Vechta's 0-3 start isn't bad luck. It comes from playing for weeks without three natural point guards and a power forward. Without a real ball-handler they give the ball away more than anyone in the league, and Braunschweig are exactly the fast, physical team that punishes that. I think Vechta will struggle to pull away from this opponent, even at home.
The numbers back it up. Vechta average 24.5 turnovers a game, last in the BBL, and their efficiency rating of 71 is also the worst in the league. In the 67-108 home loss to Bamberg they turned it over 30 times. At Jena they did fight back from 11 down to lead, but they shot 36% from the field, made 7 of 30 threes and went more than five minutes without a basket in the fourth quarter.
Braunschweig want to run. Vechta coach Christian Held said it himself: Braunschweig play at a very high tempo, aggressively and physically, and his team has to slow the game down. That is hard to do when your guards are the ones missing. Braunschweig spread the scoring around, with Devin Askew at 22.5 points and seven players at 9.5 or more, so there is no single player Vechta can focus on stopping.
Vechta do have something to work with. They rank 7th in rebounding, Braunschweig are 16th, and Vechta grabbed 15 offensive boards at Jena. But extra shots don't help much when so many possessions end in a turnover before a shot goes up.
The schedule doesn't help Vechta either. They have a Basketball Champions League trip to Subotica two days after this match, then Ulm at home, in a month the club says holds nine games. Braunschweig come in after more than a week off since beating Rostock.
