a spot up shooter, he also proved he was a very good defender. Patterson is going to be battling to get drafted all year, he is obviously having a great year, but he is a 5^th year senior which is always going to hurt him. The fact he has come out of nowhere and only just got in shape could also be a red flag for an NBA team. Perhaps the highlight of the game for me came with about 1.20 to go in the second half when a Pitt fan shouted “Come one ref, they’re up 11 at least give us a call!”