Duke’s Evolving Defense

Early on, Duke has markedly outscored opponents this season. It has not, however, played stifling defense to augment those point differentials.

Of course, given their general scoring prowess the Blue Devils haven’t needed to focus on defense, or at least not had the need to make it a prime focus of their efforts. One suspects defensive efficiency will develop as better on-court communication, development of fundamentals and more efficient offense evolve.

One interesting thread to follow in 2018-19 is how effectively the Devils stifle opponents’ field goal shooting. That ability was seldom a notable attribute of Mike Krzyzewski teams during the first half of his Duke tenure. His teams are far more noted for defensive disruption -- forcing opponents’ turnovers and unraveling their set plays – than for causing other teams’ shooters to simply miss.

But with added reliance on a 2-3 zone last year, that profile changed. Whether it’s a permanent shift or a blip on the radar screen is unclear. The freshman-filled ’18 Devils quietly held opponents to .405 shooting from the floor, third-best in the ACC behind Virginia and Syracuse, and fourth-best during Krzyzewski’s first 38 years at Durham.