ATL West Semis - Rio de Janeiro @ Barcelona

[Sky]

The ATL's international champ will be decided as 2 seed Barcelona hosts 3 seed Rio. Barca coach aabanilla has selected new school rules.

[Critter]

Another good match up, could go either way. Both of yous have good teams.

[aabanilla]

New School Rules
Starters:
PG-Penny
SG-TMac
SF-Baylor
PF-KG
C-Dekembe
_________________

[Sky]

Starters:
1 Baron Davis
2 Andre Iguodala
3 James Worthy
4 Tim Duncan
5 Patrick Ewing

[aabanilla]

_________________

[jamas33]

BARCELONA GAME PLAN – RIO DE JANERIO

INTRODUCTION
Rio is a formidable opponent. With a frontcourt of Duncan, Ewing and Worthy, an explosive playmaker in Baron Davis, and an athletic young Andre Igoudula; the Rio team definitely has the talent to win the ATL. In many ways our teams are mirror-images of each other – great frontcourt, shot blockers, athleticism, Hall of Fame small forwards, excellent point guards. But when you take a second look, it hits you…you see the difference… its crystal clear why Barcelona wins this game – TMac and Penny.

You may be able to make arguments that Duncan, Worthy and maybe Ewing have the ability to cause us problems, but Davis and Iggy vs. Penny and TMac is a backcourt mismatch that we will use in our favor. Using a variety of offenses to feature our star guards, along with our patented Pamplona offense, we will not only take advantage of the natural mismatches, we will create mismatches that work in favor of Baylor and KG, and some of our bench scorers. On defense, we will be spending time in a variety of zones that will neutralize the explosiveness of Worthy and the methodical low post offense of Duncan. We will purposefully force the ball out of Baron’s hands and willingly let Iggy and Ewing try to beat us. We are long, athletic and great defenders. It will not be easy for Rio to get any kind of offense going.

Our intention in this, our second match-up is to make a statement that we can beat anyone, no matter how talented.. In the end, while Rio will have the will to fight, they will not be able to handle the continuous pressure offensively and defensively from our team and they will eventually succumb. Adios y viva Barcelona!



Our intention in this game is to make a statement that we can win it all. And so in our first game, we will introduce our primary offense, La Pamplona.

MINUTES

Penny Hardaway 38 minutes
Tracy McGrady 38 minutes
Elgin Baylor 38 minutes
Kevin Garnett 38 minutes
Dikembe Mutombo 38 minutes
Brian Shaw 8 minutes
Steve Francis 8 minutes
Glen Rice 10 minutes
Cliff Robinson 8 minutes
Paul Silas 8 minutes
Bobby Phills 8 minutes
Hot Rod Williams As needed

SETS

Percentages you expect for sets or units

Offense:
Pamplona Offense (see below) 35%
UCLA Offense 30%
Fastbreak 20%
Four Down Isolation 15%

Defense:
2-3 Zone 35%
Amoeba 20%
Trapping Defense (Half Court & Wing Traps) 20%
Box and one (Baron) 10%
Man-to-man 15%


OFFENSE

Five offensive goals

1. Establish Tracy McGrady vs Iguodala on isolation on the wing. Continue attacking that match-up with Tracy driving to the basket or taking pull up jumpers until they can stop him.

2. Establish the Pamplona Offense. This set provides several options and highlights the strengths of our offensive players. It is adaptable to man to man and zone defenses and it also creates mismatches that we will attack vigorously.

3. Run variations of the Pamplona Offense to allow TMac and Elgin to switch roles, so TMac can take his man one on one and either drive to the basket, post his defender down Rice can come off the bench and either play the small forward role, taking his defender out further to the 3 point line, or the shooting guard role where he can take weak side jumpers

4. Run the UCLA Offense - (Baylor and McGrady(Having a better outside shot) switches position on the offense with McGrady and Penny running give and go’s on the strong side and KG setting a backpack for Baylor to get Baylor open at the Weakside Elbow.

5. Run the four-down offense with combinations of starters and bench players. Isolate KG vs Duncan (forcing Duncan to play perimeter defense). Penny vs Baron, Francis vs Gus or Kenny Smith at the top of the key, and have Glen Rice, and or Bobby Phills on the wings at the 3-point line.


If/Then:

If RIO goes into a zone, we will use a variety of sets to attack the zone. We will flash KG into the pocket of the zone between the guards and dish to TMac at the 3-point line. We will also flash TMac in the pocket and dish to Elgin on the wing. Penny will penetrate between the guards and will have either TMac or Elgin on the wing or if he draws Ewing , Mutombo under the basket. Finally, the Pamplona Offense can also adjust to the zone.

If RIO decides to go man to man, we will isolate the various mismatches. Penny can take penetrate and shoot over Baron. T-Mac will have wing iso vs. Iggy. Baylor will be running Worthy off screens and having speed and quickness mismatches vs Duncan or Ewing at the Wings. Duncan seems to bring out the BEST or BEAST in KG. And the beneficiary of that attention to Elgin and KG will be TMac whose skills are just as unstoppable.

RIO cannot afford to double-team any of our players, the result will be an open player or defenders out of position, and our team can get the ball to the open man. Look at the assist stats of our team. We know how to pass the rock and share it. And with our players, the result will be an open midrange shot or an explosive dunk down the lane.


The Barcelona Pamplona Offense


Pamplona, Spain is known for its “Annual Running of the Bulls,” where hundreds of men run alongside hundreds of bulls in an exhilarating brush with danger. The Pamplona offense exposes other teams to the dangerous elements of the Barcelona team by creating mismatches that highlight the strengths of our players.

It begins quietly, with Mutombo setting up on the strong side post, KG and Baylor on the weak side post, TMac at the three-point line weak side, and Penny holding the ball.

1. Mutombo comes across the lane and sets a pick for Baylor, then moves weakside low block
2. Baylor comes around the pick and sets up at wing
3. Garnett moves to free throw line and sets up high post
4. McGrady moves to weak side wing to create spacing.
5. Penny goes to open spot for possible kickout and ball reversal to McGrady.


NOTE: Penny, Tmac, Baylor and KG are interchangeable in this offense.



PAMPLONA vs. MAN TO MAN



PAMPLONA vs ZONE


UCLA OFFENSE



FOUR DOWN OFFENSE









The result of this movement is a number of options. The first option is Baylor on the wing. As a result of the Mutombo pick, if Malone recognizes the pick, he may switch on defense and guard Baylor. This is an advantageous mismatch because Baylor is faster and more explosive than Malone and can attack him with a drive or jump shot. If Malone does not switch, then Baylor is one on one against either Jones or Mullin, another mismatch that gives Elgin the choice of how to attack.

The second option of the Pamplona is KG at the high post. If Baylor’s defender moves out to meet Elgin on the wing, that leaves KG one on one with his defender with a clear path to the basket. KG can put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket, take the fifteen-foot shot or pass the ball. For either O’Neal or Webber it will be a challenge to stop KG in that position.

The third option is reversing the ball to the weak side wing and putting it in McGrady’s hands one on one against his defender. TMac has the ability to hit the 3 pointer or drive to the basket. Another variation of the set is that after the initial pick is made, Mutombo continues on the weak side and sets a back pick on TMac’s defender allowing TMac to set up shop down on the strong side block. Again, if Malone switches to TMac after Dikembe’s screen, TMac will have a speed advantage on Moses and can either score or draw fouls

The fourth option is Penny using a KG screen to penetrate into the lane where he can either finish or draw and dish.

The final option results from the initial pick by Mutombo. Again, if Malone switches, then we have another mismatch. Now Jones or Mullin are guarding the seven-footer Mutombo. If the ball can get reversed quickly, we can dump the ball in to Dikembe who should be able to shoot over either defender.

With so many options, Barcelona will run this offensive set a majority of the time because it puts our players in advantageous positions, with either one on one coverage or with a mismatch.

Finally, the Pamplona offense is not just effective against man-to-man defenses, but also against zones. Against a zone, the same initial set and pick by Mutombo can free Baylor to the strong side wing. The ball is given to Baylor and as the zone reacts, Mutombo and Garnett (at high post) seal off the backside defenders with picks. Baylor rotates the ball back through Penny to TMac. With the defenders sealed off McGrady will have a large amount of room to either take the shot or to drive to the basket. This set is just as effective when we bring in 3-point specialists, Glen Rice or Bobby Phills, who will have wide-open looks.

Running the Four Down offense vs a Man to Man
McGrady on Iso – Rice subs for Baylor and makes his way to three point land.
Francis on Iso – Rice for Baylor and Phills for TMac (high three point percentage)
Baylor on Iso – Rice and Penny to three.

DEFENSE

HALCOURT TRAPS
VS. BARON



VS. WORTHY



Three defensive goals:

1. Slowing down Duncan and Worthy by using a variety of zone and trapping defenses. We will use 2-3 zone and amoeba defenses to reduce the number of touches Duncan gets down low. This has the added benefit of neutralizing the penetration of Baron and Gus into the lane. Our team will be pressuring and still able to recover. His team would end up having Patrick Ewing beat us. Unlike the US Mail. Ewing doesn’t Deliver.

2. The Box and One defense will be used vs Baron or Worthy (whomever gets hot). When we run the box in one vs Baron it would be with Bobby Phils on Baron. Vs Worthy it would be McGrady., someone who is big enough and quick enough to keep Worthy in check., or at least make it difficult to work. The rest of our team will implement the zone. We will force Worthy to be a playmaker.

3. Running the trapping defense – We will run halfcourt traps vs Baron to eliminate his playmaking and force the decision making to Iguodala. The other traps we will run is the wing trap to take Worthy out of the offense. The trapping defense will also be used when he brings in Dumas. Forcing the ball and decision making into Dumas’ hands.

4. Play smothering man-to-man defense to change the looks and keep Rio unbalanced. Our Starters are all long and quick enough to switch on every picks. Shortest starter is Elgin at 6-5 who can cover bigger guys in his prime. In the end we have Mutombo who will guard whomever they put in the post (Duncan or Ewing). KG can defend any position on the floor one on one. Our athleticism and length will make it difficult for their players to get the ball, let alone get shots off.

If/then

If RIO brings in any of their sharpshooters to combat the zone, we will go immediately to man-to-man defense. We will deny Ellis the basketball by switching McGrady to him.

CLOSING
We will continue push the ball up-court. Our starters will end the game.. If it is close, we will use the Pamplona and four down offenses to isolate our great one on one players and allow them to do what they do best. If a last shot is necessary, we will run the Pamplona and isolate TMac vs Iguodala, and if they switch Worthy to him We will go to Baylor. We are confident that our Hall of Famer can hit the clutch shot if necessary.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
If any of our starting players gets into foul trouble we will play more zone. On offense, we will continue to use the Pamplona Offense, as a combination of our starters and bench personnel can run the set and be successful. We will continue to get mismatches and capitalize on them. If necessary, we will run four down offense using Penny, TMac or Elgin and bring in our 3-point specialists (Rice, Phills) on the wings.

CRYSTAL BALL
The RIO will probably begin the game trying to apply defensive pressure, especially starting Iguodala on McGrady. Our initial offensive series will center around freeing up Tmac vs Iggy - until he can stop him. RIO will soon realize that it won’t matter who they bring in, our team has so many offensive options, that whatever defense they try, we will have an answer. We will unveil the Pamplona offense, with our players executing their individual roles in the offense, taking advantage of our size mismatches in the front court. Our defense will focus on taking their Duncan and Worthy out of their comfort zone and forcing other players to make plays, under severe duress. Duncan will be frustrated when he realizes he can’t push KG out of the way, and he can’t shoot over him. If he brings in Dumas, we will trap and force the ball and decision making into his hands. Trap Dumas on the wings and he becomes null and void.

WHY WE WIN
1. Offensive gameplan that puts the ball and decision making in the right hand.
2. Defensive gameplan that addresses his best go to guys (Duncan & Worthy)
3. Size, Length and Athleticism from the top down.
4. Ability to play any type game.
5. Frontcourt is an even match, We have advantage in the backcourt.
_________________

[Sky]

Rio de Janeiro game plan vs. Barcelona

Introduction – Scouting report

Strengths – Barca has great individual talent in Baylor, TMac, Penny and KG. They’ll look to create isolation and rely on dribble penetration to score. We’ll take that away by playing zone for the full 48, denying penetration lanes, packing the key, then letting their low percentage volume shooters take jump shots – and brick.

Weaknesses –
1. All that talent in the Barca starting five, but none of them won anything. Elgin never won a ring on the floor. The ‘72 Lakers 33-game winning streak began not coincidentally the day after Baylor retired and they finally started playing team ball. Mutombo made the finals but only won one game. Penny made the finals and got swept. KG has yet to get to the conference finals. McGrady has yet to get out of the first round. These guys have a proven history of melting when it counts most.

2. No back to the basket inside scorer. Garnett is a face up player and Mutombo is a predictable liability on offense. Allows the back line of our zones to play above the block and jump dribble penetration and screens.

Minutes
starters
1 Baron Davis 30
2/3 Andre Iguodala 20
3/4 James Worthy 30
4/5 Tim Duncan 40
5 Patrick Ewing 40

bench
1/2 Gus Williams 20
1 Kenny Smith 10
2 Raja Bell 15
3 Dale Ellis 10
3 Shane Battier 10
4 Robert Horry 10
5 Raef LaFrentz 8

IR: Otis Thorpe, James Posey, Richard Dumas

In order to play high intensity zones with length and speed for the whole game, minutes are dropping and we’re playing four 3’s to defend and attack Baylor.

Sets
Offense:
(determined by Barca defensive sets)

vs. man
Spread ice 100%

vs. zone
Amoeba killer (same percentage as Barca plays it on D)
Zone overload 30%
Bomb squad 20%
If no Amoeba then overload 50%, bomb 30%, UCLA high post 20%

Defense:
Pamplona Cattle Prod (same percentage as Barca plays their Pamplona O)
Z trap 45%
2-2-1 Portland zone 30%
if no Pamplona then Z 65% and Portand 35%

Offense

When Barca is in man:

1. Turn Elgin’s legs into malt-o-meal.
If Barca plays man and Worthy is in the game, we set him up in ice wide off the block. Duncan is mid post wide as a passing target. Ewing is baseline 18 feet out. Worthy plays face up or post up vs. the shorter Elgin and can shoot over him or back him down. If Iguodala is at 3 we clear out a side for him to create off the dribble or cut off an elbow screen. If Ellis or Battier is in he runs through a baseline pick from Ewing, a downscreen from Duncan, or spots up arc in an inside-out game with Duncan.

The goal is to go after Baylor and make him work on D to take out his legs and possibly put him in early foul trouble. Baylor had 3.8 fouls per in old school rules, he’ll pick up fouls in new school rules against faster and bigger athletes, particularly if we go after him constantly.

2. Spread Ewing and Duncan.

The bigs will draw Garnett and Mutombo out if they play man. Duncan mid post and elbow, Ewing baseline and elbow. Both are very reliable midrange. Variations set a big up low block who can then take it back to the basket against their man or kick it out to the 3 shooters.

When Barca is in zone:

3. Amoeba killer.
Against a two guard front the Amoeba 2/3 has to cover the strong side baseline. We put Duncan or Ewing there and they can shoot over Baylor or Tmac in spot up, or pass over them for easy post entry to the other big. Nothing the Amoeba can do to stop it.

Execution: Duncan in pick and roll screens for the 1 or 2 who dribble penetrates down the edge of the lane looking for Duncan inside or Ewing spotting up baseline outside. Ball goes to Ewing he shoots over the 3 or feeds Duncan inside. Ewing and Duncan can switch roles.

Other thing about the Amoeba is the 3 also has to close out quickly on the wing for the strong side trap, takes Elgin's legs out.

If Barca doesn’t run Amoeba we run UCLA high post, puts the bigs at the elbows picking for 1-3 to cut to the hoop in pick and roll and pick and pop. Plays to Baron and Gus’ ability to dribble penetrate and finish or pass, and Duncan and Ewing’s money midrange game.

4. Zone overload.
The point reads if it's a one or two guard defensive front. If it's one, Ewing comes above the elbow and screens for Baron or Gus. Forces the wing to rotate inside. We'll have Raja Bell and/or Dale Ellis in this offense, who get a weakside baseline screen for a corner spot up 3. Ewing sets that screen and then spots up weak side. So Baron or Gus have a 3 ace in the corner strong side, Ewing weak side baseline, or can pull up for the floater or draw the foul.

If it’s a two guard defensive front then the 1 creates off the dribble as a big sets a pick on the other guard to free the 2 to cut. The 2 can finish or pass to the screener in pick and pop.

Variations include 1) Ewing as screener and Duncan setting up mid post, 2) having two 3 snipers one corner strong and one weak wing, and 3) a three man weave with Ewing/Duncan, Worthy/Ellis/Raja and the point overloading a two defender area. Baron or Gus draws the defense in dribble penetration and the big picks to free Worthy midrange or the 3 ace at the arc. Key in the overload is to use dribble pentration to force the defense to react and then pass out of it. Baron, Gus and Iggy are all strong dribble penetrators with passing skills.

5. Bomb squad.
If Barca sinks back to deny penetration lanes then we bring in the bomb squad. Kenny Smith at 1 (.429 from 3), Raja Bell at 2 (.413), Dale Ellis at 3 (.478), Horry at 4 (.374), Raef at 5 (.389). Best 3 shooting team in the ATL. That unit averages .417 from 3 and drains uncontested 3’s all night long.. Stay in the zone and sink back all you want, it's raining threes. Smith and Horry have proven playoff ability from 3, Ellis set the record for most 3’s in a game until Kobe broke it.

Mutombo will not want to leave the hoop which leaves Raef open to screen for the others and hit wide open looks or shoot over smaller forwards. Barcelona will be forced to extend their defense. Smith in particular should have a field day as the ball swings from the point to either side and Penny is too busy rotating in the zone to stay tight man on Smith, who then buries the uncontested 3 from the top of the key.

If/Then

1. If Barca puts heavy pressure on the ball in the halfcourt then we look to the bigs to screen high to free Baron and Gus to create for pick/roll and pick/pop..

2. If Barca sinks back to deny penetration lanes we bring in the 3 shooters and rain it down from the arc.

3. If Barca traps at the 3 then Duncan and Ewing cut to the ball midpost and take 12-15 footers off passes from Worthy, who has the height to pass over the defender.

4. If Barca presses to create turnovers we pass over the top of the press to Worthy top of the key, who then looks for Baron, Gus or Iggy streaking sideline to get it over the haflcourt line.

Diagrams

Spread ice vs. man



Ewing is baseline weak, Duncan is elbow strong available for pick and roll or to move down to low block on a pass down to Worthy wide near the baseline. 2 is available as a back door cutter.

Amoeba Killer

The defensive assignments

When the ball goes to the corner the 3 closes wide. So against the Rio play, Mutombo is dropping down with a rolling Duncan. Baylor is closing out on Ewing. Garnett drops down to the hoop.


Baron gets the screen from Duncan and penetrates, he has Duncan rolling, Ewing spotting up baseline, Worthy available weak side. If Baron passes to Ewing then Duncan comes down to the low block looking for post entry (in black) and Ewing can shoot or pass over Baylor. If Baron passes to Worthy, James is wide open to pull up and KG can't recover in time.

Defense

Barcelona has no 3 shooters in the starting five, which lessens the distance Rio has to rotate in the zones. It’s much easier to recover when you can ignore extending to the arc, also don’t get beat by swinging the ball since it’s a short distance to recover from side to side. Rio is also playing four 3’s in the game to maintain quickness and high energy while zoning for the full 48.

1. Pamplona Cattle Prod

The innovative Pamplona offense assumes a defense would actually bother guarding Mutombo away from the hoop and claims he can then seal screen somebody. He can’t seal anything when no defender is near him. If Dikembe is mid post or higher we ignore him, we’re too busy celebrating that we can now defend Barca’s other 4 players with 5 defenders and will trap on the ball to create turnovers and deny post entry. They’ll have to lob to get it to Mutombo, who is no speed demon anyway, the defense can recover back to him.

Mutombo is the most predictable player on the floor. Literally all he can do is screen, he will be a giant robot with a blinking light on the top of his head looking for someone to pick. Which makes it very easy for the Duncan or Ewing to call out coming Mutombo screens to the perimeter defenders, who can then anticipate the Dikembe pick well in advance and adjust angles. Talking on D will be key. Duncan is brilliant at reading offenses and Ewing is from Anchor U at Georgetown. No Mutombo pick will come as a surprise.

Any time Dikembe sets a screen the nearest defender jumps it. Elgin is going to cut through on a Dikembe screen low? Nope. The 5 hard shows on Baylor every time because Mutombo is NOT a scoring threat. Besides which, even Shaq would have difficulty coming up with a pass in this closet (see diagrams). The right block has 4 guys within 2 feet of each other and they pass to the big? How? You can’t make a pass in a phone booth that has two seven footers, Elgin Baylor and James Worthy crammed inside. So Elgin is expecting to run through this traffic jam and emerge clean on the other side? Good luck. Other point is in a zone we don’t need to chase him through the pick anyway, just anticipate Baylor moving and pick him up on the other side.

If Mutombo is below mid post we’ll keep an eye out, play off him but near enough to pick the post entry pass or close on him. Mutombo doesn’t come out for the ball. Ever. So we will jump that passing lane for interceptions. If Dikembe is mid-post or higher he is unguarded, quarantined, he is more alone than when he yelled out, “who wants to sex Mutombo!” and the dance floor emptied in record time.

2. Rue Brittania

The brits do not put ice in their drinks, nor will Rio. All zone all the time, no man. This house is fresh out of ice. Barca’s players work best in isolation, they’re all 1-on-1 guys. Now they have to work together as a team. Something each of the starters has failed at in playoff games. Repeatedly.

3. Z Trap

The guards are above the elbows shading their man to deny penetration up the middle. Worthy sets up strong side a few steps below the elbow to trap cutters and screens coming through the seam. Ewing and Duncan are split a step above the low block on each side of the key. Key is to shut down penetration lanes and force jump shots.

4. Funnel Zone

2-2-1 zone with the guards split wide above the ft line, forwards a step up from mid post along the edges of the lane, and the anchor strong side low block. The guards shadow their man outside and funnel penetration middle where the teeth of the defense waits.

With no back the basket scorer for Barca, the Rio anchor can come up above the low block if a forward has to cover a man wide. It allows Rio to pack a square from the elbow to the low block with five defenders leaving no room and no lanes for dribble penetration. Barca will be allowed to shoot 20 footers wide, but everything else is jam packed.

If/Then

Barcelona may say that they will dribble penetrate and put the Rio bigs in foul trouble. Couple things to say on that. First the Rio zones will make dribble penetration difficult, there just isn’t anywhere to go the lane is packed since we don’t have to extend to the arc. Second, the Rio bigs can ignore Mutombo, so they will be focused on the penetrators and in position waiting for them, and finally both Duncan and Ewing have stellar defensive reputations leading to fewer calls against them. Even if the bigs get calls early, Rio is playing four 3’s in this game and they can take the fouls with little impact. The bigs will therefore be protected.

Diagrams

Pamplona



Mutombo picks for Baylor to come across the lane. Refer to the Z Trap below for how we defend it. Worhty is strong side at the seam under the elbow he cuts down to the crossing Elgin. Duncan is midpost and is on KG at the line. Ewing hard shows on the Baylor cut at the baseline and then defends Mutombo. Everyone is covered.

Z Trap



Worthy sets up strong side and traps at the seam from the elbow to midpost. Ewing is the anchor staying low, Duncan reads the offense and looks for cutters. If the ball goes wide we concede the jumper from 20 feet, the forwards stay close to the lane to recover back to cutters and deny post entry passing lanes. the guards shade their defense inside to prevent penetration middle, goal is to send their man wide.

Funnel Zone



Baron pressures the ball and the wings shade their man to force him inside. Duncna and Ewing wait as dual shotblockers just above the low block. Concept is to force the ball sideways to the middle, where the teeth of the defense awaits.

Closing

We put in the bomb squad at 8 minutes to rest the starters and force Barca’s defenders to chase to the arc. Dale Ellis has the highest 3 percentage in NBA history with at least four 3’s a game at .478, Raja Bell is also over .400, Robert Horry is money in these situations.

To close at 5 minutes we have Baron, Raja Bell to pressure McGrady on D and serve as a 3 outlet, Worthy at 3, Duncan at 4, Ewing at 5. The offensive focus is an inside-out game with Duncan back to the basket low block. He has Raja Bell at the corner 3, Ewing elbow, Worthy baseline wide, and Baron as a cutter and a passing outlet that will come back to him in case of trouble. Duncan shot 80% from the line in this season so he is not a ft liability. He’s a sharp decision maker in crunch time and only trails Carmelo for fg% in end game situations and fg’s made.

Defefnsively we put pressure on McGrady with a well rested Raja Bell and a rested James Worthy on Baylor. Neither played heavy minutes. Hopefully Baylor’s legs are a little wobbly after we have pressured him on both ends all game.

In Case of Emergency

If the bigs start to get in foul trouble then the depth at 2 and 3 is used to take fouls to protect them.

Crystal Ball

I expect Barcelona to emphasize individual ability and try to get them in scoring situations with penetration and overloads, but Rio isn’t playing man and the zones shut down penetration lanes. The game plan anticipates Barca playing the Pamplona offense and using the Amoeba on D and we have sets designed specifically to beat each.

Why We Win
Defense - The Rio zones have two shotblocking anchors, a great man defender and anchor in Duncan, length, speed and power with Worthy, high steal point guards in Baron and Gus, and a lot of depth at 2 and 3 with solid defenders in Raja, Iguodala and Battier to make the Barca stars work very hard for their points. Nothing comes easy.

Offense - Worthy has a height advantage on Baylor, while Ewing and Duncan have the midrange game to pull out the bigs and beat the Amoeba and zones. We also have the ATL’s best and deepest set of 3 shooters to make a defense pay for sinking back to deny penetration.

Rio wins through the defensive depth at 2 and 3 to take care of Baylor and McGrady and the offensive balance to attack the weak points of the Barca zones.

[TIME]

I'm sorry, but I just read the plans above (both excellent btw) and literally laughed out loud when I read this one line.

"Mutombo is the most predictable player on the floor. Literally all he can do is screen, he will be a giant robot with a blinking light on the top of his head looking for someone to pick."

Good luck to both teams.
_________________
"Better learn not to talk to me," Bryant said of Smith's jabbering. "You shake the tree, a leopard's gonna fall out."

[Sky]

ATL West Semis

Rio @ Barca

1

Two of the best frontcourts in the ATL going head-to-head, this one comes down to who highlights their own strengths and the weaknesses of the other team. Rio does an effective job of guarding the Pamplona offense to limit it's effectiveness. T-Mac in ice isn't as profitable as Barcelona wants with an athletic, young Igoudala on him and the anchors Rio has inside. Barcelona only has one dangerous three-point threat in Rice and he only gets 10 minutes? They also will have trouble inside with no real low-block threat. Rio does a good job spreading the court and can bring both Ewing and Duncan out of the paint, opening the lane for Worthy to do his thing. Combined with the inside and mid-range scoring of Duncan/Ewing and the three-point shooting, Rio builds a cushion early and Barca plays catch-up all night. Rio by 8.

Rio 1-0

2

Rio on Offense Barca on Defense
Rio's strategy is to go to their frontcourt for offense. Barca's strategy is to zone and mix it with traps.

Barca on Offense Rio on Defense
Barca's strategy is based on establishing the one on one plays of TMac, Penny, Baylor and KG. Rio on the other hand is bent on zoning out Barca and should they fail, funnel them to Duncan and Ewing for the block.

Summary
Both teams zone each other to oblivion with some trapping by Barca. While both teams manage to score from sheer talent, shooting percentages are down for both teams. In particular, Barca gets the highlight reel shots but the clanks from the three point area. Rio on the other hand manages to hit their inside shots courtesy of their frontcourt. Rio takes the lead with the help from the three point shooting of their bench but Barca manages to keep it close by their steals. Game goes to overtime.

Result
Rio wins by 3 points.

Rio 2-0

3

This is a very interesting game....

I have kinda been waiting for this game since both teams have some similarities in their starting lineup.

Barca is the more athletic team with a size advantage but more perimeter orientateted than Rio with inside game being their bread and butter.

first some comments to Barca

I find it great to not bank on one tactic to beat Rio...I love the constant variation offensively and defensively. That makes it really tough to get him into a kind of trouble he can´t get out of. Obviously the big chunk of the offense comes from outside and the inside player is Baylor who at 6-5 will have some trouble against tall guys like Worthy, Duncan and Ewing inside.

defensively again I like the variation. 2-3 zone is a good idea because Rio is gonna get the ball inside and try to power their way to the hoop. Indeed I think it will be difficult to stop Rio because Duncan and Ewing both can hit the elbow shot and they are gonna get Barca giving up on that idea to play too much zone and get burned from the mid-range...the box and one can be very usefull but I don´t think its necessary to use it on Baron. Baron is not exactly an amazing shooter and would have his troubles anyway against a zone.

Rio

I like the gameplan a lot...damn, what impresses me most is how well Rio has anticipated what Barca plans to do. And I have to admit the gameplan is pretty flawless...defensively its a huge advantage to use the zone against Baylor and T-Mac...alltho I think this might put Worthy into foul issues at the end of the day it is more helpfull than painfull. With Mutombo not having any kind of offense, Ewing can spend extended periods of time in the near of the paint and deny dribble penetration...

game

well the game will likely start in Barcelonas favor. I expect Rio to struggle a little bit to stop T-Mac and Penny in the first quarter. I expect Barca to come out and try to make a statement right from the beginning. Rio will bounce back tho and fight themselves back into it and it will remain relatively close in the second. In the second half, well both teams will work their butt off and try to get themselves the lead and the edge.

At the end of the day tho I go with proven bigtime clutch players to win this game...KG and T-Mac vs. Duncan and Worthy is a reason to believe that Rio will close it out for good and win with a difference of 6 points.

Rio 3-0

4

The International Championship gets off to a great start with two good writeups from two great teams. You have the individual brilliance of Barcelona with its patented Pamplona offense versus the great frontcourt of Worthy, Duncan and Ewing.

This game was decided by Rio’s decision to go exclusively zone throughout the game. Barcelona doesn’t really have a good set for dealing with an exclusive zone. In fact, they discuss different options such as KG flashing and Penny driving that isn’t really a good solution for 100% zone. The Pamplona, while a good man offense that would allow them to place their superstars in places where they can succeed, is not good enough for a zone offense, especially with Ewing able to patrol the middle. Screens on a zone do not work. You need passing and movement and I don’t think the Pamplona offers enough of that.

I think another flaw of the Barcelona plan is the dependency on McGrady. In my opinion, McGrady is his 4th best starter (Penny was pretty good the year he picked) and to not have the ball go through KG’s hands first, as the primary post player and Baylor second is a mistake. Not to say that the Pamplona wouldn’t have allowed this but with Rio’s decision to go exclusively zone, T-Mac as the number option becomes a reality.

Finally, Mutombo being a offensive liability frees Ewing to patrol the middle. While Deke is a truly great defensive player, Ewing is free to help on any penetration knowing the Cookie Monster won’t hurt him. I’m afraid no one will want to sex Mutombo after this game.

In short, I think Barcelona has comparable and maybe even superior talent 1-5 but the lack of planning for Rio’s exclusive zone really hurts them on the offensive end. Good luck Rio in the next round.

Rio wins 4-0 and advances to the western conference finals.

[aabanilla]

Congratulation Sky, wish I would have been able to give you stiffer competition, maybe next year. Good luck.
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[Sky]

Thanks Art, you just didn't have time to mix it up. You'll be a force next year.

[Critter]

I didn't think sweep but good job.
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