Korean league down to its own ‘final four’
Phoebus point guard Yang Dong-geun led his team to a game one victory in the second round of the KBL playoffs.
The best-of-five second round got underway on Saturday, as the top-seeded Mobis Phoebus took out the Daegu Orions 95-80 at home before taking a commanding 2-0 series lead with a 91-74 win on Monday.
On Sunday, the KTF Magic Wings got a road victory over the LG Sakers, 82-79. The Magic Wings and the Sakers played their second game last night.
Through this year, 16 of the 20 teams that won the first game in the second-round playoff series advanced to the championship round.
That apparently gives the Phoebus and the Wings an advantage, if only psychological. Here are what each of the four teams needs to do to advance to the finals.
The Phoebus
Cut down on turnovers
The team had the fewest turnovers in the regular season, averaging about 11 per game. However, in the first game against the Orions, the Phoebus turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and finished with 21. The Phoebus’ head coach Yoo Jae-hak acknowledged he was frustrated about the turnovers, and said the nearly two-week break (as the regular season champions, they had a bye to the second round) might have affected the players’ sharpness.
Against the Orions, the league’s highest-scoring team in the regular season, there is very little room for error for the Phoebus: They must tighten up.
Yang Dong-geun: going, going and going...
The two-time most valuable player, point guard Yang Dong-geun, is the energizer for the Phoebus on both ends of the floor. His Orions’ counterpart, Kim Seung-hyun, is still not 100 percent recovered from a left ankle injury sustained in the first round, and he couldn’t guard Yang effectively. But the same could be said for Kim’s healthy backup, Jeong Jae-ho.
Yang got his usual offensive numbers in the first game (19 points, nine assists and five boards), while limiting Kim to nine points.
As Yang goes, so will the Phoebus. As long as he continues to play effective pick-and-rolls with forward Chris Williams, the Phoebus should advance to the finals for the second consecutive season.
The Magic Wings’ Aaron McGhee, top, and the Sakers’ Pervis Pasco battle for a loose ball. [NEWSIS]
Pete Mickeal: the scoring machine
Mickeal already set the single-season scoring record, with 35.1 points a game.
Then in the three-game set against the Thunders, Mickeal averaged 41.3 points, and in game 3, tied the record for most points in a playoff game with 47. Mickeal, a 6-foot-5 forward from Cincinnati, is playing in his first season in the KBL.
Mickeal exploded for 44 points in game one and 40 in game two, becoming the first KBL player to score at least 40 points in four straight postseason games.
And judging from the first two games, the Phoebus, who allowed the fewest points in the regular season, haven’t been able to slow him down, either.
Mickeal needs help
In game one, no other player scored in double digits for the Orions. In game two, the second-highest scorer had 14. Their offensive sets often came down to Mickeal’s one-on-one plays, with his four teammates standing around and watching him trying to dribble past double teams or take difficult jump shots.
Shooting guard Kim Byung-chul began the postseason by scoring 19 points, but didn’t crack double digits until game two.
Kim Seung-hyun, with the aforementioned ankle pains, hasn’t been himself offensively.
The Magic Wings
Ride the momentum
The Magic Wings’ players might be more tired than the Sakers because they had to play two hard-fought first round games while the Sakers got the bye. But the first-round win was the Wings’ first playoff victory in the history of the franchise. After outscoring the KT&G Kites 24-11 in the fourth quarter to seal the game two victory, the Magic Wings have momentum on their side and won the first game of the series.
Utilize the deep roster
The Wings’ depth has been their strength all season. In the first round, only once did a player score more than 20 points (point guard Shin Gi-sung dropped 27 in game 2), and five players scored in double digits in the first game.
Rookie Cho Sung-min has been a revelation, averaging 11.5 points off the bench in the first round and draining a key three-pointer late in the fourth quarter in the first game of round two. There are other capable bench players for the Magic Wings. Lee Han-gwon is a key defensive stopper, and Kim Do-soo is a dangerous three-point shooter. Guard Hwang Jin-won’s recovery from a knee injury added speed to the team’s backcourt.
The Sakers
Been there, done that
Their head coach, Shin Sun-woo, is the KBL’s winningest head coach, and has won three league championships in five final appearances. Veteran forwards Charles Minlend and Cho Sang-hyun, who finished one-two in three-point field goals this season, have each won a championship with their previous squads, and have played in two championship rounds.
The key is for the veterans to impart the big-game wisdom to their young backcourt. As the No. 2 team in the regular season, the Sakers earned a first-round bye. Park Ji-hyun and rookie of the year Lee Hyun-min were the very effective two-pronged point guard in the regular season, and that continued in the first game of the playoffs.
Temper, temper
The Sakers need to keep their composure. Minlend, the league’s second-leading scorer at 28.6 points per game, averaged 31 points in six games against the Magic Wings. He will be matched up against the Wings’ hot-tempered duo of Philip Ricci and Aaron McGhee, and Minlend’s ability to penetrate and draw fouls could leave the two on a short fuse. Ricci has especially been vulnerable to meltdowns, and in the first round, he got into a shoving match with the Kites’ Donte Jones and each drew a technical foul.
On the other hand, the Sakers must ensure their own Pervis Pasco keeps his composure. He has six technical fouls on the year, and in a December contest, Pasco was ejected after exchanging punches with the ET Land Black Slamer’s Kimani Ffriend.
The Sakers’ officials say the 6-foot-9 center is a gentle giant off the court. They need Pasco to be the same on the floor.
By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Writer [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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