Khaman's Corner: Duke moves Khaman Maluach around the floor for pick-and-roll with Kon Knueppel vs. UNC

How Duke moved Khaman Maluach around the floor to open up pick-and-roll with Kon Knueppel against UNC, plus more on the defense and high-post passing of Maliq Brown

There’s too much going on, let’s just dive in. Here are a couple of takeaways from Duke’s 87-70 win over North Carolina last Saturday, including the return of Maliq Brown, the importance of Khaman Maluach’s roll gravity and Cooper Flagg’s post passing.

Control the pace

After missing four straight games with a knee injury, Maliq Brown wasted no time in reestablishing his presence as one of the best defenders in the country.

After the first media timeout, UNC ran a Horns Out set — with Drake Powell cutting out to the left wing — into Chin action: Jalen Washington sets the back screen for RJ Davis and pops out to receive a pass from Powell. Davis is supposed to loop back up to receive a handoff from Washington while Ian Jackson comes off a down screen from Powell to the right side of the floor.

Before any of that unfolds, Brown steps in. An unsuspecting Washington leaves the ball a little exposed, and Brown swats it away, securing the loose ball. His steal disrupts UNC's after-timeout play and sparks a quick a tic-tac-toe fast break in the other direction with Tyrese Proctor and Cooper Flagg.

Offenses that use a 5-out system with their center initiating from the middle or the elbow need to stay on high alert when Brown is on the court — he’s always ready to swipe the ball.

Those turnovers help fuel Duke’s offense, especially the transition game. The Blue Devils have scored 11.3 fast break points per 40 minutes this season (75th percentile) and 15.0 points off turnovers per 40 minutes (75th percentile), according to CBB Analytics. Duke had 19 points off turnovers in the win over UNC. In general, the transition defense was solid, including getting numbers back after made baskets to prepare for UNC’s push. (The Tar Heels average 14.2 fast break points per 40 minutes this season.)

When an offense scores, it forces the defense to take the ball out of the net and face a set half-court defense. This creates a cycle of complementary basketball: the more efficient the offense is at generating good looks (the best of which come in transition), the more likely it is to score. And the more it scores, the more it forces the opponent into less efficient half-court possessions.

The Blue Devils were +12 in 16 minutes with Brown on the floor. When Brown played with Sion James, Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg (+14 in 14 minutes), Duke allowed 0.77 points per possession (38.6 eFG%) and posted a defensive turnover rate of 22.4 percent, according to CBB Analytics.

UNC shot just 8-of-22 against that lineup, including 1-of-7 on 3-point attempts. For the season, opponents are shooting just 37.1 percent from the floor (43.8 2P%, 28.7 3P%) when Brown is on the court, scoring only 93.3 points per 100 possessions.

A key factor in Duke’s success on Saturday was its execution of the defensive game plan against North Carolina, which featured a lot of switching across all five positions. Earlier in the week, Pittsburgh held UNC’s offense in check by switching across 1-5.

Duke, as it had when the Blue Devils defeated Pittsburgh on Jan. 7, chose to rely on its versatile roster and stuck with this strategy — with Khaman Maluach and Brown assigned to defend in space against a talented quartet of guards: Davis, Jackson, Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble.

As I wrote in my Duke-UNC preview, the Tar Heels are ripe to be covered up with the switch. While there’s plenty of shot-creation talent on the roster, UNC lacks a a back-to-the-basket threat in the post. Powell has a lot of talent and upside, and he played well at Duke, but his usage rate is still under 14 percent for the season. He could potential emerge as a switch-beater — a wing with some size and athleticism who can overpower defenders inside of 18 feet. For now, though, it can be a challenge for UNC to punish smaller defenders 1-on-1 or force a double team against a switch.

All of that said, UNC still generates a lot of offense around the basket: 47 percent of its points this season have come inside the paint, per CBB Analytics. However, that process becomes more of a challenge when forced to play in the half court and score over elite length.

Duke is the tallest team in the country, and with their ability to switch across all five positions, the Blue Devils were able to neutralize many of the advantages UNC's go-to half-court sets typically create. This forced Hubert Davis to lean heavily on his guards to carry the load with tough shot-making.

That’s a challenge against the 7-foot-2 Maluach and the 6-foot-9 Brown — both of whom are mobile and play with high work rates. Opposing guards can score on them, but they’ll have to work for it.

For instance, Brown makes life difficult across multiple switches for both Trimble and then Davis on this 5-out “Zoom” possession from UNC.

On the back side, Duke felt confident switching Knueppel, James and Proctor onto Washington or Ven-Allen Lubin, knowing they aren’t prepared to leverage their height advantage to score against a switch with a direct post-up/isolation.

Here, UNC starts the second half by running a back screen from Davis to get Lubin a touch left block against Knueppel. UNC’s spacing isn’t great: Cadeau, Davis and Trimble are all relatively close, and with Cadeau and Trimble being inconsistent shooters, Duke can afford to sag off them without much consequence. Maluach doesn’t come with a full double team, though he digs down off of Cadeau, and Knueppel stands up Lubin, resulting in a turnover.

The switch allowed Duke to keep the ball in front, disrupt the flow of UNC’s on- and off-ball actions and force a group of smaller guards to make difficult, off-dribble shots — many of which came late in the shot clock.

On this “Stack” possession for UNC, four different Duke defenders take turns on Cadeau as the Blue Devils contain the ball, refusing to let UNC pierce the defensive shell, while Flagg lurks on the back side as a free safety. Powell finally gets a closeout to attack off a pass from Cadeau. As Maluach chases him off the line, Powell drives, but with Gillis unconcerned by Cadeau being stationed on the strong-side wing, the veteran forward reads the play, gets into the gap and comes up with the steal.

While Maluach lacks some of Brown’s top-tier quickness at the center position, he makes up with his motor, feel for the game and sheer size.

Duke and Maluach also did an excellent job handling one of UNC’s go-to ball screen play types, which I also wrote about in the preview piece: Wedge pick-and-roll. On this play design, the action starts with one of the guards (Jackson) setting an off-ball screen for the 5 (Lubin), who will run out and set a ball screen for the 1 (Cadeau.) The screen from Jackson for Lubin should, in theory, place the defensive 5 (Maluach) a step behind the action. This is a tough, quick-hitting play to guard with an empty corner.

Duke, however, stays out of that alignment. Instead of having Maluach fight over Jackson’s screen to keep up with Lubin and then switch out on Cadeau, Maluach and Knueppel pre-switch the action. Knueppel takes Lubin and Maluach sticks with Jackson after the screen. This means Knueppel, another guard, gets to switch Lubin’s screen for Cadeau with James — rather than a center.

Davis draws a foul going at Proctor on the right side of the floor, but the Blue Devils do a nice job eating up the first progression.

What can’t Brown do for you?

Beyond the excellent switch defense, Brown displayed another facet of his game that makes him so special for a college 5: short-roll and high-post facilitation.

One of the things I wrote about before this game was UNC’s commitment to “weaking” and “downing” ball screens. These tactics are meant to keep the ball pinned to one side of the floor, ideally forcing the ball handler toward their weaker hand

A potential remedy for these coverages is having a frontcourt player who can screen and make plays on the short roll — in pockets of space between the layers of defenders.

Brown is an excellent short-roll playmaker. He maps the floor well, makes good decisions with the ball and he’s comfortable handling it in space. Use Brown in pick-and-roll actions against a no-middle defense and he’ll help generate ball reversals, build advantage and create closeouts to attack or cut finishes.

Duke runs “Wide” action here to start the possession — with Brown setting an early off-ball screen for Flagg. After Flagg receives a pass from Proctor, Brown quickly re-screens and sets a ball screen for Flagg. Brown then short rolls into space and Flagg hits him around the nail. Jackson shows help at the elbow, which creates a kick-out pass to Proctor and another ball screen. Before Brown screens again — this time for Proctor — the ball has already flipped sides twice and touched the paint. As Brown sets up to screen for Proctor, Jackson angles his hips to push Proctor to his left, weaker hand. As Washington drops below the level of the screen, Proctor hits Brown with a pocket pass toward the middle of the floor. With Trimble and Davis pinching in, Brown has options for a kick-out pass on the short roll.

Khaman’s Corner

As Duke delivered another efficient offensive showing — scoring over 1.25 points per possession against an ACC opponent for the seventh time this season — the Blue Devils flowed through a variety of concepts. One of these was set up right from the start: Khaman Maluach in the right corner on the first possession.

Normally, Duke would start this action with Maluach as one of the players near the elbow, not the corner; however, this possession starts with Flagg and James in the interior. Flagg pops out to the right wing from Duke’s “Stack” series and receiving a pass from Knueppel. After setting a brush screen for Flagg to collect the entry pass, James walks his man back down toward the left elbow — before pivoting and setting a back screen for Knueppel on Davis. While that happens, Maluach lifts in the direction of Flagg, bringing Lubin, UNC’s center and lone source of rim protection (6.5% block rate) with four guards on the floor, away from the restricted area. Proctor, who starts in the left corner, will cut across the formation.

Jackson, playing in his first Duke-UNC game, wants to stay attached to Proctor, a strong shooter, as the Aussie runs in the direction of Maluach — who is now ready to set a down screen on the wing. This Maluach-Proctor pindown clears out the weak-side help and pulls UNC’s tallest player out of the paint. Now, it’s up to Cadeau and Davis to handle the back screen between James and Knueppel as Flagg scans over the top of the shorter Trimble.

This is beautiful design from Duke. Cadeau and Davis want to switch the action, which Duke anticipates. After James screens for Knueppel, he slips underneath Davis. Cadeau goes to Knueppel, but Davis has no shot to get James, who has inside leverage and a head start toward the rim. James slips into open space and Flagg makes the read.

Going back to the preseason, Duke has found ways to move its centers around the floor as a means to open up driving and passing lanes. This usually entails spacing Maluach and Brown to the wing. Maluach may start this possession in the corner, but look where he ends up: on the wing, next to Flagg, pulling the defense’s rim protection away from the cup.

A minute later, here’s the same setup: Stack Out with James setting the brush screen for Flagg. Once again, Proctor is in the left corner and Maluach starts in the right. Proctor clears the left corner and runs off a down screen from Maluach on the right side of the floor. UNC is ready for the back screen from James this time, though Duke knows what to do with the ball. The left side of the floor is open for Knueppel-Flagg pick-and-roll, which is the play’s next progression. The result: Flagg is fouled at the rim after diving to the basket on a pass from Knueppel.

With regards to pick-and-roll coverages when Flagg set a screen, UNC played it similar to NC State. In an effort to keep their smallest defenders — Davis and Cadeau — out of switches against Flagg, they opted to play drop coverage with Trimble when Flagg was the screen-setter.

It’s incredible rare to see Trimble defend below the level of the screen like this, which is usually the ministry of center defenders, not 6-foot-3 guards. However, that’s the power of Flagg, who bends the coverage as UNC tries to avoid switch the 6-foot Davis on him.

Later in the game: Jae’Lyn Withers and Powell probably should’ve switched this James-Flagg ball screen, but Withers remains in drop coverage as Powell fights over the top, leaving Flagg wide open on the pick-and-pop.

NC State, which primarily switches 1-4 did the same thing with its 4, Dontrez Styles, earlier in the week when Flagg set ball screens for Duke’s guards.

Again, these are teams breaking from their normal conventions to handle Flagg’s special combination of size and skill.

Later in the first half, Duke goes back to this Stack Out setup — with Maluach stashed in the right corner. The other roles are flipped, though. Down in the left corner, Gillis is in for Proctor. As James initiates, Flagg sets the brush screen for Knueppel, who pops out to the right. Instead of cutting left, James zags right and Knueppel fakes a handoff back to his point guard. After the fake, James orbits around and comes off a back/flare screen from Maluach. Jackson gets stuck on Maluach’s screen, a habit of his, which forces Lubin to come off Maluach and help in the paint of James’ cut.

Once James clears to the left side, Maluach lifts an sets another back screen for Knueppel — with the right side of the floor empty of an help defenders for Davis: Lubin is in the paint as Jackson tries to chase down James. This puts a lot of pressure on Davis.

Flagg lofts a pass of the top to Knueppel, who catches the ball on the move. Davis fights over the top of Maluach’s screen as Lubin scrambles to recover in help. UNC has two defenders on the ball, which spells trouble. As he always does, Maluach rolls hard to the rim, which pulls in Trimble off of the left wing and into the paint. To help on the Maluach dive, though, Trimble has now left Gillis (48.1 3P% in ACC play) open on the wing.

Knueppel reads the coverage and makes a perfect live-ball ski pass, hitting Gillis in the shooter’s pocket for an open 3-ball.

If I were on Duke’s coaching staff, this is a play I’d circle to remind Maluach just how important it is for him to roll hard to the rim. Maluach doesn’t get credited with an assist here, but he damn well helps open this shot up for Gillis on the second side.

If I were Maluach’s agent, this is a clip I’d show to every NBA team drafting in the 2025 lottery: “Look how hard my client works even when he’s just setting screens and acting like a decoy, and look how much he can help an offense by doing these discrete things that teams want from modern, rim-running centers.”

Now, keep that play and Maluach’s rim gravity in mind, because it’s going to come into the picture again very quickly. This is where Duke showcases its ability to sequence actions with its play design and prey on the minds of help defenders.

One minute later, Duke comes out in the same play alignment: Stack Out with Knueppel again cutting to the right off of Flagg’s brush screen. James initiates and Gillis is spaced to the left corner. Maluach starts in right corner. Instead of more off-ball action, this possession is primed for empty-side pick-and-roll: Knueppel will grab the pass from James and immediately receive a step-up screen from Maluach on the wing.

A step-up screen is a ball screen action that’s set with the screener’s back to the baseline. (You’ll also hear it referred to as a “flat” ball screen or a “crack” screen, among other terms.) In theory, this screen is set as flat as possible — with the big’s back parallel to the baseline — so the ball handler can come off in either direction. However, Duke wants Knueppel to dribble to his right off of the screen, moving toward the empty corner.

As Knueppel drives right, there’s a weak-side exchange between James and Gillis. James cuts from the top of the key to the left corner. Meanwhile, Gillis shakes up from the corner to the left wing. Davis and Trimble communicate the exchange, with Davis switching to Gillis and Trimble taking James. Trimble, the low-man helper, however, gets caught handling the switch. In the moment, Trimble is a little slow to react as Maluach dive-bombs for the rim. The defense collapses but it’s too late: Maluach has a runway to the rim and he gets downhill for the lob dunk from Knueppel.

Look at the difference the positioning of Trimble makes from one play to the next with regard to Knueppel’s decision-making. The weak-side rotations and openness of the lane tell the whole story.

Maluach has 68 field goals on the season (79.8 2P%), 52 of which have been assisted. Knueppel has assisted on 14 of those field goals, while Flagg has 17 assists to Maluach, the most of anyone on the roster. According to my own charting, seven of Knueppel’s assists to Maluach have resulted in lob dunks out of the pick-and-roll.

Duke went to this Stack Out into empty-side step-up screen action a few more times throughout the game.

Here, Proctor initiates the ball screen this time and — with Maluach pulling in the weak-side defense on his rim run — hits Knueppel with the skip pass. The pass is a little high, so Knueppel isn’t able to let it fly off the catch, ahead of a closeout from Davis. However, he’s able to bully his way through the smaller Davis and down to the left block. After a pass out to Flagg, Knueppel seals Davis and Flagg hits him on the quick re-post, drawing a foul.

This is nice feel and chemistry between Flagg and Knueppel, just making the simple play on the second side of the floor. (Tip of the cap to Isaiah Evans on the bench, calling out the re-post option in real time.)

The Blue Devils used this same action on their final possession, too. Proctor runs it with Patrick Ngongba as the screener, which results in a 2-point jumper over Cade Tyson.

Duke also opened up empty-side step-up action with Knueppel and Maluach earlier in the second half. Now on the left side of the floor, Davis tries to weak Knueppel and send him left. Knueppel goes left and chews up the space with Washington in the drop. As the defense starts to bend, Jackson comes way off of James in the weak-side corner, creating the obvious kick-out look and a spot-up 3.

This 5-out pindown into step-up screen play has has been a bigger piece of the puzzle for Duke this season. Unlike UNC, Seattle hard hedges the side ball screen, but Knueppel is still able to find Maluach on the roll.

According to CBB Analytics, Maluach has shot 85.5 percent at the rim this season, with nearly 76 percent of his total field goal attempts coming from within 4.5 feet of the basket.

With Maluach on the floor this season, Duke is +228 in 424 minutes, including a net rating of 33.7 points per 100 possessions (99th percentile): 125.5 points per 100 possessions on offense (99th percentile) and 91.8 points allowed per 100 possessions on defense (99th percentile), according to CBB Analytics.

Maluach impacts winning, largely due to his dominance at the rim on both sides of the ball, and the stats back that up. When Maluach has been on the court, Duke has shot 70.6 percent at the rim. On the other end, Duke’s opponents have shot just 52.7 percent at the rim when Maluach is in the game, per CBB Analytics. That’s a massive delta.

Hit them in the gut

Brown isn’t the above-the-rim force that Maluach is, though he’s plenty capable of doing damage at the basket, too. His game is different, however, and he provides another offensive gear with his high-post facilitation. Brown’s passing allows Duke to open up its half-court offense and get into different kinds of off-ball actions.

Starting with the Arizona game, the Blue Devils have routinely played off of Brown’s high-post passing, often as a series out of Duke’s go-to staggered setup for Knueppel, which I’ve referred to as “Gut Stagger,” “Zipper” or “L” throughout the season.

The play starts with Knueppel coming out of the corner and running up through the middle (“Gut”) of the lane to receive a pass atop the key — off of staggered screens from Flagg and either Maluach or Brown.

Usually, after Knueppel takes in the pass, the possession flows into a chase ball screen from the center, who will turn, follow Knueppel above the 3-point line and set a quick ball screen.

When Brown is in the game, though, Duke will use this setup to stage his high-post passing. Instead of receiving a pass, Knueppel will cut through to the opposite wing and the ball will cycle into Brown — between the free throw line and 3-point arc. The two weak-side guards will then run some off-ball games with Brown as a high-post hub. In this case, it looks as through Proctor will set a flare screen for Knuppel. Proctor has different ideas, though.

Instead of setting the flare, which would create a switch between Jackson and Davis, Proctor slips the screen, playing off the gravity of Knueppel. Duke picked on Jackson as an off-ball defender in this game, and this is a tough action to handle. If you’re the defender, you don’t want Knueppel coming off a potential flare screen into clean airspace. However, when you anticipate a switch and the offense knows it, a slip screen is a great counter. Jackson barely takes a step in the direction of Knueppel, but it’s enough to open a lane for Proctor.

Here’s Duke scoring off the exact same action earlier this season at Arizona as James slips the flare screen for Knueppel and cuts to the rim for a dunk, courtesy of Brown’s high-post passing.

According to CBB Analytics, four players on Duke’s roster average more than 1.0 assists per 40 minutes that result in rim finishes: James (2.1), Flagg (2.0), Knueppel (1.4) and Brown (1.1).

Brown is a clever player and he’s terrific at picking out cutters. Duke’s staff has put these guys in good spots, but Brown’s developed real passing chemistry with Knueppel, Flagg, Proctor and, especially, James, who is an excellent cutter in his own right.

Of course, the off-ball guard lifting from the corner can still set the flare screen and play out of that, too. Against Virginia Tech: Brown catches in the high post, Proctor sets the flare and Knueppel scores off another Barkley-style drive.

This type of design is where you can see all of the different layers that Duke’s offense derives from one play.

Proctor sets the flare screen for Knueppel again on this possession against UNC. Jackson switches out to Knueppel, eliminating a potential catch-and-shoot chance. However, this shift leaves Powell to defend at the point of attack as Proctor moves into a handoff with Brown. Proctor drives, kicks to James, who also drives and bends the defense — kicking back out to Proctor for a give-and-go relocation 3-pointer.

(I call to this action, when a player sets a flare screen and then runs into a handoff, as “Razor,” though it’s often referred to as others as “Peja” action, based off how frequently Rick Adelman ran it for Peja Stojakovic during their time together with the Sacramento Kings.)

Brown, Proctor and Knueppel can also work this triangle concept against off-ball switches by having the player who sets the flare slip the screen and sprint straight into the handoff, which is what Proctor does on this possession. Instead of handing the ball to Proctor, though, Brown fakes the handoff and pitches wide to Knueppel. Jackson gets bullied on the drive as he closes out and slides with Knueppel, which collapses UNC’s help-side defense. James, as always, makes a heads-up play, finds a crease and roars down the lane for a cut dunk.

Earlier on against UNC, Duke comes out in its L shape for the first time. Proctor enters the ball to Brown in the high post. As Brown looks right, Knueppel and James play a little game. First, Knueppel acts as if he will set a pindown for James, but he instead slips and cuts further along the wing, which UNC switches. The two flip roles and it looks like James will set the pindown for Knueppel. Davis and Trimble are ready to switch, but James counters with another slip, getting to the rim and drawing a foul off of a good find from Brown.

Thrown for a Coop

Duke really didn’t go to that much pick-and-roll with Flagg as the ball handler in the UNC game, though it does feel like the inverted ball screen actions are something to keep in the back pocket when when these teams rematch next month. By my charting, Flagg never scored as a pick-and-roll ball handler against UNC.

That said, the pick-and-roll isn’t the only way to attack mismatches or look to get two defenders on the ball. In fact, a post-up is a great way to do this as well — provided the offense has a low-post talent worthy of a double team. This is where Flagg did a lot of damage.

UNC started the game with four guards and played Cadeau, Davis, Jackson and Trimble 10 minutes against Duke. The Blue Devils outscored the Tar Heels by 15 points in those minutes, scoring over 1.84 points per possessions.

With UNC deploying four guards, Duke didn’t have to involve Flagg in ball screens to get a smaller defender on him. That matchup is already dictated by the lineup combinations. Trimble is a strong defensive player and a good athelte, but he’s undersized, and it was a big ask to have him be the primary defender on Flagg.

The Blue Devils like to post Flagg on these quick duck-in plays off of their “L” series. Instead of having Proctor run off staggered screens from Flagg and Maluach on the left side, Knueppel clears out of the right corner and Flagg flashes to the right mid-post. Trimble fronts the post and forces a catch far from the paint, but as Washington comes to double immediately on the catch, Flagg showcases his ridiculous processing skills — skipping over the top of the defense for an open Proctor corner 3.

This is a gorgeous pass from Flagg. It’s right on the money. The ball gets to Proctor so quickly and with such good placement; Davis can’t even rotate out to contest the shot.

Duke has a tendency to open games/halves with back screen lob plays to Flagg. It’s on the scouting report. The Blue Devils can play off of that knowledge, though, including getting into designed post-ups for Flagg.

So, on the first play of the second half, Duke looks ready to have Proctor set the back screen for Flagg. The lob doesn’t come, though. Flagg shifts to the left post and Proctor throws the entry. Lubin comes on the double team and Flagg again hits the weak-side skip pass. Knueppel drives the closeout and finishes at the rim with a dunk.

Again, the placement on these passes from Flagg is just so, so good.

After Flagg burned UNC on a couple of these post doubles, the Heels tried to mix coverages. UNC doesn’t double Flagg on this play; Trimble has the assignment 1-on-1. However, Withers opts to dig down on Maluach at the right dunker spot. Despite the lack of a true double team, UNC has left a shooter open on the weak side of a Flagg post-up, with an obvious passing window, which is a big problem. That problem is compounded given who’s open: Slim Evans.

Withers scrambles to closeout on Evans, but Flagg’s pass hits Evans in perfect rhythm. Unless it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama or Anthony Davis, making this rotation, this shot is going up without a real contest. Flagg has assisted Evans 11 times this season. According to my charting, all but one of those assists have resulted in a 3-pointer.

Even when defenses are adamant about not switching smaller guys on Flagg, Duke can force the issue when it gets to one of its primary play designs with its small-ball lineup — Flagg and Gillis in the frontcourt, next to three guards: Pistol action.

The Blue Devils played only one possession with Maluach, Brown and Ngongba all on the bench. It was an after-timeout play from Jon Scheyer just before halftime.

For the Pistol set, Duke spreads the floor and places Flagg in the left corner — on the same side as the ball. The play starts with Flagg lifting up and James passing him the ball. James is on the move as he passes to Flagg, and he follows his pass in a straight line. Flagg has options now. He can hand the ball back to James, fake the handoff and look to drive in isolation or work as a facilitator with the weak-side movement — some split action between Knueppel and Proctor. Flagg opts to keep it and he scores over Davis.

Notice how UNC switches Davis to Flagg — one of the few times all game this matchup was generated. With the clock dwindling, Davis forces a tough shot, but Flagg is too good.

Moreover, this is a hard play to defend. If UNC doesn’t switch the potential handoff between Flagg and James, it’s a really tough cover for Davis, who would need to chase a very fast player in space, get around a screen and essentially beat him to a spot along the baseline. That’s no small feat.

Withers switches and shows help for Davis against Flagg. Honestly, it looks like Flagg could’ve hit James for a cut layup. It’s hard to argue with the result, though: good defense, better offense.

That old basketball adage applied to many aspects of Duke’s win over UNC, an excellent two-way performance that kept the Blue Devils undefeated in ACC play, setting the stage for an intriguing matchup with Clemson on Saturday.