Where is Duke's offense?
Since Duke squeaked out a 54-51 victory against Indiana Nov. 28, that has been the biggest question about the young team.
But with their 69-53 win Saturday afternoon over George Mason, the Blue Devils assuaged many doubts about their ability to score consistently.
Duke jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead less than a minute into the contest on three-pointers from Jon Scheyer and DeMarcus Nelson and would never trail during the game, eventually extending their lead to as much as 18 points.
This weekend's hot start contrasts sharply with the Blue Devils' last few matchups, in which they have struggled to establish an offensive game. Against Georgetown Dec. 2, Duke entered halftime behind by seven points after making 10 turnovers in the period. Against unranked Holy Cross Dec. 6, the Blue Devils were similarly ineffective in the half-court, scoring just 22 points in the first half. Duke also committed 20 turnovers against the Crusaders.
Against the Patriots-last year's Cinderella participant in the Final Four-Duke found rhythm and consistency, however. The Blue Devils protected the ball better, ran half-court sets with success and ended with their highest point total since beating Davidson 75-47 Nov. 25.
The Blue Devils' offensive success resulted in part from their relative lack of turnovers against George Mason-they had just 11 compared to a season average of 17.8. Fewer turnovers translated into more opportunities to score and a better ability to command a consistent offense.
"Limiting the amount of turnovers, that's going to give us more shots," Greg Paulus said. "Not having 20 turnovers gives us nine extra possessions, nine extra shots-that's definitely beneficial."
A spike in assists complimented the dearth of turnovers. In the game, Duke made 25 field goals on 21 assists. Though Duke had nearly twice as many assists as turnovers this weekend, it entered the game with a whopping 49 more turnovers than assists for the season. Saturday, however, the offense made smart passes and ran its sets effectively, often deep into the shot clock.
"One of the things I think our team was doing-all of us, me included-every pass we were trying to make was a scoring pass," Scheyer said. "You don't need to do that all the time. We can be a pass-and-move team-move the ball on offense, get the defense moving."
Maintaining the high assist-to-turnover ratio will be crucial for the Blue Devils to continue improving on offense. Much of Saturday's change came from a more consistent effort from Paulus, who turned to ball over just once in 26 minutes.
"That's by far the best we've handled the ball," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Eleven turnovers is heaven for us right now."
Unable to effectively penetrate through George Mason's zone defense at times, nearly 40 percent of the Blue Devils' points came from beyond the arc in the game-a statistic that again runs contrary to season trends. As a team, Duke made nine of its 20 three-point attempts and a handful more rimmed out. The team attempted more threes in the first half, 13, than the 12.1 it has averaged per game this year.
Nelson finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and Scheyer hit 4-of-7 three-pointers. Paulus scored all six of his points on threes. The barrage of long shots helped open up the floor, so Duke could better penetrate the paint, helping to balance its attack.
As the first two possessions of the game suggested, Duke's offensive resurgence was led by Nelson and Scheyer, who both set career highs with 24 and 18 points, respectively. Together they scored Duke's first 17 points of the second half and accounted for all but seven points in the period.
This weekend's game was not a dominating performance for the Blue Devils, but it was a great improvement.
With the fifth-best scoring defense in the country, Duke already has the defense necessary to win games. If they can continue their improvement on the offensive end with their 10-day break before taking on Kent State Dec. 19, the Blue Devils will be poised to prove that they still are, indeed, one of the most complete teams in the nation.
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