The Chronicle

Duke’s two point guards, junior Greg Paulus and freshman Nolan Smith, played significant minutes together for the first time all season in the Blue Devils’ 95-67 romp over Michigan Saturday, satisfying the desire of fans that wanted to see the floor leaders run together and prompting whispers that such a small, but speedy, lineup could be effective for Duke as it rounds out its non-conference schedule.  

Smith re-entered the game at the 7:22 mark of the first half with Duke nursing a 21-14 lead, but, for one of the only times all season, he didn’t replace Paulus on the floor. The Blue Devils quickly embarked on a 11-0 run to take a commanding lead that proved insurmountable, and, in that run, Smith scored nine of those points. Paulus did not directly factor into any of those buckets, but the guard combination seemed too potent for the Wolverines, especially given the outcome in that span.  

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been reluctant to play the two guards together this year, probably because Smith and Paulus are both pass-first point guards who just happen to be some of Duke’s best scorers, too. Before the season, there were external grumblings about Paulus moving to the shooting guard position to make way for Smith at the 1.

But this year, the injury-free junior Paulus barely resembles the shadow of himself that played last year, averaging 8.9 points per game and sporting an assist/turnover ratio of more than 2-to-1, in contrast to last year, when he had 124 assists to his 101 turnovers.  
The opportunity to play with the incumbent starter was not lost on Smith. 
“We have been working on that in practice,” said Smith, who scored a career-high 17 points Saturday. “Greg and I were waiting for the chance to play together, and it came today. He pulled me aside and said, ‘Let’s make the most of it.’…It felt good playing with him.” 
Should Paulus and Smith share more time on the floor? Is Duke at its best with a four-guard rotation? Feel free to share your thoughts below.