DBP Newsletter #15
Khaman Maluach, Defensive Pictures, and Notes
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Khaman Maluach Activity
Khaman Maluach plays with a high level of activity - running the floor, setting solid screens, and putting pressure on the rim.
After setting the ball screen for Tyrese, Cooper receives the pass and is doubled on the catch. Khaman dives to screen the low man as Cooper passes out of the double, leaving Sion open for a knockdown three. Then, Khaman sets up a hand-off with Kon, but Knueppel is overplayed so he goes backdoor. It looks simple, but Khaman’s pass is on time and in the shooting pocket, enabling Kon to go right into his jumper. Next, Khaman sets the flare screen for Kon and rolls hard to the rim, putting him in excellent offensive rebounding position - he keeps the miss alive and completes the put back. Midway through the first half, Khaman reverses the ball and sets the down-screen for Tyrese, who drives the closeout. Maluach reads the drive and screens his own man to prevent help at the rim. Then, Cooper and Khaman run a ball screen. Khaman rolls hard, but doesn’t get the initial look as Flagg kicks it out to Tyrese for another drive. Tyrese can’t covert but, because he rolled hard off the ball screen, Maluach is in position for another score on the offensive rebound. Next, Khaman screens away for Kon - his defender trails, so Kneuppel curls and receives the pass. This effectively works like a Kon/Khaman ball screen, with Maluach open on the roll for a lob. With Duke leading 48-27 late in the first half, it would be easy for Khaman to jog the floor. Instead, he sprints ahead of four orange shirts for an easy layup on the hit ahead from Sion. Early in the second half, Khaman shows hard guarding the ball screen with Sion (more of this in the next section). This discourages the pass to the roll man and forcing the pass to the wing, which Cooper reads and takes the other way for a dunk. Finally, Cooper and Khaman run another ball screen. Khaman is open on the roll for an alley-oop.
Khaman opens the game at Miami setting a pin down for Kon in the left corner - the defender goes under the screen, and Knueppel connects on the three. Moments later, Maluach initiates the same action for Tyrese. The defender chases over the screen this time, give Tyrese a driving line to the hoop. Khaman is a lob threat because he rolls hard after setting the screen - this occupies the help defender and allows Rese to get all the way to the rim. After setting a ball screen for Proctor, Khaman rolls hard again, this time putting him offensive rebounding position on Kon’s drive. Maluach kicks it out to Coop, who drives the closeout and finishes inside. Then, Khaman runs the floor hard after Miami’s missed three - Sion sprints the right sideline as well. Kon hits it ahead to Cooper, who is fouled as he finishes on the break. Miami picks up Khaman on the rim run as he crosses half court, taking an additional help defender out of the play.
While Khaman’s minutes can often be seen in the box score (points, rebounds, blocks), his activity provides additional value that isn’t always captured statistically - screen assists, extra possessions, and sprinting to the rim open up opportunities for his teammates.
Defensive Pictures
Against Illinois, Duke utilized aggressive ball screen coverage with their big men. Instead of switching or being a drop, Duke trapped (blitzed) the ball handler, or showed hard before recovering to the screener. Here are some pictures:
Sion and Khaman blitz the ball handler on Illinois’ first possession of the game, pushing him out toward mid-court and use high hands to disrupt his vision. Cooper, Kon, and Tyrese do a nice job of keeping seeing the floor (butt to the baseline) to cover the other four Illini.
Khaman steps out hard on the ball screen, giving Tyrese a lane to go underneath and resume guarding the ball. Mason and Sion pinch in to help on any passes to the paint until Maluach can recover to his man.
Notice how Mason tags the screener while Khaman and Sion briefly trap the ball. Khaman sprints out of the trap back to his man, so Mason can get back to his man at the top. Tyrese is helping in the paint off the opposite corner and Kon is in the gap - all of this takes excellent communication.
Pat steps out with the ball handler, forcing him high and giving Sion space to get through. Ngongba recovers back to his man, while Cooper, Kon, and Isaiah are in a three-man zone on the back line.
After made free throws from Kon, Duke drops back into a 1-3-1 zone for the first time all season (I think). With Cooper at the top, and Kon, Khaman, and Isaiah in the middle, Duke’s length closes down the passing lanes. When the ball moves to the wing, notice how Cooper and Isaiah corral the ball without trapping, while Kon drops into the paint to prevent the diagonal pass. Mason, the low man in the 1-3-1, is responsible for guarding the ball side corner. After forcing a contested three, Kon sets a cross-screen for Khaman in the post, resulting in a dunk.
Notes
Duke generated 1.57 points-per-shot from three against Illinois, and followed that up with 1.80 points-per-shot from three at Miami. The Blue Devils combined to go 27 for 48 from beyond the arc (56.3%).1
Led by Isaiah Evans, the Blue Devils were a combined +55 in bench points (87-32) against Illinois and Miami. Evans tallied 33 points, including 8 of 13 from three-point range, in the two games. Duke had seven guys in double-figures at MSG.2
There were 73 total possessions in Madison Square Garden and 71 total possessions in Coral Gables, the only two games with 70+ possessions since Duke’s first three to open the season.3 In the last two contests, Duke averaged 1.44 points-per-possession on offense, while giving up 0.89 points-per-possession defensively.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Duke three-point shooting: vs. Illinois - 12 for 23; at Miami - 15 for 25
Bench Points: Duke - 43 Illinois - 15; Duke - 44 Miami - 17
Total Possessions: vs. Maine - 74; vs. Army - 71; vs. Kentucky - 74
Sources