EUROLEAGUE FINAL FOUR 2013 (Men) CSKA

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Euroleague Final Four 2013 CSKA

Team Characteristics

After their historical loss at the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul the season before the biggest change is the arrival of Head Coach Messina and the departure of Kirilenko and Shved. Weems was meant to compensate with his scoring possibilities and Jackson and Micov were brought to bring in aggressiveness off the bench. This team is also very much focused on their physical dominance and superb passing skills. With Teodosic and Papaloukas as point guards you virtually have all pick & roll options one could wish for. With Krstic you have the most dominant Center in the Euroleague and with Khryapa the best passing power forward possible.

Transition

They ran a lot more fast break than the season before, but generally one couldn’t consider them an up tempo orientated team. What they definitely are with players like Teodosic and Khryapa is a secondary threat to any opponent. When they run the fast break they initiate it in the lane close to the sideline of the court by passing. They don’t use the coast to coast or any option through the middle of the court. In the secondary break they will use the pick & roll involving at least three players but mostly four, which give endless defensive tasks to their opponents.

Transition - Fast Break

Transition - Secondary Break

Offensive Tendencies

First thing that comes to the mind that makes this team different is their physical dominance, which can easily be read by just looking up the minimum height on the roster being 1.93 meters. Each tactical element can be executed by several players, i.e. all guards can post up in the low post. This creates a situation where this team can search for the relative advantage in their 1 vs. 1 game, trying with virtually all players on the roster. Last but not least the high-low and direct game options due to superb passing skills and height advantages.

Set Plays

Forward Low Post Isolation: This is a play where they post up Teodosic, Micov, Weems, Khryapa and Papaloukas. But the number one executor and creator in this offensive set is Khryapa if they run the long set. What happens many times also is that at the entry of this set Weems and Teodosic look to execute quickly.

Screening offensive set: This set demonstrates the endless high-low or direct game possibilities this team can use. Spacing, timing and fight for position without the ball in the paint. This set creates many defensive tasks for each opponent and needs a great coordination in the first line and second line of defense. If the lines don’t function well easy lob passes are brought right under the basket for very high percentages of layup or power moves.

Zone Offense

The strategy this team has in Zone offense is to fill up the weak spots of the zone defense and look to get the ball to either the high post who will continue to distribute the ball or get it directly as soon as possible to the low post, who will look to execute right away. This is definitely the best passing team in the Euroleague, so opponents that try to trap them will be punished immediately. Besides looking for the weak spots they also bump very well and hard, and their rebounding is superior. All the above a reason why you shouldn’t play a Zone defense against this team for long. Once your zone defense is beat you shouldn’t force it to continue.

OB Plays

They mostly run the same set, but it’s full of different continuations. The primary goal is to look for Krstic in the low post, followed by kick out or swing passes for an open shooter on the weak side. If those options don’t work Teodosic will run a pick & roll and that will be the final attack of this sequence.

Defensive Characteristics

This team doesn’t need to use any alternative kind of defense, they are so strong and structured in defense that it makes it hard for any opponent to compete in any offensive element. You can’t expect to beat them in transition, nor in end of quarter situation, nor in rebounding, nor through steals. None of the previously mentioned elements can help you beat the stronger team. In the set offense game virtually no team can keep up the battle on the court with them.

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