Duke basketball searching for — and finding — solutions to its inconsistent offense
Though No. 17 Duke battled its way to an important 81-72 win over No. 25 Ohio State on Wednesday night, the Blue Devils remain a team searching for its best offense.
Duke won despite shooting 45.5% from the field, rather mediocre shooting accuracy in the big picture, but downright red hot compared to its 26.7% and 36.1% shooting during last week’s games with Oregon State and Purdue.
For the season, the Blue Devils (7-2) have made 42.1% of their shots from the field.
That Duke collected its first win over a ranked team in toughing out a victory over Ohio State shows an edge the Blue Devils certainly need to develop all season.
“We stood up to the adversity,” Duke junior guard Jeremy Roach said. “(Ohio State) cut it down to five and then we kind of got the lead back up to eight or nine, so I’m just happy with the performance and how much our resilience was tonight. It builds a lot of confidence. Just beating those kinds of teams, it’s big for us for the NCAA Tournament and obviously for our confidence.”
That confidence was shaken last Sunday in Portland, Oregon, when Purdue took an 18-point, first-half lead and held off Duke’s charges to win, 75-56, in the Phil Knight Legacy championship game.
It’s the kind of lopsided defeat the Blue Devils are used to administering, rather than being on the receiving end.
Focus on shots at the rim
To avoid experiencing any more of that, Duke turned its offense inward in preparing for the Buckeyes (5-2). When jump shots aren’t falling consistently enough, like they haven’t been for Duke, the smart option is to get the ball to the rim.
Against Ohio State, Duke scored 46 points at the rim, meaning via layups, dunks or put-backs, according to Synergy Sports Analytics.
Only 17 of Duke’s points in the win came from jump shots and 12 of those points were on unguarded shots. The Blue Devils hit only 31.6% of their jumpers against Ohio State.
Compare that to Purdue, which had 7-4, 290-pound center Zach Edey guarding the rim. In that game, Duke scored just 22 points at the rim and 26 via jump shots. The Blue Devils shot only 32.4% on jumpers and weren’t able to score enough at the rim as a counterbalance.
“We probably settle for too many jump shots,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “And so, for us, it’s just understanding that we need to play inside out. We need to fight for the rim.”
Duke has the height to do that, which should allow it to have a solid base of offense that doesn’t rely on jump shooting.
Freshmen centers the key
A pair of freshman centers, 7-1 Dereck Lively II and 7-foot Kyle Filipowski, are both in the starting lineup. Ryan Young, a 6-10 graduate transfer from Northwestern, is providing solid production off the bench with 8.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in 21 minutes of play per game.
Filipowski is the team’s standout player, regardless of age, thus far. He leads the team with 15.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He’s made 43.7% of his shots overall, including 36% of 3-pointers.
Against Ohio State, 9 of his 11 of his shots were at the rim, according to Synergy. He hit 6 of 11 shots and drew six fouls, leading to him making 4 of 6 free throws. Filipowski had no jump shots in the game.
Lively’s game on offense remains a work in progress, although he tallied a season-best 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting against Ohio State.
Since missing time with a calf muscle strain in October and early November, Lively hasn’t shown many moves in half-court offense and is only averaging 3.8 points per game. He’s a weapon on lob passes with his size and he’s a strong offensive rebounder.
He’s tried and missed two 3-pointers, but otherwise everything is at the rim for Lively as he works into shape. Scheyer is OK with that. He wants Duke’s guards to find Lively at the rim more.
“For him, it’s just getting comfortable developing his offensive game,” Scheyer said. “In fairness to him, we’ve missed him. One of the best things he does is he puts pressure on the rim and in pick and roll. Our guards, Jeremy hit him on one tonight. He actually had him on a couple plays tonight. That’s something we need to look for more.”
Three of Young’s four shot attempts against Ohio State were at the rim.
Duke’s had a couple games this season when jump-shooting paced a win. The Blue Devils hit 14 of 35 3-pointers while beating Bellarmine, 74-57, on Nov. 21 because the Knights packed the lane.
But, mostly, Duke is better when it relies on its exceptional offensive rebounding and gets the ball inside for easy baskets. According to KenPom, Duke has rebounded 42.1% of its missed shots. That’s the best offensive rebounding rate in the country.
As Lively gets more comfortable on offense, and Duke’s guards find him, Filipowski and Young inside for baskets, the Blue Devils have a chance to find their top gear on offense.