Duke basketball players who will benefit from Jalen Johnson’s absence
Wendell Moore
While Jalen Johnson is a more individually gifted player than Wendell Moore, they both thrive off the same facets of the game.
Moore and Johnson both prefer the ball in their hands in order to create driving lanes to the basket, but the Blue Devils prefer to run their half-court offense through point guard Jeremy Roach or Jordan Goldwire.
The issue is that there is only one basketball to go around, so perhaps Moore will be able to play with the ball in his hands more often rather than being off the ball, where he has seemed to struggle in taking ill-advised jump shots.
Both Wendell Moore and Jalen Johnson also seem to be more comfortable at the small forward position, and neither would be able to stand their ground defending bigger players in the post when playing the power forward spot, as seen in the loss against North Carolina.
As the court should be more open now for the Blue Devils, Wendell Moore should have more chances to drive to the basket and even operate the offense as the point guard for a few short minutes each game.