PLAYING STYLES (AND HARD WORK!) MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Ten games decided by 8 points or less. Week 7 was not one for people with heart problems, that’s for sure. Close games are always entertaining, even in the case those games are not played that well. It’s another reason why basketball is such a beautiful thing, provided you are not on the losing side of one of those heartbreakers. Maccabi tried hard to get out of a mini slump and played the Greens at home to the very end, getting a couple tenths of a second short of an overtime. Vujcic's full court pass to Jasaitis was a real stroke of genius, it’s a shame it will never make it to the official scoresheet because Jasaitis didn't have enough time to make it an assist. I’m pretty sure Maccabi fans had a flashback when they saw that, the Shelef-to-Sharp masterpiece will be remembered forever.
Even if they did not get the happy ending, the Israeli champions battled valiantly, after getting rid of Rodney Buford, a player that didn’t adjust to Neven Spahija’s system. I think the same went for Eldo, a winner in Treviso coming from behind right after waiving Tierre Brown. There is probably a blueprint here. Both Brown and Buford are very, very talented players, who can get a shot (or two) off against virtually any defense. Neither of them puts defense close to the top of their priority list. Neither of them plays the percentages and relies on instinct and talent much. Both are better off with a reduced playbook that enables them to get a lot of “isos” (one on one situations with time and room to operate) than with a “European” playbook, predicated on executing continuation plays, moving the ball and findind the open man. You may like either one of these systems, the debate is open. I personally like a good mix of these two “schools”, but this is not the matter. The matter here is that it’s tough to get a player with Tierre Brown or Rodney Buford background to play within a different system. These guys tried hard their whole careers to find a stable place in an NBA roster, and their way to fame and glory was playing in the minors (CBA, NBDL, whatever) and looking better than the next guy. It’s perfectly clear, there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s the American system at his best. They had their chances, but did not find the right place at the right time, for a whole lot of reasons. Now, when they cross the ocean, there is absolutely no way they will press a button and convert into different players, it’s just a culture thing. Yes, they could be more flexible, but at the same time you can’t expect a smooth and easy transition, and trying to coax them into doing what you think it’s right tends to backfire, to say the least. So, I don’t see this as someone’s failure, nor do I think Eldo, Brown, Buford or Maccabi were wrong. I wouldn’t be the least surprised if Tierre Brown ends up becoming a great scorer somewhere else in the future. It’s just, as we say in Italy, that trying to mix water and oil it’s not easy at all...
In the seventies and eighties, golden or not, the game used to be played inside out. You hammered the ball down low, forced the defense to react and then opened up possibilities for your outside guys. That’s why having a low post threat was really making the difference. It’s a little different now. Well, more than a little actually. Watching Prokom beat Climamio, I realized one more time it’s exactly the other way around nowadays, the game is played outside in. Check the boxscore, Masiulis, Wojcik and Besok changed the complexion of the game with their 3-pointers. And when Climamio was forced to play a smaller formation to counter that, they “counter-countered”, posting up the versatile Wojcik and using Michael Andersen in the last five minutes for high percentage shots. Of course, such a strategy can work only and if those threes are drained by the big guys. But when it happens the defense often can only pick its poison. It’s a game of mismatches, but while in the past the idea of a mismatch was a very big guy phisically dominating his opponent close to the basket, now it’s more varied. So, versatile and quick can be even more important than big.
I know it’s not Euroleague, but it's still amazing. If you haven’t done that, go to the ULEB Cup site and check out Saulius Stombergas’ stats. Gosh, the guy is 26 of 29 on two-pointers, has made at least his last 21 (?!?!?!?), and to make it even better he is shooting 14 of 18 from downtown, making his last 5 and 8 of his last 9 at least!!!! It’s really unbelievable, as much as Marco Mordente, who entered the game against Eldo with exactly the same 14 of 18 stat on threes. He made his first bomb, then missed the next two, but it still is a very respectable 15 of 21 in the competition. This, for a player who brings a lot more to the table (defense, mental toughness). I’d say he put a lot of work in and got rewarded, proving he belongs at top level (see also his showing in Japan at the WC). Just another example of someone working his way into being a good player, since there’s no other way around. No matter your talent, if you don’t put in the hours, it will never happen. You need, how can I put it, Devotion.
POSTED BY
FLAVIO TRANQUILLO - ITALY
DATE:
Friday, December 08, 2006