Love vs. Duncan

[nteetee]

I am really intrigued to see what happens in the matchup of Kevin Love vs. Josh Duncan. Love is maybe the best defender in the game down low. If he's guarding Duncan in man-to-man, Duncan has to lure him out to the perimeter where's he much more vulnerable. Duncan's quickness should either get him open looks from the perimeter or allow him to blow past Love to the hole. I think this may be the best chance to get Love in early foul trouble. Whether it's Duncan or anybody else guarding Love at the other end, we've got to get a body on him when shots go up. This guy gets way too many uncontested offensive rebounds. And for God's sake, when we make a shot, GET BACK ON DEFENSE, because Love will kill you with his outlet passing.

Anyone have any thoughts on how we keep Love in check?

[UCLABru1ns]

Duncan will not be guarded by Love. That job will fall to a combination of Luc Richard, Keefe, Mata-Real and Aboya. The only time Love will guard Duncan is in a double-team, other than that, don't expect to see Love on Duncan, at least not on the defensive end.

It definitely will be a great game and I fully expect both teams to come out 'fired up' and bringing their best games for what appears to be a slug-fest.

[garvondavis14]

love is not even CLOSE to one of the best defenders down low. no way. he's not terrible, but he's not terribly impressive. did u watch the game against a&m? more than half his blocks were obvious hacks, but of course he's kevin love and he plays for ucla, who looks to have stolen the title of "refs favorite team" from duke. he couldn't shut down duncan, and duncan couldn't shut him down. probably best for both teams if they don't guard each other to avoid foul trouble.

brown might be able to give love some problems when he's guarding him due to his athleticism. it depends on how fundamentally sound brown could be on d. love relies almost entirely on skill on offense. he's not very athletic and can't jump too high, which are his biggest nocks when it comes to nba potential. J love might be able to do an okay job as well, because he isn't a bad defender when the guy he's guarding isn't a great athlete. he's also extremely strong on the boards, a place where K love hurts a lot of teams. i think duncan could do okay on him because he's just as strong and more athletic, but i dont' know if it's worth risking the guy who carries us through games when no one else can score.

[UCLABru1ns]

love is not even CLOSE to one of the best defenders down low. no way. he's not terrible, but he's not terribly impressive. did u watch the game against a&m? more than half his blocks were obvious hacks, but of course he's kevin love and he plays for ucla, who looks to have stolen the title of "refs favorite team" from duke. he couldn't shut down duncan, and duncan couldn't shut him down. probably best for both teams if they don't guard each other to avoid foul trouble.

brown might be able to give love some problems when he's guarding him due to his athleticism. it depends on how fundamentally sound brown could be on d. love relies almost entirely on skill on offense. he's not very athletic and can't jump too high, which are his biggest nocks when it comes to nba potential. J love might be able to do an okay job as well, because he isn't a bad defender when the guy he's guarding isn't a great athlete. he's also extremely strong on the boards, a place where K love hurts a lot of teams. i think duncan could do okay on him because he's just as strong and more athletic, but i dont' know if it's worth risking the guy who carries us through games when no one else can score.

As you alluded to, Kevin Love plays within the skill set that he knows he has. Very seldom will you see him getting called for a foul inside the paint (Yes, he may get away with some no-calls, but he also tries to avoid much contact when rebounding to ensure he doesn't get called for the offensive foul).

The reason I don't see Duncan guarding Love or vice versa is as you pointed out, both these guys play a pivotal role in each teams offense, and you much rather your other front line men handle those duties so as not to get a key guy in foul trouble early, something Kevin is good at doing (drawing defenders/foul once he has the ball inside).

[soniqstylz]

I'd say look at the matchups against "Beastley" to get an idea of how it will play.

Obviously, UCLA has much more talent surrounding Love (2 straight Final Four apperances say all that needs to be said there), but he seems to be the engine making that team go.

[XU Rocks!]

I expect it will be a "Love Fest.". I think Kevin and Jason will get paired up by the coaches to guard one another.

[finalfourorbust]

I expect it will be a "Love Fest.". I think Kevin and Jason will get paired up by the coaches to guard one another.

Bingo!