Duke point guard Kyrie Irving "doubtful" for Bradley game

[Chucky T's]

I'm much more concerned about scoring 40 points in the game rather than giving up 100.

I expect something closer to 75-38 than 107-64.

I'm expecting something closer to 107-38.

[Chico]

Stephen was a special player, no doubt, but he wasn't the entire Davidson team, either. They did reach the Elite 8 and fell just 2 points short of the Final Four to Kansas who the next weekend became champs. They had 3 other solid starters that also were quite competent.

Lovedale, Sander and Richards were solid players as well.

Granted, but Duke can substitute and the sub is just as good as the starter. Don't think Davidson could have done that. That's what I meant.

[bugregshu]

I'm expecting something closer to 107-38.

The sad thing is... you might not be too far off

[shaunguth]

I'm expecting something closer to 107-38.

Sounds easy enough. Considering I don't believe the Vegas line will get anywhere close to 70, I'm guessing most will be loading up on Duke tomorrow?

[AZ BU Fan]

Duke, and Bradley, both catch a break with Irving hurt before BU game. One less Duke weapon BU has to worry about. Duke can be ultra cautious and let him rest/heal without a lot of risk re results vs BU.

Too bad the headline wasn't 'Duke starters "doubtful" for the Bradley game!'

[KMart]

This is somewhat good news. Now we can dress Taylor Brown and just have him stay on offense and play a man down on D?

[wily coyote]

Of course not, but his productivity on the court can't be denied.....

Per 40....

15.6 Points (6th on Duke; only Warren and Lemon are better for BU)

2.3 Rebounds (dead last for anyone on either team)

4.0 Assists (4th on Duke; only Eastman and Simms-Edwards are better for BU)

1.7 Turnovers (3rd on Duke; better than anyone for BU)

3.1 Steals (better than anyone on either team)

2.3 Assist/Turnover (better than anyone on either team)

Looks to me like his only real downfall is a lack of rebounding.

Hey, if he can't rebound he could play for us. I would take him in a heart beat.

[Da Coach]

Duke point guard Kyrie Irving could miss a month with his toe injury.

http://jeffgoodman.yardbarker.com/blog/jeffgoodman/dukes_irving_could_miss_a_month_with_toe_injury/3755970

[dogsrus]

Duke point guard Kyrie Irving could miss a month with his toe injury.

http://jeffgoodman.yardbarker.com/bl...injury/3755970

Its the JL curse....its reached Duke.

Now Jim....LEAVE it there.

[shaunguth]

Its the JL curse....its reached Duke.

Now Jim....LEAVE it there.

Maybe he should have done some advance scouting....starting the day after our last game!

[tornado]

You know -- after watching the game on TV I don't think I would have known Irving was injured..

[Da Coach]

Despite all the reminders of how Duke was at such a disadvantage because Kyrie Irving missed the game, Bradley would have likely fared better if he hadn't. Andre Dawkins started and played in place of Irving last night (his first start of his career), and scored a career-high 28 points.

Also, the announcers seemed to act like the injury to Irving forced the poor Duke coach to play Nolan Smith out of position. Not true at all. Nolan Smith is a natural point guard, and actually is leading Duke in assists for the season.

[BK_DC]

I am a Duke grad but occasionally check the basketball forums from our opponents before the games. Not to butter you guys up, but I have to say it's striking how civil and mature the posts on this forum are, when compared to most other teams' forums. Actually, Butler's was the same way and I thought that was an anomaly, then I came here. It has been fun to read these threads, so thanks for that.

I normally read but don't register. I registered because of two prophetic comments here and to make my own comment on Irving's injury. First, TheAsianSensation almost called the score. Second, Braves4Life's Duke friend was right about this being a coming out party! For Dawkins, though, rather than Curry. Both those guys shoot every time they touch the ball, so it could have gone either way.

I don't know how many of you were old enough to follow college basketball back in 1991-92, but this current Duke team reminds me of that one. That team was dominant, coming off a national championship in 1991 that nobody expected us to win (we beat a monster, undefeated UNLV, in the Final Four after one of the CBS guys said the only way Duke could win would be to tie all the shoelaces from UNLV together).

Following that '91 championship, everyone returned. We were preseason #1. We started 17-0 and the press was talking about a potential undefeated season. Then our star PG, Bobby Hurley, hurt his foot in the second half at UNC. It is all so familiar.

We lost that UNC game (barely). We found out Hurley's injury was worse than expected (broken bone) and we struggled for the next several weeks while Hurley sat. We lost only one more game, but we were a different team -- much slower and no longer dominant -- without Hurley. Thankfully, Hurley came back near the end of the season and we went on to win the national championship, albeit not without huge luck against UK with Laettner's classic shot.

When Irving hurt his foot, I immediately thought of Hurley in '92. Irving's injury mirrors Hurley's, except everyone is more careful these days because Irving has to be looking at the NBA draft this year. Hurley, a junior, still had another year of school with no thought of leaving early because nobody did that back then (at least not at Duke). There is no way Irving comes back too early and costs himself millions of dollars by aggravating his injury. I don't think Hurley was thinking that way. He was just thinking about another national championship.

I hope this season ends the same way as that '92 season, but I bet Irving will be out for more than a month. In the meantime, we'll struggle just like we did without Hurley. And if Irving comes back and ultimately we win another championship, the press and even K may say that the injury was actually a good thing for the team because it allowed other guys to develop. That's what they said in '92, but it wasn't really true. It was very disruptive. Team chemistry took a huge hit and was slow to come back once Hurley returned. If Irving is out longer than Hurley, which I think we expect, it will be very challenging for this team. Laettner and Hill were better equipped than Singler and Smith to carry the load without the PG, and who knows if chemistry will return in time. On the plus side, Irving's better than Hurley.

Not that I need to whine to you guys about injuries. Here's hoping you guys get past your own injury issues and have a good rest of the season. That first half was tough! Good luck on the remainder of the season.

[ER3]

Despite all the reminders of how Duke was at such a disadvantage because Kyrie Irving missed the game, Bradley would have likely fared better if he hadn't. Andre Dawkins started and played in place of Irving last night (his first start of his career), and scored a career-high 28 points.

Also, the announcers seemed to act like the injury to Irving forced the poor Duke coach to play Nolan Smith out of position. Not true at all. Nolan Smith is a natural point guard, and actually is leading Duke in assists for the season.

Kyrie Irving may be the best college basketball player in the entire country. It is ridiculous to try and build a case around the premise that "BU would have likely fared better" if he wouldn't have been injured...that is just silly.

[TylerDurden]

"There was just no continuity," Singler said. "We weren't hitting our posts [inside]. It was different without Kyrie out on the court. So just throughout the game, I think we got more comfortable with the lineup we had out on the court. That's a good thing because we are a different team without Kyrie out on the court. The stuff that we're doing is different, so we need to get more familiar with it."