Duke Basketball: Early Concerns for Blue Devils in 2015-16

There have been both good and bad things from the first piece of the 2015-16 college basketball season for Duke, and not just in terms of wins and losses. The setback to Kentucky in the Champions Classic certainly marked the low point so far, but the Blue Devils responded well by recording a pair of solid victories in New York City to claim the 2K Classic championship.

Now comes an extended stay in Durham, with the next five games played at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Only one of those are against a notable foe, the Dec. 2 visit from Indiana for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

This stretch will provide an opportunity for Duke to continue to tinker and tweak its lineup and approach, with the ultimate goal to have a firm rotation of players and established roles in place by the beginning of ACC play in January. It will also be a chance to address the early concerns that have popped up this season, things that aren't promising but (in most cases) can still be fixed.

Lack of a Second Go-To Scorer

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Grayson Allen has shown he can take over a game when he gets going, and when that happens, he's nearly unstoppable. The sophomore guard has established a career high in scoring four times this season, going for 30 against VCU on Friday (despite coming off the bench) and then going for 32 in Sunday's win over Georgetown.

Yet before those two games was an absolute stinker, a 2-of-11, six-point, three-rebound performance in Duke's double-digit loss to Kentucky. In that game he could do no right, missing his first nine shots. Just as troubling was that with him unable to do anything offensively, there wasn't another player who filled the void.

There's nothing wrong with having that one guy who can do it all and is the one the team turns to in clutch situations, but he needs backup from others. As Kentucky showed, it is possible to scheme Allen out of his comfort zone, and another opponent could do that in the future.

The Blue Devils have to identify at least one other go-to player, possibly junior guard Matt Jones or freshman guard Derryck Thornton, or they'll be at risk of lacking pop on offense if/when Allen has another off night.

Point Guard Play

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A reliable player at the point guard position has been a regular thing for Duke throughout almost the entirety of head coach Mike Krzyzewski's tenure. Chris Duhon, Bobby Hurley, Kyrie Irving, Tyus Jones, Steve Wojciechowski and many others have handled that spot so well that there has rarely been concern about how the Blue Devils operate the offense and move the ball around.

Derryck Thornton might eventually get on that list, though he's coming along slowly so far and making the loss of Jones from last year's team even more noticeable.

The freshman has started Duke's last two games after Grayson Allen and Matt Jones split point guard duties to start the first three contests. He's scored 33 points in those two games but for the year has only 15 assists with 11 turnovers.

As a team, Duke has assisted on 41.6 percent of made baskets. With Thornton becoming more comfortable, that number should go up, but he has to continue to improve distributing and facilitating.

Frontcourt Depth

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Seniors Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee have started every game at the 4 and 5 so far, tallying more than 71 percent of the available minutes at those positions. The only other forward logging more than 20 minutes per game is freshman Brandon Ingram, who so far has spent the majority of his time on the floor playing the 3 and has yet to develop the ability to handle one of the inside spots.

After that, things really drop off.

Freshman Chase Jeter had some key minutes in Sunday's win against Georgetown, scoring four points with two rebounds in five minutes, but he didn't play against VCU and is averaging nine minutes per game.

"It's tough giving him as much time in these games, possession-by-possession games, but hopefully he'll continue to grow," Krzyzewski said of Jeter, per Nick Martin of DukeChronicle.com.

Jeter is an essential piece of the puzzle up front, because as good as Jefferson and Plumlee have been, they have limitations. Jefferson is more of a defender and rebounder than a scorer, while Plumlee is susceptible to foul trouble and is best used in short bursts.

Defensive Intensity

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Duke hasn't often been known as a defensive juggernaut, and that's normally not a need with the kind of weapons it has on the offensive end. However, being able to make stops in key moments—as well as prevent opponents from scoring at will—comes in handy from time to time.

As of Monday, the Blue Devils ranked 291st in Division I in field-goal defense at 46.9 percent. Last year's team held opponents to 42.2 percent shooting and 64.2 points per game, both of which were in the top 130 nationally.

It got to the point against Georgetown where Duke went to a 1-3-1 zone to try and take the Hoyas out of their offense on Sunday, yet they still shot 54.9 percent.

Brandon Ingram

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There has been no single player whose performance—or effort—has been more of a concern for Duke so far than Brandon Ingram. Yes, he's a freshman who is just five games into his college career, but when you are the No. 3-ranked prospect from the 2015 class, per 247Sports, the expectations tend to be high.

And the 6'9" Ingram hasn't come close to meeting them.

Pulled from the starting lineup on Sunday and held to 16 minutes, Ingram scored five points on 2-of-7 shooting. He's shooting 36.2 percent overall and 26.3 from three-point range, and when it comes to his presence on defense, it gets much worse.

Ingram's length figured to be an asset on the defensive end, but that would require him to engage the players he guards. Instead, he's mostly loafed, and opponents have feasted on that.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.