DURHAM, N.C. — They got their coach back.
And a mere 23 games into the season, Duke finally played its first game with all of its rotation players dressed out and healthy enough to take the court.
The Blue Devils’ 72-64 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday was a reminder that — even though they are trending in the right direction — Mike Krzyzewski’s presence doesn’t automatically transform them into a flawless team.
Krzyzewski, who has been recovering from back surgery, returned to the sidelines for the first time since Duke’s 110-57 win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 4. He wasted no time adding another tweak to the lineup.
Freshman guard Frank Jackson started in place of senior Matt Jones, which marked the fifth different starting lineup in the past six games and ninth overall this season.
“The two single biggest things in developing into really something good are preparation and continuity, and this group has been denied a lot of preparation and continuity — bottom line,” Krzyzewski said. “And so we’re trying to decide how to do a Cliff Notes version of preparation and continuity and team building.”
There’s still work to do, especially on the defensive end, where Duke allowed its fourth consecutive opponent to shoot 50 percent or more in at least one half. And Pittsburgh did so in both halves, finishing at 51 percent.
Yes, Pitt has way more talent than its 1-9 record in the ACC would suggest. The Panthers’ Jamel Artis and Michael Young are No. 1 and 2 in scoring in the league.
The Panthers seemed to be a good defensive matchup with Duke because both primarily used a four-guard lineup.
The Blue Devils accomplished their goal in taking away the 3-point line — after watching Pitt make 13 3s in its 80-78 loss at North Carolina, the Panthers made just 2 of 14 from behind the arc.
But in doing so, they also made it a little too easy to get to the rim. They were consistently beat off the dribble or allowed Pitt players to turn the corner on ball screens and get into the lane.
Duke allowed the Panthers to score 40 points in the paint — well above their average of 25.9, which ranks 74th out of 75 major-conference teams. It marked the sixth time this season the Blue Devils have given up 40 or more points in the paint and the fourth time in ACC play.
Communication on defense is still an issue.
Duke junior guard Grayson Allen said that Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson were the only players who were consistently good at it.
“In a game like (Pittsburgh), where we’re switching a lot of things, it forced us to talk more, which will be a good thing going forward,” Allen said. “The more we get used to that, I think, the better we’ll become. When we talk, we’re more active, and we were active for some periods (against Pitt.)”
Jefferson added while other teams were able to smooth out those kinds of continuity issues back in November and December, Duke was “still going through a multitude of things, a multitude of distractions, whether it was injuries or whatnot.”
“Now everyone is getting healthy. Everyone isn’t 100 percent, but we’re getting there,” Jefferson said. “So that and being able to play defense and sharing battles with each other is going to make us a really good team and hopefully help us in March.”
If the second half was any indication, Duke plans on doing that by limiting their bench. Krzyzewski only used six players the entire second half. Freshmen post players Harry Giles and Marques Bolden, who both played in the first half, did not return in the second.
Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard and Allen played all 20 minutes after halftime. Kennard played 40 minutes for the fifth time this season, and Allen, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, played 40 minutes for the first time this season.
Duke now takes a three-game winning streak into The Game Thursday against rival North Carolina, and its locker room is echoing the same sentiment.
“We’re a good team,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t know how good, but we want to become better.”
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