In a one-game, do-or-die playoff, anything can happen. Nonetheless, some season-long statistical trends may offer clues to the possible storylines when Boulogne Metropolitans 92 hosts Umana Reyer Venice in their 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals winner-take-all battle on Wednesday.
Eighthfinals clues: Boulogne Metropolitans 92 vs. Umana Reyer Venice
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This is a very eighthfinals pairing full of intrigue in that visiting Reyer may look to change its season-long defensive tactics in order to challenge Metropolitans on its home floor in Paris.
Metropolitans has attempted fewer catch-and-shoot jump shots than any team in the EuroCup this season, in large part because it has aggressively pressured the rim with more two-point attempts and makes than any team in the competition for five years.
Going to the rim would seem to be the perfect tactic against a Reyer team that has limited catch-and-shoot three-pointers for its opponents to the lowest rate in the league. As a result of that specialization, though, Reyer faced the league's highest volume of shots around the rim, which is the specialty of Metropolitans.
Considering how their head-on offensive vs. defensive styles clash, it will be interesting to see which team gains the upper hand on that end of the floor on Wednesday. It may well be decisive, too.