Balancing act - A closer look at Pinar Karsiyaka
MIES, Switzerland (Basketball Champions League) – This season has been about balance for Pinar Karsiyaka and their Head Coach Aleksandar Trifunovic. Balancing a roster full of talented 'Home-Grown' Turkish players and three dominant, American imports, that are all having MVP caliber seasons. Balancing the excitement of defeating Monaco - the competitions only unbeaten side - in round fourteen of an excellent Basketball Champions League season, with the challenge of resurrecting a poor domestic season in the TBL.
Balancing some of the most potent offensive firepower in the Basketball Champions League, with finding a way to consistently get stops defensively. And now - after clawing back deficits that were as high as fourteen - balancing on the edge of a six point cliff against an excellent PAOK team, in the second leg of the Round of 16.
Aleksandar Trifunovic
Roster Balance
When you scan down the roster of Pinar Karsiyaka, the list includes name after name, of highly rated, young Turkish players. Ugurlu, Guven, Celep, Alhasan, Turen, Karahan, Dogan, Demirli and Aygunduz - No fewer than nine players on the roster are Turkish and 23 years old or younger. Trifunovic spoke recently about his willingness to trust his home grown talents.
"I am very happy with the way they have improved themselves and sometimes, I was too demanding of them."
Berk Ugurlu drew individual praise from his coach and rightfully so. During the Christmas break we looked at the candidates for young player of the year and if anything, Ugurlu has strengthened his case since then. At 1.90m (6'3") and 21 years old, Ugurlu has adapted well to occupying a back court with Dominic Waters and when Karsiyaka need to win the game, Coach Trifunovic invariably, has Ugurlu on the floor. The ability to dovetail primary ball handling and playmaking responsibilities with Waters, allows the American to play off ball, where he's shooting 48% from deep and can play secondary pick-and-roll's against scrambled defenses.
Ugurlu is excellent in transition and 66.7% from 2 Point range (including mostly shots at the rim) and 54% overall, points to his outstanding finishing ability. It's also worth pointing out that his FG% is up from 50% in December. The young Turk has won gold medals with age-group Turkey teams and cups whilst at Fenerbahce - everything about the way he continues to improve, points to the developing career of a serial winner.
"Berk is actually playing his first real season. He played at Fenerbahce and won cups but he wasn't taking the biggest minutes on the team in international competitions. He's taking responsibility and making improvements daily." - Aleksandar Trifunovic
Metin Turen is another player that has improved as the season has progressed. Turen was vital in the win against Monaco and the come back against PAOK in Thessaloniki. At 2.08m (6'10") Turen is versatile, multi skilled and a decent athlete. Perhaps more importantly, Turen plays really hard. The 23 year old seems determined to make the absolute most of every minute he gets and it translates to blocked shots, rebounds, screens, assists, dunks in transition and all the hustle plays that fans and coaches love to see.
The faith that Trifunovic has shown in his young charges, is part necessity, part 'Home-Grown' rule and part principles. When asked about the subject, he spoke about the pressure that some clubs feel to win if they don't have the confidence in their own home grown players .
"Some teams are feeling under pressure to go to Final Four or to win a championship and they are buying foreigners. For me, if I have the option to choose, I would choose good home-grown players."
Trifunivoc qualified this further and described the decision to assign limited financial resources to quality import players and his trust in young players to grasp at the chances presented to them.
"We do not have huge financial resources to make many changes in our roster. I am also not one of the coaches who brings in foreigners who do not make strong contributions to the team. I would rather give a chance to the player who is here, who is home-grown and who wants to improve himself in a European competition."
This approach is also reflected in the quality and production of his primary import players, even if by his own admission, this approach has required these players to carry a heavier load than perhaps they normally might.
"We had ups and downs inside of the season. Especially in November and December we had to use these players for too many minutes because we were running a short rotation. They play against strong opponents in BCL and in the TBL. All these Americans did a great job actually. They tried to carry their team in the best possible way. There was a lot of responsibility and pressure on these American players. And if we look at them in this way, we can see that they carried our team very well to the position we have in BCL."
They certainly have carried the team well and to differing degrees individually, in each game. A prime example of this being the run-busting win against AS Monaco on Gameday fourteen. Jarrod Jones is often the emotional leader of Pinar Karsiyaka and when he's in peak flow - as he was in against Monaco - There isn't a match-up for him in the Basketball Champions League. Jones plays the 5 and at 2.05M (6'9") he's undersized in height but has the length to compensate defensively - on the offensive end, he does everything. The clips in the sequence below, serve as a reminder to one of the best all-round performances we've seen this season. To start the sequence, Jones is guarding the pick-and-roll, he helps and contains. Then watches Lacombe's eyes and waits for the second dribble - knowing that's when the Frenchman is going to look to pass - and times a long arm swipe perfectly, to steal the ball and set DJ Kennedy away.
The final two clips show you exactly what sets Jones apart. Monaco aren't the #1 Defense for nothing and in both clips, their pressure in the passing lanes interrupts the flow of PK's offense. Jones takes matters in his own hands on both occasions. First Jones is matched up against the shorter Joseph, so he fights his way into a post-catch, rises up and gets himself a bucket, right in Joseph's eye. Then against a taller but slower Kikanovic, Jones executes a running slip to the corner, knowing that the big Bosnian has no chance to help on the ball-screen and also recover to him in time.
Turen and Ugurlu were both excellent in the Monaco game and Trifunivic seems to have found a balance, in having two of his 'Home-Grown' players in each five man line-up. Turen and Ugurlu have particularly enjoyed success due to their ability to facilitate for the likes of Jones, Kennedy and Waters, allied to an ability to finish when defenses focus on stopping the bug guns.
Tactical Balance
The truth is Pinar Karsiyaka are yet to find the balance between their offensive firepower and finding a way to consistently get stops. They score at 116 per 100 possessions but give up 113. Karsiyaka are the proud holders of a top three offense but unfortunately have the worst defense left in the competition. It's not that they can't play D, it's about doing it consistently. Jones and Kennedy especially can be outstanding on the defensive end but playing 30+ MPG and carrying so much of the scoring load, has undoubtedly led to drops in intensity at times. Having such a young roster, has no doubt contributed to defensive inconsistency as well. The possession in the clip below is the kind of defensive sequence that coaches show to junior players and hold up as an example - in stance, communicating, active hands, like to like switches, a contested jump shot and an effective box-out. Finding a way to make possessions like this the norm, will be the key to Karsiyaka's success, if they want to continue into the Quarter-Finals.
Offensively Pinar Karsiyaka are always a joy to watch. Yes they have offensive weapons but they are much more than the sum of their parts. Trifunovic's system is the work of a master craftsman. Masked actions, triggered entries, player and ball movement, building blocks like post-splits and back screens, that are fluidly selected by players on court and above all, everything makes sense for the personnel. Each set or action is adapted to the strengths of the players that are involved - logical but still unpredictable. It's not to say that PK are the only team trying to play this way, it's just that they execute it so well.
Here you see Karsiayaka running an iteration of a play called "Motion Weak" out of the San Antonio Spurs playbook. In the first clip Waters triggers the play by entering the ball to the wing and cutting to the basket. The ball then reverses to the 5 and again to the opposite wing. After the second reversal Waters sets a "Rip Screen" for Jones to get post post position against Evans of Monaco. The end result is an easy foul drawn. Cheap fouls are a great antidote to the kind of pressure Monaco apply on defense. The second clip, Waters triggers the same action by dribbling straight at Ugurlu on the wing, causing him to make the basket-cut instead. Then as the ball reverses, Jones opts to decline the screen from Ugurlu and get into wing pick-and-pop with DJ Kennedy instead.
The options don't end there. This time Pinar Karsiyaka are still running "Motion Weak" but instead of Waters setting the "Rip Screen", they are screening across the lane for a post up or pick-and pop. The first clip, Waters enters the ball to the wing and basket-cuts like before. If the pattern looks slightly different, it's because they also mask the set with a high-post split, before Banic (#13) receives the reversal pass. This time Waters chooses to screen across for Kennedy to post-up Gladyr. The second clip and Waters waves Gulaslan through instead of passing to the wing. Gulaslan sets the same screen across but Banic chooses to get into a wing pick-and-pop instead of taking the post-up.
This is only a couple of options out of one set in the playbook but what you are seeing is structure and player freedom at the same time. This a squad that has been well taught and understands how to apply the system, to exploit the individual strengths of the players on court. Excellent basketball to watch for casual fans and hoop-nerds alike.
PAOK
If a do-or-die, second leg, Round of 16 tie, didn't have enough pressure already, this one has the added pressure of personal pride between old friends. PAOK's president Bane Prelevic and Coach Trifunovic, go back a long way. The two met as teenagers, playing on the playgrounds of Kalemegdan Hill in Belgrade and then went on to play together for Red Star, some 40 years ago. In the build up to this tie, Thanasis Asproulias spoke to both men about their past and the tie.
"We are close friends since our childhood," recalled Aleksandar Trifunovic. "Bane is one year older than me, but we met in Red Star when we both started to fall in love with basketball."
"It’s been 40 years since we were together in Red Star. I remember very well that Trifa was a player who, from a young age, showed he was in front of his time. He was almost two meters, but he could handle the ball well and shoot. He was an excellent player," remembered Bane Prelevic.
The two old friends spoke about memories of starting out together at Red Star.
"We were in the same room," says Trifunovic. "What was pushing us at that time was one thing: love for basketball. My house was two steps, literally two steps, from the open playground of the Red Star on Kalemegdan. We went there to play basketball, because we liked it. Nobody then had in mind a professional contract, or something like that. We were playing basketball because it was the game for us and we loved it," added Prelevic.
From Red Star, each took a very different career path. Trifunovic went to play in Croatia, Switzerland and back to Serbia, whilst Prelevic went to Greece and PAOK - where he became a club icon and played for eight years. The conversation moved through stories of legendary games against Zadar and the great Drazen Petrovic, before finally returning to the topic of the game at hand.
"I hope we can find some time between us to think about those past days. PAOK has done a great job this year and has a good roster. They even added an American player a few days ago and have a super coach. It is going to be a great game.," says Karsiyaka head coach, who very often meets with Bane Prelevic in Halkidiki, in the famous Sani resort.
Trifunovic is certainly right about the likelihood of a great game. Pinar Karsiyaka have some of the rowdiest fans you'll hear and the opportunity to knock out a Greek club with the history of PAOK, will probably double the decibel levels even further. A six point deficit is nothing in an atmosphere like that. PAOK will need every minute of experience they can call on from the likes of Phil Goss and Vangelis Margaritis. If they aren't careful, this juggernaut Pinar Karsiyaka offense, with the crowd behind them, could turn the tie on it's head in minutes. PAOK's president certainly knows a thing or two about his own club's history of European drama in rowdy atmosphere's. The last and only time Prelevic cried actual tears at a basketball game?
That shot tied the game but ultimately wasn't enough to bring home the trophy for PAOK. Don't be surprised if we see similar, late-game drama in Izmir. Pinar Karsiyaka and Prelevic's old friend Trifa will be hoping for a similar outcome tonight.
Will Aleksandar Trifunovic lead his players to the Quarter-Finals?
