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Trinchieri: Controlling the pace is the key

Artland are the best team in the league when it comes to three-pointer productivity, while Brose play one of the best defenses in the league. The Dragons managed to beat the Bamberg-based team last year in the playoff first round, but this Brose is very much different than that one

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Artland lost 9 our of the 12 last games (Budesliga and Eurocup), but seven of those defeats were by 4 or less points, which is indicative of the struggle Artland have with dramatic game finishes. As they met Dijon away last Wednesday, Artland did their best despite already being knocked out of Eurocup to have a 7-point lead in the final quarter, but as it usually happens, the opponents caught up to win in the end. 

- We lost focus in the very end. We played well again, but failed to win - coach McCoy lamented.

Artland lost the game and scored less than 70 points despite having efficiency of 50% (two and three-pointers, 11-for-22 in three pointers) and 23 assists. Rebounding was the problem since they recorded a lone offensive rebound which left them with only 48 shots and 8 free-throws.

It was the fifth consecutive defeat for Artland and the only good news is that they can now fully commit to Budesliga (lost the last two games). They are facing their great rival Brose today, whom they beat in playoff first round last season 3-1. They met once ahead in preseason to win 91-86, but it was a very early stage of the preparation period for Brose and they were not complete.

- Brose probably have the greatest individual quality in the league. They are the favorite and they won all the games they needed to win. There were a few defeats, but that's normal for a team that started from scratch last summer - assistant coach Schiller said. He knows who poses the greatest threat:

- Their key players are first and foremost Thompson and Duncan. The fact Duncan is healthy is very important for them. Wanamaker is there as well. They build their game around centers who are very efficient when it comes to free throws and we need to prevent that kind of efficiency.

Brose are to play this derby match after yet another Eurocup defeat. They went to Zaragoza just to show up since the result didn't matter as they secured the runner-up position in the group. It seemed like Brose won't be able to do much after the first half, but as the game resumed, Brose went on a 21-3 run which put them 10 points up ahead of the final quarter. The Spaniards closed the gap and scored a winning three-pointer with 4.4 seconds left on the clock. Artland are normally the team prone to losing in thriller finishes, but Brose have had a few of those as well.

- We played tough but we were naive. I'm not disappointed like I normally am, that defeat was not important and the players were hard to motivate - coach Trinchieri said. He gave junior Obst 17 minutes on the floor and the youngster reciprocated by scoring 9 points.

Some key players like Duncan, Mbakwe, and Strelnieks spent 20 or less minutes on the floor, which is no surprise since much more important games are to come now. Brose will play 4 Bundesliga games over the next 11 days, with the next one taking place on Monday.

But, Brose will have to deal with Artland first. The home team have not changed almost at all since last season, while Brose underwent massive changes and new coach Trinchieri made quite a lot of changes in their game style. Everything is about defense for him and is the greatest difference on the visiting team since last year.

- Artland play great basketball. They have been togetherfor a few years now, they have three or four shooters on the floor at any given time. Some 40% of their point are a result of counterattacking. Controlling the pace will be the key - the Italan coach in charge at Brose said.

It's quite obvious Brose will have to pay a lot of attention to Artland's three-point attempts since there's probably no better team in Bundesliga when it comes to that aspect of the game. Artland record 43% of three pointers and average 83.5 points. But, Brose's defense, which limits the opponents to only 71.3 points per game, will have a say here too.