Evolution: a closer look at Lenovo Tenerife

TENERIFE (Spain) - The reigning champs are back. Of course they are. This is Lenovo Tenerife's fourth Final Four, and no other team has reached more than two.

At times it feels as though Tenerife suffer from the same condition as Lebron James when it came to MVP voting: it's very easy to grow accustomed to excellence when it's this consistent.

As you can see in the chart above, some things never change. Death, taxes, and Tenerife playing efficient basketball. They rank second in the league this season for Net Rating, meaning they are 12.6 points better than their opponents for every 100 possessions.

Tenerife have ranked top two for Net Rating in every single season of the Basketball Champions League. The only other season previous to this where they weren't ranked #1 was the 2020-21 season.

If you let that sink in for a second, you realize what a testament that is to head coach Txus Vidorreta, his coaching staff, and sporting director Aniano Cabrera in the front office.

The question isn't if Tenerife will be efficient, the question is how much? And to be specific, after all these seasons together how do they maintain these levels? Bearing in mind this is season #4 in a row for Huertas, Salin, and Shermadini in the Canary Islands. Aaron Doornekamp also has a quartet of seasons in the bank.

In basketball, if you aren't moving forwards, then the chances are you are moving backwards and when you are consistently in the top two every season, it gets harder and harder to maintain your momentum. In this situation, maybe it becomes a necessity to evolve so you can keep things fresh and that is exactly what Tenerife have done this season.

The Assist Percentage chart demonstrates the percentage of the team's field goals that are produced by an assist. Ordinarily, the top of this chart is the realm of Tenerife. The trademark style of play that they are so well known for has always been predicated on patiently making the ball do all the work until they find a great shot, usually assisted by the likes of Huertas and Fitipaldo.

The fact that they are ranked #20 this season but the style of play on the court still looks like the same brand of patient, team basketball we are used to, is at first puzzling but when you look again, it's a sign of how this team is evolving. 

How they play

We start with a set that Tenerife used early in Game 3 against Manresa and also a set that Telekom Baskets Bonn has almost trademarked this season. You can recognize the play by the "Iverson" cut along the free throw line to enter the action. The timing and sequence of actions are almost identical to the way Bonn use them. Notice how Elgin Cook cuts along the baseline at the same time.

This may not be the first season Tenerife have used this set but we didn't see it regularly in the offense last year. What is also different here from previous seasons is the way that Cook finishes the play driving to the rim and scoring over defenders. We would have expected a corner three or kick-out pass to the opposite corner with one of Cook's predecessors involved in the play. The American has not only adapted to Tenerife's system but also really added his own stamp.

We see a similar story with Leandro Bolmaro and what he has brought to the team with his aggression in attacking the rim. This isn't to say Bolmaro isn't a shooter (every Tenerife perimeter player is), in fact, he's shooting 43 percent from deep this season.

It's more to observe the intent from the Argentinian. He turns down a wide-open look and drives hard to the rim. This isn't a drive to create another advantage or a kick-out pass, this is a drive to score.

It isn't just the newcomers that have brought the added aggression. Last season we saw Marcelinho Huertas with more of a mindset to score at times, as opposed to only focusing on creating.

That has seemingly gone up a notch again this season. For both Huertas and Fitipaldo, there seems to be more of a will to greenlight their own projects as well as facilitate other people to get off the ground.

Then there is also the arrival of Jaime Fernandez into the mix, with all the offensive ability he brings. You could be forgiven for not noticing, because the system is so distinctive in style but this Tenerife backcourt is unlike any other we have seen.

 

Underneath the evolution of this team is still the familiar actions and sets that we all know by now. They still form the bedrock of this offense.

The clip below is often referred to as an "Argentina" break as it uses the "Flex" offense basics of the old school Argentina teams but Vidorreta applies them in the early offense or secondary break.

A ball screen up top and a cross-screen down low for the likes of Shermadini, Guerra, and Diagne. If you are sat behind either basket in the arena, you can see Tenerife lining this action up from a mile away and the defense knows it's coming too.

That doesn't mean they can do anything about it. In fact, on most occasions, they can't.

What we see in the clip below may well be an evolution of that same Argentina break. Only this time, we see the angle of the screen for Shermadini has changed and the ball screen is now in the slot instead of the middle of the floor.

What we also see in this clip is why Tenerife often records low numbers when it comes to possessions per game: patience.

If they don't get what they want immediately, they are more than happy to keep playing through options until they do. Even if that means delving into the last three seconds of the shot clock.

This next video is the last one to cover Tenerife on the offensive end and it gives you everything you could wish to nerd out on with Tenerife basketball.

"Touch" entry as Huertas throws the pass and sprints to get it back. Huertas uses a push dribble to get the ball out ahead of him and set his defender up for the ball screen. Fitipaldo sets the back screen for the roller and points to Guerra to roll as he knows Harding is defending him and doesn't want to switch. Fitipaldo nails the back screen and Huertas uses a jump pass to create an angle to find Guerra over the top. [/unordered]

As we move onto the defensive side of the game we also have to discuss pace. Tenerife allow just 102.5 points per 100 possessions, ranking them third in the BCL and they allow their opponents a meager 69.8 possessions, the lowest in the league.

They do this by controlling the defensive glass and above all dominating the transition phases of the game.

After a turnover, Huertas has a "next possession" mentality and reacts instantly to pick up the ball and slow any chance of a fastbreak. Abromaitis executes a deep switch on the ball screen to keep the offense in front. Now the secondary break is also over. Huertas jump switches onto Harding and Fitipaldo joins him to "blitz" the ball. Shermadini covers two players on the back side and Abromaitis reads the pass to steal the ball. Tenerife flip the threat a full 180 degrees by scoring on the break the other direction. [/unordered]

The other consistent theme you will see from Tenerife on the defensive end is the persistence of their on-ball defenders.

Not so much in a destructive way that forces turnovers every possession but more in their ability to stay in front, force players to play in uncomfortable ways, and generally pester the ball handler at all times.

Bolmaro plays very tight to Badio off the ball and chases him over the handoff. He arrives after the handoff, still in front, and forces Badio to go to his weaker hand. Guerra drops to help until Bolmaro is back in front and able to take away any shot. [/unordered]

It would be amiss to discuss Tenerife's defense and not talk about the likes of Doornekamp, Abromaitis, Cook, and Sastre.

All of them play so hard on the defensive end and all are able to guard different positions. There always seems to be another defender on the court when Tenerife are on defense and that is largely thanks to the versatility, intensity, and positional discipline of their wing defenders.

The Roster

We know the core so well by now and the Big 3 are still the Big 3. Huertas, Salin, and Shermadini are always going to be the biggest threats that must be accounted for at all times.

Abromaitis, Fitipaldo, Doornekamp, and Cook all play more than 20 minutes in the rotation. After that, Bolmaro, Sastre, Fernandez, and Guerra all play around 15 minutes and any of them can step up into a bigger role on a given night. It is also worth noting that six of those ten in the primary rotation are shooting above 33 percent from deep this season.

Like a superhero movie, the cast may be slightly different but the plot is very much the same. Choose to stop Shermadini and Guerra in the paint or try to stop the scorers from getting hot outside.

It's an almost impossible choice. If there is the slightest mistake, Huertas and Fitipaldo are orchestrating everything in the pick-and-roll and will find it. 

X-Factor

In reality, there is one X-Factor and that is Marcelinho Huertas. The Brazillian didn't win the Final Four MVP for nothing. Everything Tenerife does usually runs through him and there isn't much anyone can do about it.

Up Next

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and the best defense in the Basketball Champions League.

These two clubs have previous when it comes to knock-out basketball.Tenerife beat Jerusalem in a home-away format Quarter-Final in the 2018-19 season.

This will be a very different affair with almost two completely different rosters. The only player remaining from either team is Tim Abromaitis.

There will be fascinating matchups all over the court but maybe none more so than the coaching battle.

Neither Txus Vidorreta nor Aleks Dzikic is used to coming up against coaches that match them well for the technical and tactical aspects of the game. In this case, we almost have a stalemate.