AEK v Casademont Zaragoza - Tactical Breakdown
ATHENS (Greece) -Both teams kept the same starting lineups as the Quarter-Finals. AEK were very quickly forced into changing the rotation as Jankovic picked up two very early fouls and subbed out after 20 seconds.
AEK were in no mood to be distracted and already looking ruthless against any mistake. In the clip below Langford and Chrysikopoulos force a switch in the pick-and-roll. San Miguel leaves Chrysikopoulos to trap and Seeley stays home on Gkikas in the corner instead of rotating up. The way he has been shooting in the Final 8, that was only ever going to end one way.
AEK raced up 10-0 before Diego Ocampo had seen enough. As clinical as they'd been offensively the signs were there for another excellent defensive performance as well. The possession in the clip below being an excellent example. Watch Moreira get his footwork right in the drop coverage and stop the ball without letting Thompson get behind him. Langford recovers and they are able to defend the action 2v2. Then Gkikas and Chrysikopoulos complete the play.
After the timeout, the instruction must have been to push the tempo and it started to look like Zaragoza could claw their way back into the game. First, Brussino pushed the ball up the floor and punished AEK for going under the transition ball screen.
Then again, two possesions later Brussino pushed the ball in transition again and created for Benzing. Zaragoza were on an eight to zero run, they forced Ilias Papatheodorou into calling a timeout, and it was looking like a great Semi-Final in the making.
The idea of a contest didn't last long. Straight out of the timeout Papatheodorou went to a very familiar play. Chrysikopoulos looks like he is running to set a pick-and-roll bit it's a false screen ("Veer" Screen), then receives a screen himself. Usually, this would be catch and shoot for Chrysikopoulos but he turned down the open shot to move the ball onto Langford - clearly the play call.
Then to start the second quarter Matt Lojeski did what great shooters can do and completely took the game away from Zaragoza in the space three minutes.
He started the quarter nailing a shot from AEK's favorite action to create out of the post.
Seconds later AEK used another "Veer" screen. This is an action we have seen Papatheodorou teams use since 2017. Lojeski is just about the perfect player for this action.
Then to cap it off, he caught his man watching the ball and sliced backdoor on a Rice pick-and-roll.
This was such a devastating period of scoring that although it was still the start of the second quarter, the game was essentially over already.
The craziest stat of Matt Lojeski's performance? he did all his damage in six minutes.... six!
Just before the press conf started, Rodrigo San Miguel looks at the stats, turns to coach and whispers:
— Igor Curkovic (@IgorCurkovic) October 2, 2020
"Matt Lojeski, seis minutos!?"
Coach Ocampo just shrugs.
Lojeski 11pts in 6min. But his 6min felt like an eternity for Zaragoza defense.#BasketballCL #Final8
Zaragoza would have been forgiven for already starting to realize there really wasn't a lot they could do against AEK in this mood. In the next video, AEK go back to the "Veer" action for Lojeski. Dylan Ennis is wise to it and locks onto the topside of Lojeski to stop him from making the cut. The play ends up stalling and it looks like Zaragoza found a solution for this action. Tyrese Rice thought different.
Credit has to go to DJ Seeley for the way he responded. He gave Zaragoza some kind of hope later in the second quarter by firing off 9 points in the quarter - all of them self-created, either as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll or with one of the sweetest post moves you'll ever see.
In truth, it was just never going to happen for Zaragoza. The third and fourth quarter just continued where the second left it. AEK executing ruthlessly on the offensive and playing the type of defense that few expected.
When you see Tyrese Rice diving on the floor to get the ball and start the break, with his team is up 30 points at the end of the third quarter, you know what time it is.
This was probably a game too far for Zaragoza this year. The way they acquitted themselves in the Quarter-Final and the continuity in the roster for next season points towards a club and team that is very much capable of being back at a Final 4 next season, and even going one step further.
For AEK this is all about the here and now. Next year means very little. This squad has been constructed with a single intent. They are well on the way to achieving that goal. With two comfortable wins, they can go into the rest day with plenty of miles left in those "experienced" legs. Up next is Hereda San Pablo Burgos. Another Spanish opponent and in the context of this Final 8, an even more dangerous one. Burgos will likely stand up and go toe to toe with this AEK team and see who has the most firepower on the day. Just that idea on its own is enough to raise the pulse a bit already.