There is a consensus in the Euroleague: the Russian Unics Kazan led by Velimir Perasovic is the revelation team of the season. They are tied for fourth place with Olympiacos and Zenit Saint Petersburg with a 12-7 record before facing Real Madrid on Tuesday. Standing out in his attack are point guard Lorenzo Brown (13.6 points and 5.9 assists for a PIR of 17.8), shooting guard Isaiah Canaan (14.1 points and 46.3% from triples) and forward Mario Hezonja, former from Barça (14 and 6 rebounds for 14.4 credits); but the big sensation is John Brown. A power forward with dreadlocks, glasses that distinguish him and, above all, the best defense on the continent. For Mirotic, among others, he is “the most difficult defender to beat because he plays very aggressively, intercepts passing lanes and always steals it from you.”
John Edward Brown III was born in Florida almost 30 years ago (on January 28), he measures 2.03 m and weighs 93 kilos. Atomic energy and a lot of mobility. The king of one-on-one behind and in anticipation lives his course of glory in the elite, unanimously recognized, capable of matching mismatches from a point guard to a pivot. After not being selected in the 2016 draft, he spent four years in Italy: Rome, Treviso and Brindisi. Now he is enjoying his second campaign in Kazan, where last summer he was renewed until June 2023.
In the current Euroleague he averages 2.9 steals (almost twice as much as the second, Pierria Henry, with 1.84) and reached 7 steals last Thursday in the victory against Barcelona. In addition, he averages 10.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists for a PIR of 12.7. Their influence in the game is not measured in numbers, at least in the usual ones, but the advanced statistics are closer, the one that says that Unics exhibits one of the best defenses of recent times in the Euroleague, with several starting ideas Keys: Attack passing lanes past the 3-point range, stifle ball handlers and opposing long-range shooters. If you have to concede, let it be inside.
The defensive efficiency of Perasovic’s men is the best in the competition. We refer to the points conceded per possession, something different from the simple average of goals received, because it depends on the rhythm and the total number of attacks. Those from Kazan are on their way, according to a study published by the Euroleague, of becoming the first team in the last five seasons to leave their opponents with less than 0.90 points per possession (the Olympiacos finalist in 2016-17 finished with 0.91 goals received per possession).
The recoveries of the ball and the work of John Brown are key, although there is much more behind. The basic concept is to limit perimeter scorers even at the cost of being one of the least effective teams back near their rim (opponents score 62% of attempted shots in the zone). The path chosen, as the study highlights, may not be the most conventional, however, it works. “There has been no shortage of elite defenders in the history of the EuroLeague, but Brown is something totally different in a structure that has synergy as its strong point,” summarizes the analysis of the Unics Kazan defense.
