Forces collided in Round 3 of the 7DAYS EuroCup, Let’s review an interesting game from last week, have a glance at the most efficient scorers in the competition so far this season and take a peek at one key Round 4 clash.
Stats Review: Who have been the most efficient scorers so far?
Stats
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A strength vs. strength matchup
The matchup between the 7DAYS EuroCup’s most efficient offensive team, Promitheas Patras, and its most efficient defensive unit, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, was the most interesting strength-on-strength matchup the EuroCup has had to offer so far this season. While the contest looked very one-sided for long stretches, it wound up living up to expectations in the fourth quarter.
As the chart above suggests, Buducnost built a significant lead in the second quarter and led by 20-points for a time late in the third. It held an explosive Promitheas offense to only 0.87 points per possession through the first 30 minutes—well below its 1.09 point per-possession standard. Forcing 7 turnovers in the second quarter alone and doing a solid job of taking the game out of the hands of leading scorer Joe Young, Buducnost was up by 19 with a little over 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Promitheas’s offense finally broke free from that point scoring 29 points over 20 possessions to actually take the lead in the waning moments of regulation. With Young getting loose for 8 points and 2 assists and Nikos Gkikas providing some timely three-point shooting, they flipped the game on its head before faltering in overtime.
Buducnost has allowed only 0.83 points per possession on the year, so considering Promitheas’s 1.09 per-possession scoring rate, it got the best of this matchup on paper holding the visitors to 0.93 per possession in the victory. However, the late-game swing tells the more poignant story as, even for the league’s stingiest defense and most dominant rebounding team, no lead is safe in the EuroCup.
Going with what works
As well as Buducnost defended most of the night, Joe Young still managed to score 20 points – including 10 over only six possessions looking for his own shot in pick-and-rolls. Young, whose father, Michael, was a prolific scorer at the highest levels of European basketball in the early 1990’s, has always been known for his ability to put the ball in the basket. Even so, he’s been fantastic in the beginning weeks of his first campaign in Europe and leads the EuroCup in overall scoring on gaudy efficiency numbers.
Much of his production and Promitheas’s success can be traced to the league-best 41 points he’s scored over only 27 pick-and-roll possessions. Shooting an absurd eFG% of 81%, Young’s ability to stop and pop with range has been an issue for opposing defenses that has only made his ability to then make shots from everywhere on the floor more apparent as teams mix up their coverages to stop him. He is the type of dynamic offensive player that could give his team a puncher’s chance in any game this season.
Among the other early-season play-type scoring leaders, Turk Telekom Ankara swingman Axel Bouteille’s spot-up shooting prowess is of note as he was always a capable shot-maker but did not expand his range until his mid-20’s. His rise as a terrific spot-up three-point shooter has paid dividends for Turk Telekom so far. Aleksander Balcerowski has been the league’s most productive roll man as his return to Gran Canaria has helped him settle back into the rhythm that helped him earn Rising Star honors during the 2020-21 season.
Kyle Allman of Paris Basketball and Ante Tomic of Joventut Badalona have been the EuroCup’s most productive one-on-one scorers on the perimeter and in the post, respectively. Allman may not be quite as prolific as Young in pick-and-roll situations, but his ability to break down defenders on an island is a big reason he remains one of this season’s leading scorers. Ante Tomic has had a decorated career that includes no shortage of accolades, but the 35-year-old does not get enough credit for growing as a playmaker after joining Joventut three seasons ago. As much as he leads the EuroCup in post-up scoring, his ability to move the ball is often just as valuable.
Though Joe Young keyed Promitheas’s comeback, Alpha Kaba was a big reason Buducnost ultimately took the win. Leading the EuroCup with 12 offensive rebounds through 3 appearances, he has gone right back up with 10 of them scoring 13 points and drawing 3 fouls. He added 3 extra possessions in the final 6 minutes for Buducnost in their Round 3 win including a tip dunk that tied the game in the final minute of regulation.
Looking Ahead to Round 4
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse is the last remaining unbeaten team. It will head to Italy to take on a Germani Brescia side that has looked good in victory the last two weeks after a Round 1 loss to Joventut. Bourg’s offensive execution has been terrific in the early going — it leads the EuroCup producing 16 unguarded spot-up jumpers per game. Brescia has been solid in rotation, which provided an interesting road test for the Group A leader.