Tag Archives: David Logan

Lega Basket Serie A: Jerome Dyson and Dinamo Sassari advance to Semifinals

dinamobasket.it

dinamobasket.it

Jerome Dyson and #5 Dinamo Sassari have advanced to the Lega Basket Serie A semifinals upsetting #4 seed Trento 3-1. After dropping Game 1, Dyson and company rode a three game winning streak to keep their Championship hopes alive. Series MVP David Logan led the way for Dinamo, dropping 27 points in the Game 4 clincher. Dyson struggled to find his shot in the series but still found other ways to contribute, dishing out 6 assists in the final game.

As I discussed in my quarterfinal preview, Dinamo’s keys to the series included:

  1. Contain League MVP Tony Mitchell
  2. Post-production
  3. Find shooting touch

Following the Game 1 loss, let’s see how Dinamo responded to each key.

Game 1: Trento 81, Dinamo 70

Game 2: Dinamo 88, Trento 79

  1. Mitchell: 6-18, 6 TO
  2. Rebound Margin: Even
    1. Shane Lawal: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block
    2. Jeff Brooks: 13 points, 9 rebounds
  3. 66% from the field
    1. Edgar Sosa: 21 points

Game 3: Dinamo 103, Trento 78

  1. Mitchell: 2-12, 9 TO
  2. Rebound Margin: -1
    1. Shane Lawal: 8 points, 7 rebounds
    2. Jeff Brooks: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
  3. 76% from the field
    1. 103 points scored
    2. Edgar Sosa: 23 points, 4-7 3P

Game 4: Dinamo 84, Trento 80

  1. Mitchell: 5-15, 6 TO
  2. Rebound Margin: -9
    1. Shane Lawal: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks
    2. Jeff Brooks: 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
  3. 61% from the field
    1. David Logan: 27 points, 3-5 3P

Mitchell, a player who had caused problems for Dinamo in the past, was harassed into a woeful performance- managing only 29% from the field and commiting 7 TO per game- during the final three games of the series. Dinamo received the post-production they desperately lacked in previous battles with Trento, as forward Jeff Brooks provided extra strength inside to complement center Shane Lawal. However, the most impressive statistic of the series is the 68% Dinamo shot from the field in the final three games, including a 103 point explosion in Game 3. When you shoot the ball at such a high mark, it becomes almost impossible to lose. Here is a look ahead at Dinamo’s semifinal matchup.

legabasket.it

legabasket.it

Semifinals

Dinamo has reached its third semifinals in only five years of Serie A play, drawing a matchup with #1 seeded Milan- fresh off a 3-0 sweep of #8 Granarolo. The clubs split the season series 2-2, though Dinamo came out victorious in the most important games, defeating Milan in both the Italian SuperCup at the beginning of the year as well as the Italian Cup in February. It comes as no surprise that the winner of this series is the favorite to take the Serie A crown. Below is an inside look at the Italian Cup Finals matchup in February to give some perspective on the history of these two clubs.

This star-studded matchup features numerous former NBA players on the Milano side including MarShon Brooks (LA Lakers), Linas Kleiza (Toronto Raptors), Alessandro Gentile (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Samardo Samuels (Cleveland Cavaliers). Though Milano is favored and equipped with a deep bench, Dinamo possesses both the athleticism and momentum to eliminate the #1 seed for the third time this season. Here is a look at the probable starters for each team.

#5 Dinamo Sassari

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG David Logan USA/Poland Indianapolis ‘05 16.5 2.8 3.0
SG Jerome Dyson USA UConn ‘10 16.1 3.9 4.2
SF Rakim Sanders USA BC/Fairfield ‘12 12.0 3.5 1.2
PF Jeff Brooks USA Penn State ‘11 8.6 7.2 1.3
C Shane Lawal Nigeria Oakland/Wayne St ‘09 10.8 9.2 1.2
Notable Bench Players
G Edgar Sosa Dominican Louisville ‘10 11.9 1.7 3.2

#1 Milano

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG Joe Ragland USA/Liberia Wichita State ’12 12.1 3.2 3.4
SG MarShon Brooks USA Providence ’11 14.7 3.5 2.2
SF Alessandro Gentile Italy Timberwolves (NBA) 12.7 4.6 1.9
PF Linas Kleiza Lithuania Ulker (Turkey) 9.4 3.7 0.7
C Samardo Samuels Jamaica Louisville ‘10 13.3 5.7 1.9
Notable Bench Players
G Daniel Hackett USA/Italy USC ‘09 8.9 3.3 4.1

The series tips off tomorrow with two games in Milan before returning to Sassari on June 2nd for the final two games. Television information is unavailable at the time but the games should be available by following Lega Basket Serie A on the Twitter app Periscope. Best of luck to Sassari in their quest for a third trophy!

Lega Basket Serie A: Jerome Dyson Quarterfinal Playoff Update

dinamobasket.com

dinamobasket.com

Jerome Dyson and Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari (Dinamo Sassari for short) enter the 2015 Lega Basket Serie A Playoffs with the #5 seed thanks to a 19-11 mark in league play. The club has already strung together an impressive year, competing in both Euroleague and EuroCup play, in addition to winning their second consecutive Italian Cup Championship in February. The Lega Basket Serie A is the first-tier level club competition league in Italy, with a home-and-away schedule comprised of 30 games followed by a playoff round featuring the top eight teams. The quarterfinals and semifinal series are conducted as best-of-five matchups leading into a best-of-seven finals. Lega Basket Serie A has become a popular destination for the stars of Big East past, with at least 16 players having suited up at some point this season- including former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace.

  • UCONN: Jerome Dyson
  • Georgetown: Austin Freeman, Chris Wright
  • Louisville: Edgar Sosa, Samardo Samuels
  • Marquette: Darius Johnson-Odom
  • Pittsburgh: Gilbert Brown, Sam Young
  • Providence: MarShon Brooks
  • Seton Hall: Jeremy Hazell
  • St. John’s: Metta World Peace aka Ron Artest
  • Syracuse: Andy Rautins, Brandon Triche
  • Villanova: Allan Ray, Isaiah Armwood, James Bell

With that in mind, here is a look at the 2015 playoff bracket:

legabasket.it

legabasket.it

Quarterfinals

Dyson and Dinamo already find themselves in an 0-1 hole after losing the first game of the series to #4 Trento yesterday. Trento, led by league MVP Tony Mitchell’s (Alabama/Detroit Pistons) 16 points/11 rebounds, dominated the glass (55 to 28) en route to an 81-70 home victory. Dinamo struggled shooting the ball, finishing just 8-31 from deep and 18-41 from the field. Dinamo was led by Jerome Dyson’s 14 points and 7 steals with Edgar Sosa adding 11 points in the losing effort. Imposing center Davide Pascolo (Italy) had a monster game for Trento with 15 points and 14 rebounds. As two of the highest scoring teams in the league (Dinamo 85.0, Trento 81.3) boasting numerous high-flyers, the first game certainly did not disappoint the highlight reel (below). If you have been following my blog it should be no surprise who came in at #1…

Game 2 Preview

Dyson and company hit the hardwood tomorrow for Game 2 at Trento. Here is a look at probable starters for both sides as well as season statistics:

#5 Dinamo Sassari

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG David Logan USA/Poland Indianapolis ‘05 16.5 2.8 3.0
SG Jerome Dyson USA UConn ‘10 16.1 3.9 4.2
SF Rakim Sanders USA BC/Fairfield ‘12 12.0 3.5 1.2
PF Jeff Brooks USA Penn State ‘11 8.6 7.2 1.3
C Shane Lawal Nigeria Oakland/Wayne St ‘09 10.8 9.2 1.2
Notable Bench Players
G Edgar Sosa Dominican Louisville ‘10 11.9 1.7 3.2

#4 Trento

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG Andres Forray Argentina/Italy Forli (Italy) 5.3 2.6 2.5
SG Jamarr Sanders USA UAB ‘11 8.5 3.9 2.4
SF Tony Mitchell USA Alabama ‘12 21.1 5.7 2.7
PF Davide Pascolo Italy Udinese (Italy) 12.0 7.4 1.6
C Josh Owens USA Stanford ‘12 13.3 6.3 1.1
Notable Bench Players
G Keaton Grant USA Purdue ‘10 7.7 2.3 1.2

Keys to the Series

Contain Tony Mitchell

In two regular season matchups the league MVP torched Sassari for 31 and 24 points respectively. The 6’9 wing presents a matchup nightmare due to his versatility and freakish athletic ability. Game 1 was a move in the right direction for Dinamo as Mitchell was held to only 16 points on 3-12 shooting- though he did still manage to collect 11 rebounds and dish out 7 assists. For Dinamo to advance, Mitchell must be slowed down.

Post Production

Rebounding is not the only worry for the undersized Sassari squad. In the two regular season matchups, Trento scored an average of 63% of their points in the paint (compared to 37% from Sassari) including an insane 65% in a matchup back in December. The closer you are to the basket, the higher percentage the shot- an idea clearly translated in the field goal percentages for both teams. Through three games (including yesterday) Trento is shooting the ball at a 60% mark while Sassari checks in at 47%. League-leading shot blocker Shane Lawal will need to keep Trento’s bigs off the glass and out of the box score.

Three-Point Shooting

When post scoring is limited, points must come from elsewhere- specifically the three ball. For a team that averaged 35 three’s per game and had 4 players shoot over 100 three’s on the season (compared to two for Trento), the 8-31 mark (26%) Dinamo put up in the first game won’t cut it. Between sharpshooters Dyson, David Logan and Rakim Sanders- someone needs to get hot.

Best of luck to Dinamo Sassari and be sure to stay tuned for more updates!