Tracking Duke's Defense - 2018-19

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 0.98 (adjusted that's 0.94; not bad but to me it felt better while watching the game)
eFG%: 40.9% (good)
3pt%: 33.3% (not bad)
2pt%: 35.7% (really good)
%threes: 36.4%
FT rate: 14.5% (2nd straight sub-15% performance in defensive FTR)
DR%: 59.1% (very, very bad)
TO%: 14.5% (not good, but ND is very strong at not turning it over, so maybe this was unavoidable)
a/to: 1:1 (14th straight game with our opponents having equal or more turnovers than assists)
%assisted: 39.1%
fast break pts: 7 (11.5% of their points)
block%: 9.1%; 14.3% of 2-point shots (another strong blocking game)
steal%: 12.9% (another strong stealing game)


I think if our defensive rebounding had risen to the level of adequate, this would have gone down as a very strong defensive performance. As it is, good but not great.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 0.79 (adjusted that's 0.72; really good against a decent opponent, especially considering how poor our D looked early on)
eFG%: 37.5% (very good)
3pt%: 19.2% (they made 4 of their first 7 and then went 1 for 19 after that)
2pt%: 42.9% (good)
%threes: 38.2%
FT rate: 17.6% (strong)
DR%: 73.3% (very good, for us; only 2nd game this season (Princeton was the other) in which we've gotten both 40+% on ORs and 70+% on DRs)
TO%: 19.5% (good but not great; it seemed better than it was because we got a lot of live-ball turnovers)
a/to: 0:8 (15th straight game with our opponents having equal or more turnovers than assists)
%assisted: 52.2%
fast break pts: 9 (14.5% of their points)
block%: 8.8%; 14.3% of 2-point shots (another strong blocking game)
steal%: 15.6% (another very strong stealing game)


The first 6 1/2 minutes of the game, we gave up 21 points in 12 possessions, an atrocious 1.75 ppp. The next 33.5 minutes of the game, we gave up 40 points in 64.8 possessions, an amazing 0.62 ppp (0.54 adjusted). That was just a defensive beatdown for 30+ minutes. It seemed like SJ got a lot of o-boards, but in reality it was one of Duke's better games on the defensive boards.

Also, Marques Bolden had five defensive rebounds today, which considering how poor he's been at d-boards this season is a very positive sign.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 0.80 (adjusted that's 0.75; 3rd game at .80 or below in the 4 games since Tre Jones came back)
eFG%: 41.1% (another good peformance for the 6th best team in the country in this stat)
3pt%: 35.3% (not horrible)
2pt%: 35.9% (really good)
%threes: 30.4% (not bad)
FT rate: 19.6% (good; 4th straight game under 20% for the 11th best in the country for this stat)
DR%: 82.9% (outstanding; our best DR performance of the season)
TO%: 20.3% (I'll take anything over 20%, especially against a team that usually takes care of the ball reasonably well)
a/to: 0.64:1 (16th straight game with our opponents having equal or more turnovers than assists)
%assisted: 45.0%
fast break pts: 2 (3.6% of their points; hard to get too much better than this)
block%: 16.1%; 23.1% of 2-point shots (great performance for the #1 block% team in the nation)
steal%: 15.6% (another strong game for the #1 steal% team in the nation)


Another defensive beatdown. We did almost everything on D really, really well.

[Kedsy]

dRtg: 1.12 (adjusted that's 0.95, not great but it's still below 1 point per possession; considering the outcome, we'll take it)
eFG%: 55.0% (poor)
3pt%: 41.7% (not good)
2pt%: 50.0% (also not good)
%threes: 40.0%
FT rate: 11.7% (really good; 5th straight game under 20% for a top 15 team in this stat)
DR%: 54.8% (very poor)
TO%: 22.2% (amazing, against the team with the 5th lowest turnover rate in the country)
a/to: 1.07:1 (broke a 16 game streak of forcing our opponents to have equal or more turnovers than assists; though UVa only had one more assist than turnover, so not so bad)
%assisted: 53.6%
fast break pts: 0 (0.0% of their points; impossible to get any better than this in this stat)
block%: 8.3%; 13.9% of 2-point shots (another solid performance for the #1 block% team in the nation)
steal%: 19.0% (huge game for the #1 steal% team in the nation)


A mixed bag, to be sure. But you catch me complaining after beating the #3 team in the country by double-figures at their house.

[Kedsy]

fast break pts: 0 (0.0% of their points; impossible to get any better than this in this stat)

More on defensive fast break points:

-- This was our 5th straight game holding the opponent to single-digits in fast break points.

-- In our last two games we've given up a total of two (2) fast break points. That's 1.0 fb pts per game.

That's called getting back on D.

[pfrduke]

More on defensive fast break points:

-- This was our 5th straight game holding the opponent to single-digits in fast break points.

-- In our last two games we've given up a total of two (2) fast break points. That's 1.0 fb pts per game.

That's called getting back on D.

After so many years of feeling like* our team would get killed in transition but not similarly be able to convert, this season is a joy to watch in that regard in both directions.

*I stress feeling like - this is far from empirical and I suspect the numbers would tell me we had it better than I remember. But what I remember is that we've had some recent teams that were really pretty bad in transition D.

[fuse]

More on defensive fast break points:

-- This was our 5th straight game holding the opponent to single-digits in fast break points.

-- In our last two games we've given up a total of two (2) fast break points. That's 1.0 fb pts per game.

That's called getting back on D.

Not looking ahead, as I intend to enjoy every game. Our neighbors down the road appear to play a faster pace than we do. It will be interesting to see how the fast break points play out in those games.

[Kedsy]

Not looking ahead, as I intend to enjoy every game. Our neighbors down the road appear to play a faster pace than we do. It will be interesting to see how the fast break points play out in those games.

I think that will play right into our hands, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[ns7]

DR%: 54.8% (very poor)

This was the most surprising stat on defense considering Virginia doesn't really try for offensive rebounds. A good performance here allows us to win even if we don't shoot lights out.

[DukieInBrasil]

More on defensive fast break points:

-- This was our 5th straight game holding the opponent to single-digits in fast break points.

-- In our last two games we've given up a total of two (2) fast break points. That's 1.0 fb pts per game.

That's called getting back on D.

might this have something to do with our lackluster Dreb%? If we're getting back on D it seems we'd have fewer people going to the glass.

[CDu]

might this have something to do with our lackluster Dreb%? If we're getting back on D it seems we'd have fewer people going to the glass.

No, getting back on D could have a negative impact on our offensive rebounding. But there is no reason why it should hurt our defensive rebounding.

[DukieInBrasil]

Not looking ahead, as I intend to enjoy every game. Our neighbors down the road appear to play a faster pace than we do. It will be interesting to see how the fast break points play out in those games.

Since UNC doesn't really have a PG and we have a fantastic on-ball defender and 3 lengthy athletic dudes who are adept at picking off errant or lazy passes, it's quite possible that our D feasts on UNC's deficiencies in those regards. At least that's how i hope it plays out.

[Kedsy]

DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.94 (adjusted that's 0.81, really good, though most of the defensive effort occurred in the last 9:54 of the game)
eFG%: 49.2% (poor)
3pt%: 33.3% (fine)
2pt%: 48.5% (not good)
%threes: 45.0% (that's a lot of threes)
FT rate: 21.7% (pretty decent)
DR%: 73.7% (very good)
TO%: 23.0% (pretty strong)
a/to: 1:1 (17 of 18 games we've forced our opponents to have equal or more turnovers than assists)
%assisted: 68.0%
fast break pts: they only reported first half, and in the first half Louisville had 10 fb points, 26.3% of their first half points
block%: 3.3%; 6.1% of 2-point shots (not so good, for us)
steal%: 16.3% (another big game for the #1 steal% team in the nation)


In the first 30+ minutes of the game we gave up 59 points, nearly two points per minute. In the last 10- minutes of the game we only gave up 10 points, just about half the rate we gave up points in the first three-quarters of the game.

[uh_no]

DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.94 (adjusted that's 0.81, really good, though most of the defensive effort occurred in the last 9:54 of the game)
eFG%: 49.2% (poor)
3pt%: 33.3% (fine)
2pt%: 48.5% (not good)
%threes: 45.0% (that's a lot of threes)
FT rate: 21.7% (pretty decent)
DR%: 73.7% (very good)
TO%: 23.0% (pretty strong)
a/to: 1:1 (17 of 18 games we've forced our opponents to have equal or more turnovers than assists)
%assisted: 68.0%
fast break pts: they only reported first half, and in the first half Louisville had 10 fb points, 26.3% of their first half points
block%: 3.3%; 6.1% of 2-point shots (not so good, for us)
steal%: 16.3% (another big game for the #1 steal% team in the nation)


In the first 30+ minutes of the game we gave up 59 points, nearly two points per minute. In the last 10- minutes of the game we only gave up 10 points, just about half the rate we gave up points in the first three-quarters of the game.

i don't even know where to start with this one. not your post, the game i mean.

[BandAlum83]

DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.94 (adjusted that's 0.81, really good, though most of the defensive effort occurred in the last 9:54 of the game)
eFG%: 49.2% (poor)
3pt%: 33.3% (fine)
2pt%: 48.5% (not good)
%threes: 45.0% (that's a lot of threes)
FT rate: 21.7% (pretty decent)
DR%: 73.7% (very good)
TO%: 23.0% (pretty strong)
a/to: 1:1 (17 of 18 games we've forced our opponents to have equal or more turnovers than assists)
%assisted: 68.0%
fast break pts: they only reported first half, and in the first half Louisville had 10 fb points, 26.3% of their first half points
block%: 3.3%; 6.1% of 2-point shots (not so good, for us)
steal%: 16.3% (another big game for the #1 steal% team in the nation)


In the first 30+ minutes of the game we gave up 59 points, nearly two points per minute. In the last 10- minutes of the game we only gave up 10 points, just about half the rate we gave up points in the first three-quarters of the game.

We moved up from 5th to 4th AdjD from this game (88.0 to 87.3) on KenPom

[Kedsy]

I actually viewed the game in three segments.

Getting up 19-15: 21 possessions, 100 adjO, 58 adjD
getting down 36-59: 32 possessions, 63 adjO, 127 adjD
winning: 21 possessions, 176 adjO, 34 adjD

Courtesy of uh_no in the game thread. That's amazing defense in the bookend 18.5 minutes (8:42 to start the game and 9:54 to end it) and horrendous defense in the middle 21.5 minutes. A matter of focus? Or just a statistical anomaly?

[uh_no]

Courtesy of uh_no in the game thread. That's amazing defense in the bookend 18.5 minutes (8:42 to start the game and 9:54 to end it) and horrendous defense in the middle 21.5 minutes. A matter of focus? Or just a statistical anomaly?

I think the 2 botched inbounds plays were definitely focus. not getting back on some of the breakaways is very uncharacteristic of this team...it's something we need to not make a habit...I don't know if they were tired becuase of the flight issues, frustrated because we weren't scoring or what, but that's the kind of thing that UNC loves to do.

[CDu]

I think the 2 botched inbounds plays were definitely focus. not getting back on some of the breakaways is very uncharacteristic of this team...it's something we need to not make a habit...I don't know if they were tired becuase of the flight issues, frustrated because we weren't scoring or what, but that's the kind of thing that UNC loves to do.

The good thing is that we shouldn't have travel issues for any matchups with UNC. We have home games (and well in advance) ahead of each of the UNC matchups. Also, I suspect the Heels tempo will have our full attention, whereas Louisville has generally been a slow-it-down team this year.

I do like that UNC is turnover prone AND wants to play up-tempo. That would seem to play to our strengths. The danger of course is that they are fantastic on the glass and can really shoot the 3.

[jv001]

The good thing is that we shouldn't have travel issues for any matchups with UNC. We have home games (and well in advance) ahead of each of the UNC matchups. Also, I suspect the Heels tempo will have our full attention, whereas Louisville has generally been a slow-it-down team this year.

I do like that UNC is turnover prone AND wants to play up-tempo. That would seem to play to our strengths. The danger of course is that they are fantastic on the glass and can really shoot the 3.

My how times have changed. For years Duke was the 3 point shooting team while the cheats liked to score inside. Now they shoot the 3 well and getting to the basket is our biggest weapon. Just proves that our GOAT, can change and use the strength of the team he's built. GoDuke!

[Kedsy]

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?