Sono and LG put different kinds of pressure on defensive help. Sono can move the ball between several creators, while LG has an interior hub with active shooters around him. Their recent games show working attacks alongside substantial concessions near the basket.
Sono's Lee Jung-hyun and Lee Jae-do can initiate, Quiambao adds another passing option, and O'Bryant can finish inside or pull a defender away from the rim. The KCC game produced 24 assists with seven turnovers. LG conceded 26 made two-pointers from 39 attempts against SK, giving that connected attack a clear target.
At the other end, Marei can finish, recover misses and find the next receiver against a Sono defense that allowed KCC to make 24 of 34 two-pointers. Yoo played substantial minutes in both recent games, so the perimeter outlet is demonstrated rather than an assumed return. The Sono creators also played in the latest game. Lee Jae-do's secondary creation and Goodwin's scoring give both attacks ways to continue through substitutions. That's why I'm backing Sono and LG to produce a higher-scoring game.
Shimane and Sendai present a different contest: pressure and rebounding against an attack with several answers after the first action. Culver scored 20 against Kawasaki without making a three, El Darwich added 20 with nine assists, and Layman scored 23. Boothe supplied another passing outlet. Those connected roles meet the defensive help and foul problems Bozic described after Shimane's Toyama game.
Layman and the other principal Sendai creators all played in the latest match. Iio also returned for Shimane, so his older injury notice does not remove him from the picture. Shimane can build attacks through Okada, Kay and Heath, but its latest recovery also required difficult individual finishing. I expect Sendai's repeated creation to make the difference through the middle stages and provide enough scoring to answer Shimane's rallies. That's why I'm siding with Sendai to win with some separation.
