Tracking Duke's Defense - 2018-19

[budwom]

dRtg: 1.00 (adjusted that's 0.91, much better than it looked to my eyes)
eFG%: 54.5% (very poor, dropping us to tied for 8th best in the nation)
3pt%: 31.6% (good)
2pt%: 57.4% (so not good)
%threes: 28.8% (good)
FT rate: 16.7% (another strong performance, giving us the 5th best opposing FTR in the country)
DR%: 85.7% (awesome, best of the season; our 2nd "best of season" performance in our last four games)
TO%: 15.4% (ugh)
a/to: 1:33 (the last time our opponent had more than one assist above turnovers was the Gonzaga game)
%assisted: 48.5%
fast break pts: 2 (2.6% of their points; we've allowed two or fewer fast break points in three of our last four games)
block%: 10.6%; 25.9% of 2-point shots (super strong, though we've now dropped to the 2nd best block% in the nation)
steal%: 11.6% (eighth straight game above 10% for the #1 steal% team in the land)


Our defense against State was hardly recognizable as coming from the 2019 Duke team: we gave up a terribly high eFG%, forced only a few turnovers, and dominated the defensive boards. Weird, right?

Perhaps not so surprising, they were a smaller and arguably quicker team...seems like they backdoored us twenty times.

[uh_no]

dRtg: 1.00 (adjusted that's 0.91, much better than it looked to my eyes)
eFG%: 54.5% (very poor, dropping us to tied for 8th best in the nation)
3pt%: 31.6% (good)
2pt%: 57.4% (so not good)
%threes: 28.8% (good)
FT rate: 16.7% (another strong performance, giving us the 5th best opposing FTR in the country)
DR%: 85.7% (awesome, best of the season; our 2nd "best of season" performance in our last four games)
TO%: 15.4% (ugh)
a/to: 1:33 (the last time our opponent had more than one assist above turnovers was the Gonzaga game)
%assisted: 48.5%
fast break pts: 2 (2.6% of their points; we've allowed two or fewer fast break points in three of our last four games)
block%: 10.6%; 25.9% of 2-point shots (super strong, though we've now dropped to the 2nd best block% in the nation)
steal%: 11.6% (eighth straight game above 10% for the #1 steal% team in the land)


Our defense against State was hardly recognizable as coming from the 2019 Duke team: we gave up a terribly high eFG%, forced only a few turnovers, and dominated the defensive boards. Weird, right?

on the one hand, it was a 91...not as good as the team could play...but that's like one made three difference from expected. I think much of the really disappointing play was when zion went out NCSU scored 12 points in 8 possessions, a 150 raw defense or 140 adjusted.

The rest of the game, 66 points in 70 possessions...good for 94 raw 84 adjusted.

They are a good O, and we could have eliminated some of the Backdoors by sagging off the line, but we didn't let them go crazy from 3, and won the game. I still think the biggest issue is poor help decisions. Instances where help comes but isn't needed, leaving someone open, or help is needed but doesn't come. Teams are going to continue to force bolden and delaurier to make those help decisions, and we need to continue to ensure those decisions are good as often as possible.

[WillJ]

dRtg: 1.00 (adjusted that's 0.91, much better than it looked to my eyes)
eFG%: 54.5% (very poor, dropping us to tied for 8th best in the nation)
3pt%: 31.6% (good)
2pt%: 57.4% (so not good)
%threes: 28.8% (good)
FT rate: 16.7% (another strong performance, giving us the 5th best opposing FTR in the country)
DR%: 85.7% (awesome, best of the season; our 2nd "best of season" performance in our last four games)
TO%: 15.4% (ugh)
a/to: 1:33 (the last time our opponent had more than one assist above turnovers was the Gonzaga game)
%assisted: 48.5%
fast break pts: 2 (2.6% of their points; we've allowed two or fewer fast break points in three of our last four games)
block%: 10.6%; 25.9% of 2-point shots (super strong, though we've now dropped to the 2nd best block% in the nation)
steal%: 11.6% (eighth straight game above 10% for the #1 steal% team in the land)


Our defense against State was hardly recognizable as coming from the 2019 Duke team: we gave up a terribly high eFG%, forced only a few turnovers, and dominated the defensive boards. Weird, right?

They really carved us up on the p&r. Perhaps that was a Markell Johnson effect that other teams won't be able to replicate....let's hope so.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

They really carved us up on the p&r. Perhaps that was a Markell Johnson effect that other teams won't be able to replicate...let's hope so.

I was commenting on the DBR Chat last night that Markell was giving Tre more of a problem than anyone all year....and in the post game, Tre mentioned that he was a handful.

[CDu]

I was commenting on the DBR Chat last night that Markell was giving Tre more of a problem than anyone all year...and in the post game, Tre mentioned that he was a handful.

Markell Johnson is a stud, and one of the best PGs Jones has ever faced. He's a great shooter, great scorer off the drive, and also a very willing and able passer in the pick-and-roll game. In that sense, he's a more difficult matchup than Shamorie Ponds, though Ponds may be the higher-end scoring threat off the dribble. But either way, Johnson is no joke.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 1.01 (adjusted that's 0.85; pretty good, believe it or not)
eFG%: 52.0% (second straight poor performance in this area)
3pt%: 10.0% (astonishingly good, considering how good UNC is at shooting threes)
2pt%: 65.5% (just horrendous)
%threes: 26.7% (we kept them off the line and they didn't hit when they shot 'em)
FT rate: 18.7% (another strong performance here)
DR%: 73.7% (really good, against a really good offensive rebounding team)
TO%: 17.2% (adequate, not great)
a/to: 1:33 (second straight at this level, after a long string of games with 1:1 or below)
%assisted: 52.6%
fast break pts: 14 (15.9% of their points; disappointing, but that's what UNC likes to do)
block%: 10.7%; 14.5% of 2-point shots (considering we played without Zion, this is really good)
steal%: 12.6% (ninth straight game above 10% for the #1 steal% team in the land)


Thanks to letting the Heels have pretty much whatever they wanted inside, our eFG% was bad for the second straight game. But we made up for that by running them off the three-point line and making them miss their threes when they took them. Plus our TO% was OK, our free throw rate was good, and our defensive rebounding was over 70% for the fifth time in six games. Overall (despite how it felt while we watched it) especially considering we played without Zion, this was actually a very strong defensive performance.

[superdave]

Thanks to letting the Heels have pretty much whatever they wanted inside, our eFG% was bad for the second straight game. But we made up for that by running them off the three-point line and making them miss their threes when they took them. Plus our TO% was OK, our free throw rate was good, and our defensive rebounding was over 70% for the fifth time in six games. Overall (despite how it felt while we watched it) especially considering we played without Zion, this was actually a very strong defensive performance.

Surprised to see the numbers look this good. I guess it was all skewed by no one guarding Luke Friggin Maye.

Checking the box score now and sure enough, no one guarded Luke Maye.

[NSDukeFan]

Surprised to see the numbers look this good. I guess it was all skewed by no one guarding Luke Friggin Maye.

Checking the box score now and sure enough, no one guarded Luke Maye.

That was Zion’s job.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 0.98 (adjusted that's 0.94; decent, not great)
eFG%: 37.9% (outstanding; our 2nd best opposing eFG% in conference play)
3pt%: 21.7% (good)
2pt%: 40.4% (very good; 3rd best opposing 2-pt% in conference play)
%threes: 32.9%
FT rate: 27.1% (meh)
DR%: 61.2% (pretty bad)
TO%: 10.5% (lowest opposing TO% of the season)
a/to: 1:71 (after a long string of games with 1:1 or below, we've had three straight of the opposite)
%assisted: 50.0%
fast break pts: 6 (12.8% of their points)
block%: 8.6%; 12.8% of 2-point shots (good, considering we played without Zion, thanks primarily to Javin)
steal%: 3.0% (awful; breaks a streak of nine straight game above 10%)


Kind of the opposite of last game's defense. The only thing we did well on defense was hold them to poor shooting. Other three of four factors, not so hot, especially defensive rebounding and failing to force turnovers. Still, a 0.94 without our best player? Can't really complain.

[WillJ]

Cam Reddish's shooting has obviously been below what he's capable of, but I watched his defense closely last night and I think he's really good.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 1.22 (adjusted that's 1.07, which may look better but is still really lousy, the equivalent of 236th in the country)
eFG%: 54.0% (bad)
3pt%: 30.8% (can't actually complain too much about this number, though it is lower than our season average of 28.7%, which is 5th best in the country)
2pt%: 62.5% (really, really bad)
%threes: 52.0% (that's a whole lotta threes)
FT rate: 58.0% (yuck, our 2nd-worst FT rate of the season)
DR%: 75.9% (pretty good, actually)
TO%: 9.5% (our lowest opposing TO% of the season, after our previous low was set last game)
a/to: 2:1 (after a long string of games with 1:1 or below, we've had four straight of the opposite)
%assisted: 52.2%
fast break pts: 9 (11.7% of their points)
block%: 8.0%; 16.7% of 2-point shots (good, considering we played without Zion, again thanks primarily to Javin)
steal%: 1.6% (second straight putrid performance in this area)


No doubt about it, this game was lost on defense. Our defensive rebounding was pretty good but we stunk at pretty much every other defensive metric.

[uh_no]

dRtg: 1.22 (adjusted that's 1.07, which may look better but is still really lousy, the equivalent of 236th in the country)
eFG%: 54.0% (bad)
3pt%: 30.8% (can't actually complain too much about this number, though it is lower than our season average of 28.7%, which is 5th best in the country)
2pt%: 62.5% (really, really bad)
%threes: 52.0% (that's a whole lotta threes)
FT rate: 58.0% (yuck, our 2nd-worst FT rate of the season)
DR%: 75.9% (pretty good, actually)
TO%: 9.5% (our lowest opposing TO% of the season, after our previous low was set last game)
a/to: 2:1 (after a long string of games with 1:1 or below, we've had four straight of the opposite)
%assisted: 52.2%
fast break pts: 9 (11.7% of their points)
block%: 8.0%; 16.7% of 2-point shots (good, considering we played without Zion, again thanks primarily to Javin)
steal%: 1.6% (second straight putrid performance in this area)


No doubt about it, this game was lost on defense. Our defensive rebounding was pretty good but we stunk at pretty much every other defensive metric.

Easily our worst defensive performance of the year. Only the gonzaga game comes close.

[fuse]

dRtg: 1.22 (adjusted that's 1.07, which may look better but is still really lousy, the equivalent of 236th in the country)
eFG%: 54.0% (bad)
3pt%: 30.8% (can't actually complain too much about this number, though it is lower than our season average of 28.7%, which is 5th best in the country)
2pt%: 62.5% (really, really bad)
%threes: 52.0% (that's a whole lotta threes)
FT rate: 58.0% (yuck, our 2nd-worst FT rate of the season)
DR%: 75.9% (pretty good, actually)
TO%: 9.5% (our lowest opposing TO% of the season, after our previous low was set last game)
a/to: 2:1 (after a long string of games with 1:1 or below, we've had four straight of the opposite)
%assisted: 52.2%
fast break pts: 9 (11.7% of their points)
block%: 8.0%; 16.7% of 2-point shots (good, considering we played without Zion, again thanks primarily to Javin)
steal%: 1.6% (second straight putrid performance in this area)


No doubt about it, this game was lost on defense. Our defensive rebounding was pretty good but we stunk at pretty much every other defensive metric.

What curious to me (other than the obvious Zion answer, which I’m not discounting) is why.

Was the VT offensive scheme just suited to exploit our defense?

[tbyers11]

What curious to me (other than the obvious Zion answer, which I’m not discounting) is why.

Was the VT offensive scheme just suited to exploit our defense?

High level - 1) We didn't turn them over so they got a shot or FT nearly every possession 2) In the first half we had several bad live ball TOs that led to 4-6 points and 3) 2nd half we sent them to the FT line early and often

When we forced them to run half court offense against our set D (I don't have the actual numbers) but I didn't think we were that bad. VT is very good at knowing where to pass the ball to shooters after we rotate to provide help against their actions. We definitely had some missteps but by my eye we did OK.

But in a lowish possession game (63) that was generally within 3-5 points the entire game 8-10 "easy" points over the course of a game make a big difference.

[devildeac]

What curious to me (other than the obvious Zion answer, which I’m not discounting) is why.

Was the VT offensive scheme just suited to exploit our defense?

My opinions:

1. Yes
2. 29 FT, starting being in the double bonus 8-10 minutes into the 2nd half.

[English]

Maybe someone can teach Tre Jones how Wabissa Bede uses the Jedi mind trick for his 3pt shot fake--the guy is a terrible shooter, and yet got Duke's defensive closeout guy off his feet with a 3pt shot fake on nearly every instance. Any time Bede shot faked and the Duke closeout player didn't jump into the third row, Bede either passed up the shot or barely drew iron. I think he hit one uncontested 3pt, but for how badly he typically shoots, you'd think the scouting report would say something like "don't you dare leave your feet on this dude's 3pt shot fake or you'll run until you pass out at our next practice."

Can we please incorporate this into Tre Jones' and Jack White's games? It's gotta be voodoo, right?

ETA: I don't want to pile on the negativity, but please don't help off the strong corner 3pt shooter, AOC. Thank you.

[CDu]

Maybe someone can teach Tre Jones how Wabissa Bede uses the Jedi mind trick for his 3pt shot fake--the guy is a terrible shooter, and yet got Duke's defensive closeout guy off his feet with a 3pt shot fake on nearly every instance. Any time Bede shot faked and the Duke closeout player didn't jump into the third row, Bede either passed up the shot or barely drew iron. I think he hit one uncontested 3pt, but for how badly he typically shoots, you'd think the scouting report would say something like "don't you dare leave your feet on this dude's 3pt shot fake or you'll run until you pass out at our next practice."

Can we please incorporate this into Tre Jones' and Jack White's games? It's gotta be voodoo, right?

ETA: I don't want to pile on the negativity, but please don't help off the strong corner 3pt shooter, AOC. Thank you.

To be fair, Bede shoots 37% from 3 this year and 41% for his career (and was 2-5 against us). I think the first step in selling a shot fake is making enough shots that the defense respects you.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 0.77 (adjusted that's 0.73, really good)
eFG%: 39.7% (also really good)
3pt%: 25.0% (good)
2pt%: 41.0% (good)
%threes: 38.1% (fine)
FT rate: 19.0% (good)
DR%: 75.0% (2nd straight 75%+ DR performance; if you go down to 70%, it's 5 of 6, 7 of 9, 10 of 14, 14 of 20; meaning we've been a decent defensive rebounding team for most of the ACC season)
TO%: 21.7% (back where we want this to be)
a/to: 0.69:1 (broke a four game blah streak here)
%assisted: 50.0%
fast break pts: 10 (17.5% of their points; all 10 of these were in the 2nd half, which we entered with a 28-point lead, so we can forgive this number)
block%: 6.3%; 10.2% of 2-point shots (not our best, but not bad, especially without Zion)
steal%: 13.6% (very good, breaking a two-game ugh streak)


After probably our worst defensive showing of the season last game, our defensive performance this game was one of our best. Basically there wasn't one defensive stat that we shouldn't feel proud about (other than possibly fast break points, but since they all happened in the 2nd half, I say ignore it).

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 0.93 (adjusted that's 0.93, better than it looked)
eFG%: 44.3% (not bad)
3pt%: 30.4% (almost exactly Wake's average)
2pt%: 43.8% (good enough)
%threes: 32.4%
FT rate: 16.9% (very good)
DR%: 75.0% (much better than it seemed; our 3rd straight 75%+ DR performance; and if you go down to 70%, it's 6 of 7, 8 of 10, 11 of 15, 15 of 21; we've been a decent defensive rebounding team for most of the ACC season)
TO%: 12.0% (third poor TO performance in last four games)
a/to: 0.89:1
%assisted: 28.6% (Wake scored the vast majority of their points in one-on-one situations)
fast break pts: 11 (15.7% of their points; not great)
block%: 9.9%; 14.6% of 2-point shots (we're actually a very good shotblocking team, even without Zion)
steal%: 4.0% (third pathetic steals performance in last four games)


Not great defense against Wake, but a lot better than it looked to the naked eye.

[ns7]

dRtg: 0.93 (adjusted that's 0.93, better than it looked)
eFG%: 44.3% (not bad)
3pt%: 30.4% (almost exactly Wake's average)
2pt%: 43.8% (good enough)
%threes: 32.4%
FT rate: 16.9% (very good)
DR%: 75.0% (much better than it seemed; our 3rd straight 75%+ DR performance; and if you go down to 70%, it's 6 of 7, 8 of 10, 11 of 15, 15 of 21; we've been a decent defensive rebounding team for most of the ACC season)
TO%: 12.0% (third poor TO performance in last four games)
a/to: 0.89:1
%assisted: 28.6% (Wake scored the vast majority of their points in one-on-one situations)
fast break pts: 11 (15.7% of their points; not great)
block%: 9.9%; 14.6% of 2-point shots (we're actually a very good shotblocking team, even without Zion)
steal%: 4.0% (third pathetic steals performance in last four games)


Not great defense against Wake, but a lot better than it looked to the naked eye.

I thought the defense was fine last night. Wake is pretty good at OR% (the one thing they do well) and Duke held them in check. I think the TO issue gets fixed when Zion returns, making the defense elite again.