duhon Knows He Must Remain Confident

[TB#1]

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=108791&src=150
Duhon knows he must stay confident
By Mike McGraw | Daily Herald Staff

Chris Duhon is trying to stay positive as he struggles through another shooting slump. The Bulls point guard is shooting just 14 percent from the field since joining the starting lineup Dec. 28.
"The thing with me is sometimes I let my shot bother me," Duhon said Monday at the Berto Center. "I'll pass up shots or the shots I do take, I'm not fully confident in shooting. I've got to be confident the whole time. Nobody shoots 100 percent. Guys go through rough stretches."
Duhon has been there before. He went through a nearly identical slump last year in early January that lasted a few weeks.
"I was thinking about that at home yesterday, that it was kind of like the same time last year," he said. "Right now, I'm just trying to get extra shots up, trying not to let that mess up my head in any way. Last year it kind of got to me. This year, I've just got to find a way, (maybe) try to find different ways to score. I just can't hesitate."
Coach Jim Boylan voiced support for his point guard. While Duhon has missed 23 of his last 24 field-goal attempts, he's also piled up 27 assists compared to 4 turnovers during his six games in the starting lineup.
"I think that sometimes guys can contribute in different ways and it's not always putting the ball in the basket," Boylan said. "Du's been struggling with his shot, but he's been taking care of the ball. He's been running the offense for us. He's been playing good defense."
Boylan stressed the importance of Duhon continuing to shoot the ball in rhythm when he's open. Even if the ball doesn't find the net, the Bulls lead the NBA in offensive rebounds per game.
"He's never been a knock-down shooter," Boylan said. "He's always been a little up and down. So I'm expecting him to turn it around and start shooting the ball a little bit better for us. When he does, it's going to make us a better team."

[Cliff Levingston]

Let him regain his confidence form the bench.

[bullzman23]

Yeah... I like Duhon but I'm done with him. We can't afford to endure his yearly slumps with the way this team is currently structured. He has some value around the league. If he's not going to shoot well, we need to replace him for someone who has size. That being said, I wouldn't be a fan Gordon and Hinrich taking care of 100% of the PG responsibilities.

[DuckIII]

"Remain" confident? Maybe he should just start shooting scared.

[kyrv]

Okay, I really like Dunon as a backup PG. When he starts or plays big minutes, over time, he kind of reveals, he's a good *backup* PG.

This is very ironic since Thabo/Tyrus/Noah/Gray (can we get an acronym for them? ) , can't afford mistakes for the most part, or they grab some bench.

They have to hope that 1) someone else is injured, 2) someone is foul trouble, or 3) someone is playing terribly just to get in, then they *must* play well to stay in.

Conversely Duhon just has to 'remain confident'.

I'll take Duhon's role.

[richard]

This is very ironic since Thabo/Tyrus/Noah/Gray (can we get an acronym for them? )

T N T, gee.

[TB#1]

-= original quote snipped =-



T N T, gee.

Dynamite and Thunder

[Cliff Levingston]

Thunder, Lightning, Hair and Bad Rap.

[DuckIII]

This is very ironic since Thabo/Tyrus/Noah/Gray (can we get an acronym for them? ) , can't afford mistakes for the most part, or they grab some bench.

FreeMoJoChristo and Pudding?

[AirP.]

I didn't expect good things from Duhon starting, not because it's Duhon but because of the guys he's playing with, they're good players but not the right type of player. Look at what he has to work with offensivly... Wallace.. blow easy ones, Joe Smith, spot up jumpshooter, low post player, Deng(he's the exception), Hinrich's a spot up shooter. All but Deng are pretty non athletic which isn't a good mix with Duhon's game, they're better suited for Hinrich's game. Duhon isn't a sit on the parameter and hit jumpers kind of guy and that's what they have to be with what they have on the court to start games... it drop's Duhon's confidence and things go down from there.

I begin to wonder just how effective Chicago's defense would be if we left Gordon on whoever he was guarding and didn't help, try to lock everyone else down and see if Gordon would get abused enough to overcome the better defense on everyone else instead of switching and helping so much. If a 20 ppg guy went off, would it be enough more points then we're giving up by switching off and leaving other players open?

[kyrv]

I didn't expect good things from Duhon starting, not because it's Duhon but because of the guys he's playing with, they're good players but not the right type of player. Look at what he has to work with offensivly... Wallace.. blow easy ones, Joe Smith, spot up jumpshooter, low post player, Deng(he's the exception), Hinrich's a spot up shooter. All but Deng are pretty non athletic which isn't a good mix with Duhon's game, they're better suited for Hinrich's game. Duhon isn't a sit on the parameter and hit jumpers kind of guy and that's what they have to be with what they have on the court to start games... it drop's Duhon's confidence and things go down from there.

I begin to wonder just how effective Chicago's defense would be if we left Gordon on whoever he was guarding and didn't help, try to lock everyone else down and see if Gordon would get abused enough to overcome the better defense on everyone else instead of switching and helping so much. If a 20 ppg guy went off, would it be enough more points then we're giving up by switching off and leaving other players open?

I actually like to have Duhon in with Gray/Tyrus/Noah because he likes to get the ball inside more than the other players it seems.

[Gregnice33]

Okay, I really like Dunon as a backup PG. When he starts or plays big minutes, over time, he kind of reveals, he's a good *backup* PG.

This is very ironic since Thabo/Tyrus/Noah/Gray (can we get an acronym for them? ) , can't afford mistakes for the most part, or they grab some bench.

They have to hope that 1) someone else is injured, 2) someone is foul trouble, or 3) someone is playing terribly just to get in, then they *must* play well to stay in.

Conversely Duhon just has to 'remain confident'.

I'll take Duhon's role.

Good post. I too like Duhon as a back-up 10-15 minute player, and I think he is easily the true point guard on the team (not saying much, especially considering we have two "midgets" in the backcourt).

Coaches overuse Duhon b/c they value what he brings to the tabel, however they grossly overvalue him.

Finally, CD is some kind of streaky shooter, but not like Crawford or Kirk. He goes through prolonged periods where he'll shoot great (like 5 or 6 games; this preseason he was on fire), but then he goes through even longer periods of terrible shooting (like 10-20 games). Very strange.

[23-7]

The one good thing about Duhon is he throws the best Alley Opps. After that his value is minimal.

[TeamMan]

...he's also piled up 27 assists compared to 4 turnovers during his six games in the starting lineup...

That's an A/T of 6.75...while averaging 4.5 apg.

Almost any coach will take that from his starting PG and run with it.

Fewer TOs means fewer chances for the other team to have long scoring stretches, which keeps you in the game.

And the Bulls have been in EVERY game since Du became the starting PG. Our two loses were both in OT and (of course) were games that we could have won.

So the Bulls could easily be 6-0 instead of 4-2.

[Cliff Levingston]

...he's also piled up 27 assists compared to 4 turnovers during his six games in the starting lineup...

That's an A/T of 6.75...while averaging 4.5 apg.

Almost any coach will take that from his starting PG and run with it.

Fewer TOs means fewer chances for the other team to have long scoring stretches, which keeps you in the game.

And the Bulls have been in EVERY game since Du became the starting PG. Our two loses were both in OT and (of course) were games that we could have won.

So the Bulls could easily be 6-0 instead of 4-2.

This is a prime example of how the numbers can lie.

Most guys get good assist numbers off making plays for others via breaking down the defense. Duhon gets them by making safe passes to jump shooters; something that anyone (ahem, Hinrich) could do if put at the PG position within our offense.

[TeamMan]

This is a prime example of how the numbers can lie.

Most guys get good assist numbers off making plays for others via breaking down the defense. Duhon gets them by making safe passes to jump shooters; something that anyone (ahem, Hinrich) could do if put at the PG position within our offense.

The arguments concerning Du's stats will never end.

I'm not able to put together the Bulls W/L record during those periods when he was starting, but it's definitely a winning %, and arguments can also be made that that stat is also a lie.

But for a coach like Boylan who has a short period of time to make a name for himself before the season ends, he'll go with the lie and let others try and figure out why that's the case.

[bre9]

Duhon is a big offense liability whenever he's on the floor for the bulls. But he does other things that take up for that like his calmness, assists, great ball handling etc. I don't understand how he got in this slump every since after the Spurs game where he was on fire I think he shot 5-6 fg's. But every since then he has went down hill with his shooting. Hopefully Duhon can get back to hitting his wide open shots in which he has a lot of them teams give him a lot of room to get his shooting groove back.