Duke’s scaled back offense producing lethal results

The Duke Blue Devils are running a clinic on offense, largely by relying on skills you can’t coach.

The Duke Blue Devils have largely rolled to their current 12-1 record by relying on athletic dominance over any advanced schematic advantage. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is known as an elite basketball mind, however, this season he has eschewed multi-layered offensive concepts for a rather simple spread attack.

Most coaches have concrete and non-negotiable systems when coaching as long as Coach K. For example, it feels like Syracuse has never run anything but a 2-3 zone defense, even before Jim Boeheim.

Duke has been rather malleable on offense as the styles of the college game has evolved. I would say a good comparison for Coach K is San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich; both have adapted and evolved their systems as the efficiency and fundamental strategies have changed over the decades.

This year’s Blue Devils are not the most fundamentally sound team. You don’t have to have a trained eye when watching Duke to understand what sets them apart from their peers is world-class athleticism. Freshmen R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson have unteachable traits that make your jaw drop at least once per game.

There are other standouts on Duke, like fellow freshman, Cam Reddish, but Barrett and Williamson are the straws that stir the proverbial drink of Duke’s offense. So, what has Coach K done to create an offense tailored suited to his very raw, but very explosive freshmen?

This year’s Duke offense is the simplest offense I believe Coach K has ever run. The primary actions of this offense are a spread set with a pick-and-roll built in so that Barrett or Williamson have room to aggressively attack the basket. Duke has so far shown limited entries into their pick and roll actions, and when their ball-screens do not work, Coach K is more than compliant with one his stud freshmen ending a possession with one of them attacking in isolation.

Below are diagrams that show the options of how Duke enters their ball-screens. The numbers of the offensive players in the diagrams do not reflect the actual player who is in possession of the ball.

Only two of the six plays above present multiple options before a final action or a ball screen occurs. This simplified offense, however, allows for a natural read and react type of play that is taken to new levels when you have players like Barrett and Williamson.

Duke’s simplified offense is producing tremendous results on the court. According to KenPom, Duke is the second most efficient offense in the country, despite being in the lower-third of three-point shooting percentage.

How does Duke maintain such high offensive efficiency, despite being a below-average shooting team from three? By being outrageous inside the three-point line.

The Blue Devils are elite at taking care of the ball and average the fifth most offensive rebounds per game, according to the NCAA statistical database.

A deeper dive into KenPom, (subscription needed) shows that Duke shoots almost 60 percent on their two-point attempts, which is best for fourth in the nation entering Tuesday night’s road game at Wake Forest.

One potential concern for Duke against better competition is they do not frequently get to the free-throw line, nor do they shoot free throws well. Conference opponents that excel in defense like Florida State and Virginia will slow the game down considerably, and force Duke to beat them within the half-court game. It should be safe to say that Duke will likely struggle if they cannot convert from two as well and don’t get to the charity stripe.

Concerns might not be needed when you have a transcendent player like Coach K has with Williamson. He is putting up absurd numbers on top of having a physical profile the likes not seen before. Williamson is an elite defender who frequently challenges shots at the rim and has the length to cause deflections in steals.

On offense, Williamson is shooting a poor 19 percent from 3, which doesn’t matter since he is shooting 74 percent from inside the arc. It also doesn’t hurt the freshman phenom is drawing almost seven fouls per 40 minutes of play.

College basketball is unique in that there are so many playing styles. Coaching philosophies vary significantly, including the fact that some coaches keep their rigid structures in place, and some adapt their systems to fit their personnel.

Coach K continues to cement his status as one of basketball’s best to ever coach by understanding that simple actions out of spaced sets give his young Blue Devils the best chance to win on game day.