The breakdown of AEK Betsson’s win over Sassari: PnR with Tillman’s five-point shots, McRae’s incredible +24 and Randle’s three-point shots

THE AEK Betsson has achieved an incredible turnaround in Italy, came back from -19 to beat Sassari 79-83 for his 2nd matchday Basketball Champions Leaguein a crazy game.

The “yellow-blacks” did everything wrong for 22 minutes, then fell behind 51:32. But suddenly they turned the switch, changed their approach to the game and won a well-deserved character victory, which takes on even greater proportions due to the absence of Campengele, Hall and the departure of Kuzminskas from the field in the third period.

The Sportish analyzes AEK Betsson’s victory with the help of Hudl Instat.

McRae with an incredible +24 held AEK Betsson

In a game where nothing went right in defense (AEK Betsson struggled to keep the Sassari players off the ball), coach Platha’s team was lucky to have three players on a big day: Jordan McRae (22 points on 8/8 2-point shots), Justin Tillman (20 points on 10/13 2-point shots) and – in the fourth period – Chason Randle (18 points on 5/8 3-point shots). Each player took action in a different part of the game.

McCray was the one who did the damage in the beginning. The American scored personal baskets in difficult periods of the game and gave the “Union” a breather by proving his class. Here is his shot chart.

*With a circle the exact shots, with an “x” for the missed shots

Here are the ways he scored:

Finally, there is a detail that shows where the games can be judged. With the score at 79-81 (after a three-pointer from Randle), Sassari took a timeout to organize its attack. However, when he entered the field, he was surprised to see that Juan Plata had ordered his players to defend in zone defense just because of that possession. This confused the Italians, who were mistaken. One shot from Karabela and two missed 3-pointers from Sassari later, the game was decided.

A victory of character

There is no doubt that this win for AEK Betsson is their biggest of the season so far. And the second, which comes with a surprise after the one against Ludwigsburg at the BCL premiere. It is a psychological victory, a victory that shows that Juan Plata is building something good. This doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

AEK Betsson’s poor starts seem to be a habit, as does the poor second quarter. In the last three games (Ludwigsburg, Apollonas Patras, Sassari) the “Union” found the equalizer from the third third and won. He has players who can catch fire at any time (McLemore, McCray, Randle, Kuzminskas) which helps with that. However, dead spaces may not be the norm. Little by little, AEK Betsson has to find a balance in order not to continue chasing the score.

However, none of this changes the fact that AEK Betsson is on the right track. And apart from a single game, he didn’t really manage to play at full strength. Now it’s about continuing like this – and fundamentally even better – in the future.