Obviously, I track Duke more closely than other teams but this is some interesting information for all. If you're not familiar with Duke's bigs, Mason Plumlee is the more athletic of the 3 post players. He tends to operate better with a point guard who can drive and kick as opposed to posting up straight on the block. The season started with a true point guard running the show. Kyrie Irving then got hurt and Nolan Smith took over. Smith has been crushing most teams and is now in the hunt for player of the year. However, on February 2 Coach K inserted true Freshman Point Guard, Tyler Thornton into the starting lineup. Below shows the data on how that subtle change effected not only Plumlee but the entire team.
With Irving: M.Plumlee 10.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 8-0 record
With Smith: M.Plumlee 4.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 11-2 record
With Thornton: M.Plumlee 9.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 7-0 record
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