Real wants to finish the defense with Gabriel Deck

The reason for a transfer is to improve the current situation. But what happens if the team already excels in the area they are (specialized in) when they are newly acquired? This is more or less the story of Gabriel Deck’s return to Real Madrid.

Wasting no time, the “Queen” took advantage of the circumstances and brought back to the WiZink Center a player who had (basically) proved valuable at the back of the field for the past three years.

What if he left at a crucial point in the season last year? History has shown that everyone benefited from what happened, as Real Madrid received around $2 million in a buyout from the Oklahoma City Thunder, while the 27-year-old forward left his bank account with around $4 million for . .. eight bloated months of work with Oklahoma City.

In fact, Real Madrid don’t “burn” for a player with Gabriel Deck’s traits. The delay in Trey Tombkins’ reappearance in the rotation appears to have played a major role in their reunion, but at the same time the Spanish team added to an already full quiver and looked further ahead to the next six months.

As you can see, according to Iberia’s reports, the new contract between the two teams will include a collaboration of two and a half years, allowing Pablo Lasso to look further away from this summer and maintain the already strong base of players he has the last few years.

But to stick with what everyone expects, the most important thing for Real Madrid is the addition of a player of undeniable quality, an athlete who doesn’t need time to adapt and who has the know-how of Pablo Lasso’s philosophy. In general, it can immediately deliver what is expected and strengthen the “Queen’s” defensive filter. Not that the image on the back of the floor necessarily needs major improvement, it just turns out that the Spanish team worked with the “enemy of good is best” logic.

Defense for seminar

In the days of Pablo Lasso, Real Madrid showed an enviable harmony and balance in defense and attack. On the one hand, he has talented players (in size and racquets), on the other hand, he has “built” on Eddie Tavares a great defensive capability that sets him apart from most of his opponents.

What if the problems that have existed in the “4” since the start of the season (see Anthony Randolph and Trey Tombkins) were largely disguised with the acquisition of Gerson Jabuselle and the – conditional – transfer of Vincent Poirier to the position of power forward In part, the substance for the Spanish team did not change. Quite simply because Real Madrid has the second best defense of the tournament in the first round final (see in detail the detailed analysis of all teams in the first round in the corresponding Sportish tribute). Not in absolute numbers, but in the points he gets for each possession.

According to InStat Scout, the “Queen” with 0.895 points/possession in defense is only behind Olympiakos with 0.88 points/possession, with both teams being the only ones in the EuroLeague where the first decimal place is “8”.

So the defense filter is strong and the explanation is not one-sided. Even if Facudo Cabasso is gone (the pressure on the ball in the periphery has been significantly reduced), even if his main periphery is +1 years older. Real Madrid change nothing, blaming every short circuit on Eddie Tavares and cutting laurels at the end of (every) night.

The statistics confirm that their racket is untouchable. Pablo Lasso players cause their opponents’ accuracy rates to drop significantly, especially in two-point games. Precisely because the huge body of Eddie Tavares (and then the presence of Vincent Poirier as reinforcement) spoils the manner of execution. To such an extent that this year Real Madrid lowers the opponent to 43.5% in two points (295/678), a percentage far from the average of the tournament (52.9%).

It is characteristic that this season in the EuroLeague no team scores worse in the two points than 48.7% of Zalgiris.

The goal is the perfect (sic)

Such a defense is then joined by a striker who specializes in limiting the opponent. Both from “3” and from “4”. Adept at defending consistently both on the periphery and near the basket, the 27-year-old athlete has the “package” that has loosened Pablo Lasso’s hands many times over the past three years.

In this case, Gabriel Deck’s integration into the rotation predisposes for even better defensive numbers in the Spanish team. How much better? Time will tell, but it seems self-evident that from now on the goal will be…perfect.

The 40.3% (98/243) that his personal opponents had in the two-pointers from 2018 to 2021 in the EuroLeague is enough to justify the above. Especially when this percentage drops even further when we talk about post-up (35.9% – 14/39). His muscles might not have been up to NBA level, but in Europe they’re enough (and more) to make a difference.

Versatility on another level

If you look at how Real Madrid’s depth map is forming now, you can see that the line of fire will go from ‘3’ to ‘5’. Where Pablo Lasso can present forms that can “choke” the opponent and reduce his productivity.

No need to “lower” Vincent Poirier to “4” except in exceptional cases, without having to swim deep into Tristan Vukcevic, without having to work overtime as Gerson Jabuselle’s power forward.

• PG: Nigel Williams-Goss, Thomas Hertel, Carlos Allothen, Juan Nunieth.
• SG: Sergio Yul, Fabian Coser, Rudy Fernández, Alberto Abalde.
• SF: Adam Hanga, Jeffrey Taylor, Gabriel Deck.
• PF: Gerson Jabuselle, Anthony Randolph, Trey Tombkins, Tristan Vukcevic.
• C: Eddie Tavares, Bensan Poirier.

Any gaps in the forwards are covered with… top quality materials, leaving the discussion of shortcomings to the guards and whether Nigel Williams-Goss and Thomas Hertel can safely guide Real Madrid’s ship to its destination.