How Duke found its way to better offense even without Jalen Johnson
Duke needed someone to run its offense through who would make it easier for other players to get better shots.
From a pure talent perspective, Jalen Johnson projected as the most likely candidate. He’s 6-9 and athletic with good ball handling and passing skills in addition to a scoring knack.
That’s why NBA scouts are certain he’ll be a top-10 pick if he leaves Duke after his freshman season.
On Wednesday night, Duke didn’t have Johnson, who is sidelined with a foot injury that Duke officials aren’t giving any specifics about.
So what did the Blue Devils do?
They produced their finest offensive performance of the season, sharing the ball, protecting the ball and shooting it through the basket like they hadn’t in their first four games.
Duke beat Notre Dame 75-65 on the road in a game it controlled from beginning to end and Johnson wasn’t in the building.
In the alternative, the Blue Devils made sophomore Matthew Hurt their focus on offense and it worked magnificently.
“Matt, we got him the ball more,” Krzyzewski said. “He was close to having a huge game. But even him touching the ball forces the other team to help and that opens it up for other guys.”
As he’s done regularly in the early season for the No. 21 Blue Devils, Hurt led them in scoring. He tallied 18 points despite making only 8 of 17 shots. Krzyzewski would like more efficient scoring from the 6-9 sophomore, but he wasn’t going to pick nits about that on this night.
No, because Hurt was so active on offense, players like freshmen DJ Steward and Jeremy Roach got more open looks and driving lanes to the basket. Same for freshman forward Jaemyn Brakefield, who continues to impress in a reserve role.
Duke hit 51.7% of its shots overall, including 53.3% on 3-pointers. The Blue Devils entered the game shooting 44.2% for the season with 32.7% accuracy on 3-pointers.
When Duke last played, losing 83-68 to Illinois on Dec. 8, Krzyzewski lamented that his team lacked confidence on the offensive end and it was his job to help them find that confidence.
Consider the task accomplished. That it came as Duke dealt with Johnson’s absence this week is even more impressive. Krzyzewski and his staff had to adjust a couple of days before the Notre Dame game since Johnson, who was averaging 11.3 points per game, had his injured foot placed in a walking boot and isn’t going to be available any time soon.
Johnson and Hurt had both started in Duke’s first four games, two guys who are tall enough to play in the post but who also possess skills to score from anywhere.
No Johnson meant Hurt handled all those duties.
His 17 shots against Notre Dame were at least two times as many as any other Duke player except Steward, who took 11.
But Steward made 6 of his 11, including nailing 3 of 4 3-pointers, while scoring 16 points. Roach made 5 of 6 shots, including 2 of 3 pointers, to score 14.
Brakefield made 4 of 8, but hit both his 3-point attempts, to score 10.
“All three of them bring their own different skill set,” Hurt said. “They have improved since day one. Even after Illinois, seeing them grow, seeing them get better on the court. Whether it’s film or working with the coaches, it’s just a really great sight to see for me.”
Just like that, Duke played with swagger and confidence, never trailing as it opened a 10-point lead less than seven minutes into the game.
When Notre Dame cut Duke’s lead to five points at 55-50 with 10:43 to play, Duke scored the game’s next nine points to remind the Irish who the better team was on this night.
Senior guard Jordan Goldwire started the run with a jump shot on the baseline. Brakefield added to it by identifying a mismatch and driving past the bewildered Notre Dame defense for a layup.
Steward went all mix tape with a step-back 3-pointer before Hurt closed the run by sinking a fade-away jump shot in the lane.
Duke led 64-50 and was never seriously challenged the rest of the game
“Our kids made plays,” Krzyzewski said. “We didn’t call a play, they just made plays.”
They combined aggressive scoring plays with smart plays to protect the ball as well.
After the Blue Devils (3-2) averaged 16 turnovers per game over its first four contests, they finished with only eight against Notre Dame.
“That’s a big key,” Steward said. “Our turnovers came from us not playing together, not sharing the ball. Our key thing in practice was just sharing the ball and playing off each other. We did that pretty well tonight and that’s why our turnovers were low.”
As a result, Duke scored 1.12 points per possession, a vast improvement from the loss to Illinois when the inefficient Blue Devils scored just 0.91 points per possession. In losing 75-69 to Michigan State earlier this month, Duke’s efficiency was even worse at 0.88 points per possession.
Though Duke gets a break from games and practices for the holidays, this new look with Hurt being the centerpiece of things looks almost certain to continue for a few more games.
Krzyzewski said the plan is for Johnson to be reevaluated with a follow-up MRI exam in 2-3 weeks before his status could change. Duke’s next two games are Dec. 29 against Pittsburgh and Jan. 2 against Florida State.
“That doesn’t mean he’ll be back in 2-3 weeks,” Krzyzewski said. “We’d like to have him back obviously. But that makes the winning bigger.”
The Blue Devils found a path to better offense in losing perhaps their most talented player. In a wacky pandemic-altered year, that oddity just fits right in.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How Duke found its way to better offense even without Jalen Johnson."