Real Madrid’s Scoring Machine
By Rafael Uehara
Last Sunday – December, the 2nd – Real Madrid dropped 94 points on CAI Zaragoza, the top-ranked squad in the Spanish league in point prevention. Zaragoza had allowed just 600 points in nine games, an average of 66.6 per game, but couldn’t stop Real Madrid’s high octane offense from scoring in the 90s, behind a 26-point first-quarter, 28-point fourth-quarter, 68% shooting on two-pointers and 39% shooting on three-pointers. It was just another demonstration of force by Real Madrid’s scoring machine.
Ever since Pablo Laso took over, ‘los Blancos’ have been progressively becoming an unstoppable offense. They don’t necessarily emphasize transition (though capable of relying on fast-break scoring thanks to Sergio Rodriguez, Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez) but do play at a faster pace than most teams (second in the Euroleague, averaging 3.1 possessions a game over league-average), usually taking the first good shot available (an approach made famous by Mike D’Antoni’s mid-2000s Phoenix Suns) rather than stressing over the value of every single possession, like most European teams.
Real Madrid ranks third in the Euroleague in offensive efficiency, averaging 110.2 points per 100 possessions. It is a remarkable rating and they only don’t lead the league because Zalgiris Kaunas and Montepaschi Siena are doing historic stuff in terms of efficiency. It’s fair to say, though, that Laso’s squad is the one with the most potent offense in the continent. Last season, it was up to the same stuff, averaging 114 points per 100 possessions over 16 games, only topped by Andrei Kirilenko-fueled CSKA Moscow.
In the Spanish league, Real Madrid has scored 889 points in 10 games, 47 more than Asefa Estudiantes, the second-ranked team in points. They won all 10 of their games, scoring over 90 points five times and scoring 100 points twice.
Even with the departure of Ante Tomic, who used to get things going through the post, Real Madrid hasn’t skipped a beat as Nikola Mirotic continues well on his way to be the best big in Europe by next season’s start. The Spanish-naturalized Serbian averages 1.04 points-per-possession in the continental league and has scored 132 points in the domestic league. The versatility of his skill set as he’s capable of posting up, finishing on the move or attack the rim facing the basket combined with his athleticism to run the floor make him a perfect fit for the offense.
Then there is Rudy Fernandez, who is a grotesquely underrated player at this point. Because of his antics and his flopping, people are choosing to ignore Fernandez is a premier scorer in the European game, who is a threat both on and off the ball as he has terrific ball handling skills, court vision, athleticism to attack the basket in isolation, can spot-up and is probably the best cutter in the continent. Fernandez, as a perimeter player, is posting a remarkable .618 true-shooting percentage in the Euroleague.
But the offense really works because of Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez. Both point-guards run the attack with prolificacy, as they provide multi-dimensionality, at any possession being able to push on one-man fast-break attempts, take jumpers off high screens (Llull mostly three-pointers, Rodriguez mostly from mid-range) and feed a big rolling to the rim or Fernandez flying baseline or Jaycee Carroll spotting-up on the weak-side. The duo is posting a combined .552 assist-rate in the Euroleague and averaging 8.5 assists-per-game in the Spanish league.
I still feel Llull is better suited for a role at the two-guard in any other team, as he played most his entire career before Laso took over, but in this offense, he has worked fine as a primary ball-handler. It is when things slow down and he must make a high-percentage decision in the half-court with a set defense in front of him that he gets into trouble, like the disastrous game one of the Spanish league finals last season. Playing read-and-react ball, though, Llull can maximize his playmaking skills, as we’ve seen the best of him the last couple of seasons.
Many teams in the continent would give their right arms to have Carroll running off screens or Carlos Suárez posting up opposing wingmen as primary sets on offense, but on Real Madrid, they are change-up options. They are just so loaded.
Last season, Laso was still trying to figure out who fit or didn’t fit his scheme. On top of it, there was a little of roster influx, with Fernandez dropping by for a couple of months and Serge Ibaka for a couple of weeks during the NBA lockout and Kyle Singler signing mid-season. Towards the end, we got to see the team’s full potential but ineptitude on defense cost them a berth in the Euroleague’s quarterfinals and whatever the hell happened in the Spanish league finals happened.
The picture is a lot clearer this season. Laso has all the pieces that fit what he wants to build, with everybody committed. The result is Real Madrid has come off the gate gunning. And as the team has gone from defending below league average last season to currently posting the fifth-best defensive rating in the Euroleague, Real Madrid really has established itself as a legit contender for the continental crown, while in the domestic side, the clash against Barcelona’s monster defense should be historic. And they will ride their scoring machine, arguably the most fearful force in European basketball at this moment.
Editor's Note: All statistical data was researched at gigabasket.org.
Rafael Uehara is the managing editor of 'The Basketball Post'. More of his work can be found here and he can be followed on twitter @rafael_uehara or reached via e-mail at rafael_uehara@live.com
Last Sunday – December, the 2nd – Real Madrid dropped 94 points on CAI Zaragoza, the top-ranked squad in the Spanish league in point prevention. Zaragoza had allowed just 600 points in nine games, an average of 66.6 per game, but couldn’t stop Real Madrid’s high octane offense from scoring in the 90s, behind a 26-point first-quarter, 28-point fourth-quarter, 68% shooting on two-pointers and 39% shooting on three-pointers. It was just another demonstration of force by Real Madrid’s scoring machine.
Ever since Pablo Laso took over, ‘los Blancos’ have been progressively becoming an unstoppable offense. They don’t necessarily emphasize transition (though capable of relying on fast-break scoring thanks to Sergio Rodriguez, Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez) but do play at a faster pace than most teams (second in the Euroleague, averaging 3.1 possessions a game over league-average), usually taking the first good shot available (an approach made famous by Mike D’Antoni’s mid-2000s Phoenix Suns) rather than stressing over the value of every single possession, like most European teams.
Real Madrid ranks third in the Euroleague in offensive efficiency, averaging 110.2 points per 100 possessions. It is a remarkable rating and they only don’t lead the league because Zalgiris Kaunas and Montepaschi Siena are doing historic stuff in terms of efficiency. It’s fair to say, though, that Laso’s squad is the one with the most potent offense in the continent. Last season, it was up to the same stuff, averaging 114 points per 100 possessions over 16 games, only topped by Andrei Kirilenko-fueled CSKA Moscow.
In the Spanish league, Real Madrid has scored 889 points in 10 games, 47 more than Asefa Estudiantes, the second-ranked team in points. They won all 10 of their games, scoring over 90 points five times and scoring 100 points twice.
Even with the departure of Ante Tomic, who used to get things going through the post, Real Madrid hasn’t skipped a beat as Nikola Mirotic continues well on his way to be the best big in Europe by next season’s start. The Spanish-naturalized Serbian averages 1.04 points-per-possession in the continental league and has scored 132 points in the domestic league. The versatility of his skill set as he’s capable of posting up, finishing on the move or attack the rim facing the basket combined with his athleticism to run the floor make him a perfect fit for the offense.
Then there is Rudy Fernandez, who is a grotesquely underrated player at this point. Because of his antics and his flopping, people are choosing to ignore Fernandez is a premier scorer in the European game, who is a threat both on and off the ball as he has terrific ball handling skills, court vision, athleticism to attack the basket in isolation, can spot-up and is probably the best cutter in the continent. Fernandez, as a perimeter player, is posting a remarkable .618 true-shooting percentage in the Euroleague.
But the offense really works because of Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez. Both point-guards run the attack with prolificacy, as they provide multi-dimensionality, at any possession being able to push on one-man fast-break attempts, take jumpers off high screens (Llull mostly three-pointers, Rodriguez mostly from mid-range) and feed a big rolling to the rim or Fernandez flying baseline or Jaycee Carroll spotting-up on the weak-side. The duo is posting a combined .552 assist-rate in the Euroleague and averaging 8.5 assists-per-game in the Spanish league.
I still feel Llull is better suited for a role at the two-guard in any other team, as he played most his entire career before Laso took over, but in this offense, he has worked fine as a primary ball-handler. It is when things slow down and he must make a high-percentage decision in the half-court with a set defense in front of him that he gets into trouble, like the disastrous game one of the Spanish league finals last season. Playing read-and-react ball, though, Llull can maximize his playmaking skills, as we’ve seen the best of him the last couple of seasons.
Many teams in the continent would give their right arms to have Carroll running off screens or Carlos Suárez posting up opposing wingmen as primary sets on offense, but on Real Madrid, they are change-up options. They are just so loaded.
Last season, Laso was still trying to figure out who fit or didn’t fit his scheme. On top of it, there was a little of roster influx, with Fernandez dropping by for a couple of months and Serge Ibaka for a couple of weeks during the NBA lockout and Kyle Singler signing mid-season. Towards the end, we got to see the team’s full potential but ineptitude on defense cost them a berth in the Euroleague’s quarterfinals and whatever the hell happened in the Spanish league finals happened.
The picture is a lot clearer this season. Laso has all the pieces that fit what he wants to build, with everybody committed. The result is Real Madrid has come off the gate gunning. And as the team has gone from defending below league average last season to currently posting the fifth-best defensive rating in the Euroleague, Real Madrid really has established itself as a legit contender for the continental crown, while in the domestic side, the clash against Barcelona’s monster defense should be historic. And they will ride their scoring machine, arguably the most fearful force in European basketball at this moment.
Editor's Note: All statistical data was researched at gigabasket.org.
Rafael Uehara is the managing editor of 'The Basketball Post'. More of his work can be found here and he can be followed on twitter @rafael_uehara or reached via e-mail at rafael_uehara@live.com
Posted by Rafael Uehara at Monday, December 03, 2012 7:23:03 PM 
Categories: Euroleague, Spanish league
Tags: Rafael Uehara
Categories: Euroleague, Spanish league
Tags: Rafael Uehara
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