Predicting Duke basketball’s starting lineup this season

Who will serve as the 2020-21 Duke basketball starters?

Last year, we saw Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski roll out frequent variations to his starting five. There were a few constants such as Tre Jones, Vernon Carey Jr., and Cassius Stanley. Other than those three, the final two starting spots were in constant flux.

The final two spots were in constant rotation between Matthew Hurt, Wendell Moore, Jordan Goldwire, Jack White, Alex O’Connell, and Joey Baker. The Blue Devils could find themselves in a similar situation once again this season.

When trying to predict this year’s starting five, you have to take a look at who could be the constants. These are guys who always start, night in and night out, despite how poorly they might be playing. The constants in Duke’s 2020-21 starting five could very likely include three veteran players, those being Matthew Hurt, Wendell Moore, and Jordan Goldwire.

Hurt started 22 games last season, which is the most out of any returning player. Goldwire started 15 games, while Moore started just 11 games.

All three of Hurt, Goldwire, and Moore have been praised by their head coach in the preseason. All of these guys played meaningful minutes last season and played a big role on a team that won 25 games. At this point, they are the favorites to be the constants in this year’s starting lineup.

Goldwire is the only senior on the roster with actual experience playing for Duke. Patrick Tapé is the other senior on the roster, but he has no experience playing for the Blue Devils. Despite all the young talent we see these days in college hoops, nothing can replace senior leadership and veteran experience.

Hurt and Moore, meanwhile, return as veteran sophomores, and both seem primed to take their games to the next level.

The other two spots in the starting lineup could take some time to become solidified.

If Duke wants to go smaller and faster, Jeremy Roach and Jalen Johnson could fill those final two spots. If the team wants more shooting and scoring, the coaches could go with Joey Baker and DJ Steward. If the Blue Devils want some more size, they could go with either Mark Williams or Patrick Tapé. The staff will have plenty of options, and time will tell which lineup is most effective.

Here is my prediction on how the starting five will look to start out the season:

• F – Matthew Hurt
• F – Jalen Johnson
• G/F – Wendell Moore
• G – Jeremy Roach
• G- Jordan Goldwire

The potential benefits of this Duke basketball lineup

This lineup is the best combination of speed, experience, and athleticism.

It may not be the best shooting lineup, but if Goldwire and Roach, in particular, can become fairly consistent from the outside, then it could become a good shooting lineup.

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I really like this lineup to help Duke get points in transition and wreak havoc on defense. Between Goldwire, Roach, and Moore, the Blue Devils have three athletic and dynamic on-ball defenders. Goldwire and Roach can get up underneath ball handlers and disrupt the flow of the offense. Moore has the versatility to defend multiple positions.

This is a lineup that will be extremely difficult to slow down in transition.

With multiple ball handlers, a dynamic athlete in Johnson, and an all-around scorer in Hurt, this lineup has the potential to put up a lot of points in a short period of time. With Hurt’s ability to spread the floor, the paint opens up. This will create better driving opportunities for the other four players, who all seem to be better at attacking the basket than shooting from the outside.

This Duke basketball lineup allows the Blue Devils to have proper floor spacing.

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