Project defensive scoresheet: Duke vs. Virginia Tech

This game had “crossroads” written all over it.  The Blue Devils had trudged off the Cameron floor the previous Saturday after a lackluster final 12 minutes resulted in their having to escape with a 7 point win over a very young and thin St. John’s team, after having enjoyed a 22 point lead.  After the game, Coach K did not mince words in his criticism of his team’s effort and intensity, in particular on the defensive end of the floor, making it clear that this performance did not meet Duke standards.  Not by a long shot.  Things would have to change, or else.

Virginia Tech came into the game with a very disappointing 12-9 record, 1-5 in the ACC.  The Hokies’ only notable victories were two over Oklahoma State, along with a 2 point road win over upper division ACC squad Virginia.  Most of the rest of their wins were against Sister Mary Applesauce, if you know what I mean.  The best you can say about their ACC losses is that four of the five were within four points.  That and $3.75 will get you a decaf nonfat latte with extra foam, but not much when folks like, oh, tournament committee members are looking at your performance.

The Devils, though, have had some very tough days and nights in Cassell over the years, including when we have brought in teams believed by most to be stronger than this one.  But Virginia Tech was significantly better when they pulled those upsets too.  This team is much more limited, with their best inside player, 6’8″ 245 lb. Victor Davila scoring only 7 ppg.  6’4″ junior Erick Green is the leading scorer at 16 ppg, and senior Dorenzo Hudson can cause problems on the perimeter as well, but he shoots only 41%.  Overall, this is not one of the most talented teams Duke has faced, or will face, at the offensive end of the floor.

So with the defense, and the defensive effort the focus, one question coming into the game was:  if we can’t lock even these guys down, after the tongue-lashing administered by K after St. John’s, then who CAN we lock down, and when do we plan on showing that ability?

For some, the season seemed to hang in the balance.  Would the Devils step up to the coach’s challenge, made so publicly?  Or would they continue to drift in and out, to have stretches of focused play followed by a series of mental lapses or failures to make full effort?

Coach K added one additional element into the mix.  A lineup change.  Into the first group came Josh Hairston.  Never one considered by many to be a candidate to start for this team, K apparently felt that his energy, enthusiasm, toughness, and attitude was needed at this juncture.  He, like teammate Tyler Thornton — who also got a start here — is not afraid of physical play.  While Josh plays below the rim, and lacks great jumping ability, he plays hard at both ends.  Perhaps that is what K felt was needed more than anything else.

The result was Duke’s best defensive effort in months, if not the whole year.  They played with intensity, focus, and intelligence.  After 14 minutes of back-and-forth, Duke took control in the later part of the first half, taking a 10 point lead into the locker room.  The lead expanded after halftime, and despite a small lull (way overplayed by the announcers) that reduced the lead from 23 to the final margin of 15, the Devils kept up the pressure the entire way.  We denied in the passing lanes and in the post, we helped, and we hustled.  With a few exceptions, we stayed in front fairly well on drives.  But the most important thing was the passion and the commitment that the Devils showed on the defensive end — that provides something to build on, and gives this team an opportunity to move from this crossroads in the right direction.

Below are the defensive numbers. For a primer on just what these columns mean, please refer to the first post in this series here.

What do these show?

Well, for starters, the team’s overall DRating was 97, a full 9 points better than it was against St. John’s.

The numbers continue to support my contention that Austin Rivers is a very good defensive player.  He has quick feet, he anticipates where his man is going to go and beats him to spots, he works hard to get around screens, he is rarely beaten off the dribble.  He had a 90% stop rating in this game, meaning when he was involved in the play, 90% of the time we got stops.  That number dwarfs anybody else on the team.  This is huge considering the minutes he got in this game (35) and the big minutes he’s been getting in every game.

Andre Dawkins, not so much again.

Ryan Kelly played well at both ends.  He had the second best numbers on the team, despite not doing much at all on the defensive boards, which counts here.  The guy who is really starting to puzzle me though is Miles Plumlee.  He was the defensive star of this team for the first half of the season, but is clearly struggling lately.  I don’t know why, but he’s not performing nearly at the same level of efficiency defensively, and his minutes are declining as a result.  Is he hurt?  Sick?  Just slumping?  He’s the senior who we’ve all been hoping was going to step his game up at this point.  He seemed to be doing that for most of the year, but now has had several sub-par games in a row.

But what about Josh Hairston?  Josh played with his usual controlled aggression.  He moved his feet well against dribble penetration, and he was also instrumental in causing some turnovers.  Sure, he gave up a couple of hoops, but who didn’t?  His overall DRating was right at the team average.  Though there are certain types of players that Josh is going to struggle with physically (like those we’re going to face on Wednesday), I could see him getting another start against Miami.  I think he earned it.

Solid win, and a win achieved in the manner they needed to get it, on the road.  Slept well.