Tracking Duke's Defense - 2018-19
We had one of these threads last year and it is probably worth launching one for this season as well. Many seem to think Duke is playing the best D we have seen in many years (at least since 2010). Kedsy is the genius who has all the great defensive stats and I leave it to him to provide us with an ongoing tally of what Duke is doing**.
But, I wanted to get the thread started with this article praising the phenomenal on the ball D from Tre Jones. I think Tre is our best on-the-ball defender since at least Duhon, maybe since Wojo or maybe even Billy King. Truly remarkable for a freshman!
Quote:
Jones’ knee bruise came when he dove on the floor for a loose ball, easily the sixth time in the game the freshman point guard had done so. While slapping the floor to prepare for a defensive stand has long been a tradition at Duke, this year’s team, led by Jones, is doing so with their bodies, not their palms.
Zion Williamson, the team’s 285-pound future NBA draft pick, has also made a habit of throwing himself to the floor to corral loose balls. The effort has produced a suffocating pressure defense not seen in Durham since the heyday of the early 1990s.
-Jason "**- I know Kedsy posts his stats in the post game thread, but I am hoping he will do it here too so we can track the D on an ongoing basis from game-to-game" Evans
North Dakota State (NCAAT)
dRtg: 0.87 (adjusted that's 0.84, our 5th sub-0.90 defensive performance in our last seven games)
eFG%: 43.1% (can't complain)
3pt%: 27.6% (good)
2pt%: 44.8% (also good)
%threes: 50.0% (I'm cool with this if they're shooting 28%)
FT rate: 24.1% (decent)
DR%: 83.3% (outstanding)
TO%: 18.2% (not bad)
a/to: 0.54:1
%assisted: 33.3%
fast break pts: 0 (0% of their points; literally can't get better than this)
block%: 12.1%; 24.1% of 2-point shots (big numbers against a small team)
steal%: 8.4% (not especially good)
Our defense tonight was outstanding in almost every area, after a slow start (we gave up 12 points in the first 10 possessions).