Seoul Samsung lost 80-82 to Seoul SK in the regular season finale of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball Association on Nov. 11 at Jamsil Indoor Stadium. First five-game losing streak of the season. They finished the first round with a 2-7 record.
Lee Won-seok was selected by Samsung with the first overall pick in the 2021 KBL Domestic Rookie Draft. He was considered a big man with great height, speed, mobility, and bounce. However, from his debut season, he realized his strength limitations. His skinny frame made him easy prey for opposing foreign players and big men. Frequent injuries due to his lack of strength also hindered his growth.
So, in the summer of 2022, Lee got in shape. He focused on building his strength and reworked his big man fundamentals under Eun Hee-seok, a coach he worked with at Yonsei. It wasn’t an overnight success, but he gained a lot of experience along the way.
In his second offseason, Lee Won-seok was given another task by Eun Hee-seok. “Diverse attacking options” and “confidence. Specifically, he was asked to improve his long-range shooting, penetration, aggressiveness, and physicality. This was a big change for Lee Won-seok.
Why Lee should be different. The addition of Kofi Coburn (210 cm, C), who specializes in dominating under the basket. By spreading the court out, Lee can make it easier for Coburn to get to the paint. If Coburn can be competitive in the paint, Samsung can transform into a different team. For that reason, Lee Won-seok was important.
However, Lee’s performance hasn’t been great. Despite starting every game (eight) since the start of the season, he averaged just 7.9 points and 5.5 rebounds (1.8 offensive) in 25.32 minutes per game. Only his 1.4 blocked shots are encouraging, but his offense and rebounding have been lackluster.
In addition, Lee’s instantaneous speed didn’t translate into results. He lost his balance in battles with defenders. Samsung coach Eun Hee-seok also lamented Lee’s physical condition, saying, “He was in good shape during the offseason, but after the Hangzhou Asian Games, he lost his good form.”
In any case, Lee Won-seok was supposed to change the atmosphere. However, he was not included in the starting lineup. In his absence, Samsung fell to 6-16. It was only after the first timeout that Lee Won-seok was inserted.레모나토토 주소
But even after he came on, things didn’t change for Samsung. They couldn’t easily penetrate SK’s perimeter defense. They were unable to break through SK’s tight and fast-moving defense. Lee Won-seok was also busy spreading the ball around in SK’s tight defense.
However, Lee Won-seok was combative near the rim. He overcame the struggles of Choi Buk-kyung (200 cm, F) with a pivot and height. He scored the first point of the game.
Lee Jeong-hyun (189 cm, G) also drew a blood shot from Lee Won-seok. After breaking through, he passed to Lee Won-seok under the rim. Lee Won-seok calmly finished under the rim. Lee Won-seok’s performance under the basket paved the way for Samsung to catch up. The score was 24-35 with 5:30 left in the second quarter.
Lee Won-seok didn’t stop there. From the top of the key, Lee passed to Ishmael Lane (202 cm, F) under the rim. He helped Ishmael score under the basket and hit the left corner on the final possession of the second quarter. Closed the gap between Samsung and SK with 8 points (2FG: 4/4) and 2 rebounds (1 offensive) in the second quarter (Samsung-SK halftime score: 36-48).
Coburn came alive in the third quarter. Coburn’s strength and underneath attack drew the attention of the SK defense. Lee Won-seok didn’t miss it. When Coburn was forced to play cooperative defense, Lee Won-seok penetrated from the other side of Coburn into the SK empty space. He scored easily under the basket.
He also didn’t miss Coburn’s position battle. Put the ball into Coburn from the top. Helped Coburn score and excited Coburn. Enjoying the Coburn effect, Samsung closed the gap with SK to 49-53 with 3:09 left in the third quarter.
However, Samsung and Lee Won-seok stumbled at the end of the quarter. The third quarter ended 51-63. It was back to the drawing board in the fourth quarter.
Lee Won-seok focused on attacking the paint zone like in the third quarter. However, Lee’s strategy didn’t work as well as in the third quarter. SK was already prepared.
Nevertheless, there wasn’t much Lee Won-seok could do. It was all about defensive rebounding, perimeter defense, and synergy with Coburn. They battled in the paint zone until the end. Thanks to this, Samsung was able to get to 77-79 with 17.5 seconds left in the game.
Samsung couldn’t turn the game around. However, Lee Won-seok’s fight under the basket almost turned the 2023-2024 S-Derby into a drama. Lee’s stats weren’t bad either. In 33 minutes and 42 seconds of play, he had 12 points, eight rebounds (three offensive), and two assists.