Game Thread [2019-20] #9 Duke vs. Pittsburgh
- Thread starter DurhamSon
- Start date
I know we talk about the blueprint to beat K's stupid defense, but I thought Pitt did a really nice job of defending Duke in the second half.
They tried to prevent penetration without over committing. They forced Duke to rely on Goldwire to make open shots in the second half, and he didn't convert after having a scorching first half. Goldwire's man basically didn't leave Carey's side for large portions of the second.
When they zoned, it was a big, spread out zone that took time off the clock. On Duke's part, they were flashing Jack White into the center of the zone on offense, and I'm not sure what Duke would expect him to do with the ball there, if someone had bothered to pass it to him. Flash Stanley, Tre or Baker/Hurt and we might have something.
Anyway, good job by Pitt basically making things hard on Duke in ways that I'm surprised more teams don't.
They tried to prevent penetration without over committing. They forced Duke to rely on Goldwire to make open shots in the second half, and he didn't convert after having a scorching first half. Goldwire's man basically didn't leave Carey's side for large portions of the second.
When they zoned, it was a big, spread out zone that took time off the clock. On Duke's part, they were flashing Jack White into the center of the zone on offense, and I'm not sure what Duke would expect him to do with the ball there, if someone had bothered to pass it to him. Flash Stanley, Tre or Baker/Hurt and we might have something.
Anyway, good job by Pitt basically making things hard on Duke in ways that I'm surprised more teams don't.
Jack White is IMO a good person to flash into the high post because generally he is a higher IQ player that will make the right read.
I feel like Hurt in the middle is ideal. Good decision-maker, good passer.
I would rather him on the 3pt line for the open 3's. RJ performed very well in the high post last year because he was a solid decision maker and a capable scorer. If you don't have someone who can dominate and finish at the rim on one dribble from the high post rather effortlessly(which is rare, see Zion), I would rather have my scorers either on the baseline or on the 3pt line. If you have two really good bigs like we did with Cartere Jr and Bagley then it makes sense to flash one of them there so you have the high/low option and then kick out to shooters.
The mid-range jump-shot isn't really the one you want to take there and I'm sure Syracuse would be more than happy giving it to us. You need someone who is at least a threat to make it so that Syracuse can't match-up and leave a non-shooter all alone, unguarded with their big defensive center in the middle preventing a drive opportunity, while they cover everything else. White isn't a great shooter, but he checks the box of being able to hit this shot. You need someone who has versatile skills: can drive and finish, make the right reads, and hit that shot. White checks this box. And you need someone with a little size, which he has.
With Hurt, his shooting is too good to not have on the 3pt line, IMO. I would much rather have Hurt there than White. Hurt isn't a bad option, but considering he's a freshman and our best shooter, I would rather him be on the 3pt line. Plus, I think it will simplify and make things easier for Hurt to not overthink and his first game against Syracuse. White is a senior and can handle it.
Look at Theo Pinson from UNC in 2018. Obviously a different player than Jack White, but he torched our zone in the ACC Tournament out of the high post because he had developed play making skills, made the right reads, and was finishing inside. He wasn't very reliant on the mid-range shot which most 2-3 zones at this level will concede now.
The best thing we could do is have Tre Jones and Stanley split gaps from the perimeter which will open everything up, but that's easier said than done and IIRC the times we've seen zone this year we have been pass happy on the perimeter, but that's the point of using it as a surprise defense against anyone. We know Syracuse is running it and will have a much better focus/plan of attack than we do against some random team surprising us with it.
Jack White has a career assist rate of 5.8% (A/TO is exactly 1), and he hardly ever drives (career 3pt rate .675, FT rate .25 which is honestly a little higher than I expected). If you’re playing a defense with any smarts, they won’t do anything with Jack White if he gets the ball at 15-18 feet. Stay home at the rim and stay on shooters. Jack White isn’t going to do anything.
Bringing up Pinson makes no sense because Duke has no one remotely close to him. He was basically UNC’s point guard in the halfcourt his last three seasons (led UNC regulars in assist rate all three seasons, career rate of 24%, career A/TO of 2.2), and he was much more of a slasher (career 3pt rate .295, FT rate .452, 16.1% usage). It would make a lot more sense to try Tre in the middle of the zone if you weren’t worried about his height making it difficult to pass back out.
There are no bigger Jack White stans on this board than me. However, a playmaker he is not. He can make good decisions with the ball, but he's not exactly crafty with the ball in his hands.