There are homework that is difficult to solve, but there are no practical solutions.
The Samsung Lions lost 75-93 in their third showdown of this season with the Changwon LG Twins in 2023-2024 at the Changwon Gymnasium on Wednesday. Having ended the weekend's back-to-back schedule with losses, the Samsung Lions suffered another loss and took on its 18th loss (four wins).
Samsung, which remained at the bottom, widened its gap with Daegu Korea Gas Corporation, which was ranked 9th, by 1.5 games.
Kofi Coburn (26 points and nine rebounds), Lee Jung-hyun and Choi Seung-wook (11 points each) fought hard, but they bowed their heads as their defense collapsed. In particular, two three-point shots that were hit by the opposing rookie in the early fourth quarter were the decisive blow.
Before the game, head coach Eun Hee-seok said that LG's domestic players had to reduce their scores to win, but his wish did not come true.
He gave 26 points to only Yang Hong-seok (195 cm, F), and cried as his defense collapsed. He lost all three games against LG this season and has been mired in seven consecutive losses against LG if his scope is expanded to include last season.
Despite Coburn's lonely battle and narrow advantage (44-42) in rebounding fight, Samsung failed to prevent its defeat. The biggest reason was that Samsung failed to solve the challenges it had.
"It was a game that we ourselves destroyed in defense," said Samsung manager Eun Hee-seok, who visited the interview room as a loser. "We collapsed in defense, allowing as many as 12 three-point shots to our opponent," citing defense as the loser.
He allowed Yang to score too many points. "It is related to homework that our team has not been able to solve. I tried to reinforce my forward position in this season as well as in my first year as a new coach, but I think that's what matters most to me," Eun said, referring to his team's weak position.
Based on this season's KBL guidebook, Samsung has a total of 18 Korean players (including rookies). Among them, four were categorized as forwards. Three forwards (Choi Seung-wook, Shin Dong-hyuk and Yoon Sung-won) were listed in the lineup on the day.
All three players stepped on the court, but they were not good enough to control Yang, who combined height and mobility. Samsung was dragged throughout the game as it failed to block Yang from crossing small and power forwards.
Loose forward position. To solve the difficult homework facing the team, the head coach brought up regional defense as an alternative, but it couldn't be a solution.
"I came out with regional defense (in the second half) because I was weak in forward position. At that time, I could get one or two outside shots, and my offense was not bad either. It is difficult to increase the height of short players and to keep Lee Won-seok, who lacks mobility, to solve homework. As Yoo Ki-sang was allowed three-point shots in succession at the chase range, the defense collapsed and the atmosphere seemed to have gone over," Eun said.
In the end, the solution called "regional defense" did not work to solve difficult homework. Let's see how Samsung, which faces challenges, will solve the problems given to them.