Here’s a breakdown on the KBL playoffs
The 2006-07 regular season for the Korean Basketball League raced to an exciting finish last Sunday, as the KT&G Kites took the sixth and the last playoff berth on the final day of the season.It was the first time in the league’s 10-year history that the playoff seedings were determined on the season’s last day. And if the taut regular season is any indication, we are likely in for an equally exciting playoff run starting this Saturday.
Mobis Phoebus have won the second consecutive regular season title and have a bye into the best-of-five second round. The LG Sakers, the second-place team, also advanced straight to the second round: they were tied with the KTF Magic Wings at 32 wins and 22 losses, but were ahead in the point differential tiebreaker.
The Magic Wings face the Kites, who came back from a 13-point deficit to start the fourth quarter against the last-place KCC Egis Sunday, and reached the post season on Junior Burrough’s last-second go-ahead basket.
In the other bracket, the Daegu Orions, with nine wins in 10 games, play the defending champion Samsung Thunders.
The JoongAng Daily previews the early rounds.
Magic Wings’ point guard Shin Gi-sung, right, and Kites’ point guard Joo Hee-jung will meet in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite the seven-game differential in the win column, this series presents interesting matchups at key positions.
The Kites’ point guard Joo Hee-jung, the league’s all-time leader in assists, topped all players this season with nearly eight assists per game and 104 total steals. His archrival, Shin Gi-sung, is the floor general for the Magic Wings, and is getting serious consideration for the most valuable player award for his contribution to the team. Shin has been battling appendicitis since February, and has delayed surgery until after the season.
Starting this season, teams could play only one of their two foreign players during the second and third quarters: before, one had to sit out only for the second quarter. Still, important games will come down to which foreign players perform the best for their teams.
In Donte Jones, the Kites have one of the league’s most versatile forwards, foreign or domestic. He is one of only two players to rank top 10 in scoring, rebounds per game, and steals per game. Jones also made the second-most three-point field goals this year. He and his sidekick, Junior Burroughs, who rejoined the team in November after being released in 2005, helped carry the franchise to its first playoff in four years during the 2004-05 season.
The Magic Wings counter with the high-scoring duo of Aaron McGhee and Philip Ricci. Both can score from anywhere on the floor, but their defense remains a question mark. Also, McGhee has been known to force tough shots when the team is trailing.
Though the teams are evenly matched at point guard and down low, the Magic Wings’ depth will help them prevail in this round and perhaps even beyond that.
The Wings’ forward Song Young-jin, last year’s winner of the most improved player award, enjoyed an even better year this season, averaging a career-high 13.7 points. The former No. 1 overall pick has had a difficult transition from center as a collegiate player to a forward as a pro, and now he has gone from a tweener to a towering forward (by Korean standards, at 198 centimeters, or 6-foot-6) who can shoot over defenders.
Donte Jones is the top scorer for the Kites. [YONHAP]
Yes, the Magic Wings stumbled a bit in the second half, but have righted the ship. The Kites fought hard to get to the playoffs, but will be going home pretty soon.
Prediction: Magic Wings in three games.
Daegu Orions (31-23) vs. Samsung Thunders (29-25)
The Orions were the league’s hottest team in the second half of the season, going 14-4 to clinch the fourth spot. Forward Pete Mickeal set the league record for the highest scoring average at 35.1 points per game, and the backcourt duo of point guard Kim Seung-hyun and combo guard Kim Byung-chul has been the league’s finest since the former Kim won both the MVP and rookie of the year honors in 2001.
While the Thunders’ Olumide Oyedeji is a force in the paint. [NEWSIS]
Last season, the Thunders swept the Orions in the second round and then the Phoebus in the final to claim the league title, thanks largely to their three thoroughbreds.
Forward Nate Johnson is consistently among the league’s scoring leaders, and center Olumide Oyedeji was the KBL’s top rebounder and third-best shot blocker this season.
Then there is 6-foot-10 Seo, who many opposing coaches say is akin to a third foreign player for the Thunders because of his impact in the low post and improved outside touch. Though Seo, last season’s MVP, has been slowed by injuries and his discontent for refereeing seems to grow by the game, no other team in the playoff has such a strong second or third option beyond the foreign players.
Kim Seung-hyun is still battling back and shoulder injuries, and for a guard who doesn’t have much of a jump shot and relies on penetration and making contact in the lane, that’s a significant blow.
Plus, in the KBL’s 40-minute games, it takes a lot of shots to average 35 points like Mickeal did. Stop him, and the Orions will be stopped.
In contrast, the Thunders were the only KBL team with each of its starting five players to average at least 12 points per game. Prediction: Thunders in two games.
By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Writer [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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