EA7, the biggest underdog for thr the 2014 EL's Final Four..?

18:36 22/2/2014 - Πηγή: Basket Blog

Is EA7 one of the early favorites for this year’s Euroleague title? For sure, not. Βut.. are the Lombards the best defensive team now in Europe’s top competition? Probably.. And this a damn important thing.. Defensive cohesion is a “must” in modern European basketball –especially when the conversation goes to the top

level- in order to advance to the titles games.

I have to confess, I am totally impressed from EA7’s defensive transformation in this TOP-16. I’m pretty sure it’s intensity can be found only in some NCAA team’s. The mid-season additions of Daniel Hackett and Gani Lawal gave to Milan’s team a sense of aggressiveness and a tone of choices to coach Banchi on the defensive end.

Lawal is an ideal pick &roll defender as he can hedge effectively or switch and chase any guard. Lawal is a true force above the rim and a decent post defender to his long arms and strong upper body.

Coach Banchi is not hesitate to “spread” his defense using 3/4 or even 4/4 court press types of defense, trapping the ball in the corners (especially when Moss is on the floor) or “safe press” with mild pressure, targeting to control the tempo and burn some clock. Specifically, when David Moss is on the court, EA7 seems to have.. 6 players in it’s lineup(!) Arguably, the American Reggae-boy is the best defensive player in Europe the last 2 maybe 3 years. EA7’s defense forces the opponents to many mistakes (due to this pressure) and restricts offense’s action space in the half court. You can see the aggressiveness on Moss or Hackett’s body language and the way they defend/putting their hands on the bal of getting in the passing lanes (Unicaja dished only 4 dimes at the last game, none of them given by a perimeter player..) Also, Banchi has select players with quick legs in the frontcourt –due to Italian habits- which is based to it’s depth. Along with CSKA and Panathinaikos, EA7 presents the most effective defensive performance today in Euroleague.

On the other hand, offensive efficiency is at least negotiable.. Luca Banchi’s last year outstanding offensive project in Tuscany hasn’t been transposed to Milan. At least, not yet. We haven’t see yet this thunderous fast ball movement and this rapidness of execution on transition offense that characterizes Banchi’s philosophy. EA7 offense is distinguished from a lot of isolations in order to take advantage of Langford/Gentile/Hackett’s slashing ability and prowess to create space off the dribble. In my opinion, this can easily be read from a truly good defense. That’s my objection on EA7’s candidacy for the Final Four. Although it’s probably the best defensive team in the competition (considering the team’s pace as CSKA and Panathinaikos have picked a lower pace) has some serious offensive issues to solve. Yes, Keith Langford maybe is the best one-on-one player in the League and Hackett arguably a top-5 guard today but this is not enough.. Banchi has to work on his offense and put some off the ball movement and cooperation, making it more functional. Next week’s game against the Greens (4-3) will be specify..