Mike Krzyzewski knows fix for Duke's defensive issues is simple, but not easy

Mike Krzyzewski knows fix for Duke's defensive issues is simple, but not easy The burgeoning irony of the 2017-18 Duke basketball season is that the Blue Devils earned their most significant victory to date with their defense. In the third game of the season, though, Michigan State was not prepared for the 2-3 zone Duke presented and committed 17 turnovers that were decisive in an 88-81 Blue Devils victory. "They're 18, 19 years old, but they're playing against guys who have played. Have lost, have won, have been hurt - and we're they're opportunity. They've never experienced anything like that, where the team that you see on tape isn't the team that shows up against you." Duke operated a lot in the 2-3 zone against the Wolfpack, but it wasn't effective, and when the Blue Devils switched to man-to-man, they struggled noticeably to defend pick-and-roll situations and also to rotate properly. "And if we don't, then you'll see us lose again. And you'll ask if we're working on our defense. And I'll tell you that we are working on our defense, but it's not working." In 2014-15, Duke also had an exceptionally gifted group of freshmen and struggled for much of the year to develop an effective defense even while compiling a 29-4 record and earning a No.1 seed.