Round 2 of the 2020-21 7DAYS EuroCup featured one of the best individual scoring duels in recent memory when Jamar Smith of UNICS Kazan and Alex Perez of Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul combined for 58 points on Tuesday.
Stats Review: Inside a scoring duel
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High-Gravity Matchups
The second week of the EuroCup season featured one matchup between two teams that were qualified for the postseason last spring as Umana Reyer Venice headed to Stark Arena to take on Partizan NIS Belgrade. After coming up short on the road in Round 1 despite building a 12-point second-half lead against Joventut Badalona, Partizan reversed their fortunes against Reyer, blowing the game open late as they struggled from the perimeter but dominated inside.
Smith vs. Perez
Another matchup in Group A saw the opposite scenario play out. The game between UNICS Kazan and Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul went down to the wire in Basket Hall Kazan with the home team earning the victory in the end as Jamar Smith tossed in a runner to ice the win with three seconds remaining. What stood out about this game aside from the finish was the performances of Smith – who piled up 25 points for the second consecutive game – and of Alex Perez, out did that with 33 points for Bahcesehir.
Entering his fourth season with UNICS, Smith's resume as a scorer at this level is well-established. He is coming off a EuroCup campaign that saw him shoot a historic 53% from beyond the arc. Four years ago, Perez, in contrast, was playing in South America splitting the year between his native Mexico and Argentina. Flashing explosive scoring ability in his subsequent stops around Europe, his outburst in Russia this week was nonetheless his most impressive performance to date.
That duo combined to score 58 points over 45 possessions in an eye-opening display of offensive talent. In one of the more memorable shootouts in recent memory, Perez and Smith fell on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of shot selection.
Perez did the majority of his damage in the paint, shooting 9-for-12 inside of 2 meters, while Smith went 7-for-8 from beyond the arc. Perez manipulated defenders through the pick-and-roll, finished through contact inside, and repeatedly found seams in the defense. Smith showed patience and poise by hopping into shots when dribbling off ball screens and making hand-offs defenders pay dearly for giving him even a sliver of daylight. Though Perez made some deep shots off the dribble to keep defenders honest, he sliced his way to the rim at every opportunity. Smith, meanwhile, had only driven the ball all the way to the rim once before dropping in the game-deciding floater.
Its not often that two players combine to score 24 points in the pick-and-roll – that's identical to last season's league average for a full game – but the contrast in styles between Perez and Smith made for a fascinating duel as the EuroCup season begins to heat up.
Looking Ahead to Round 3
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica has been the EuroCup's most efficient offensive team through two games, imposing their will on opposing defenses inside. Unicaja Malaga figures to present a significant challenge for them in Martin Carpena. The Spanish team struggled to make stops while losing at Mornar Bar, but nonetheless allowed just 16.5 points per game in half-court finishing situations around the rim so far, third-best in the EuroCup. With a 1-1 record, Unicaja begins its only two-game homestand of the regular season with an opportunity to reestablish itself as the team to beat in Group B.