Strategy during Final at Einstein

[barn34]

Originally Posted by throwaway

I was surprised that 330-2481-120-1086 didn't employ much defense against 2056-1690. OP in particular was really vulnerable as they were doing mid-court shots that they could not have gotten away with under heavy defense. Had their been defense played against OP I think their ability to score would've been dramatically inhibited and I doubt the finals would've gone to 3 matches.

That's where OP was shooting while undefended, but they were very capable shooters from the outerworks, as well. It would have neutered a chunk of our offensive output and probably not impacted 2056 much, if at all. They would have just backed up and shot protected with their intake out to create space and probably draw some fouls. Plus, 120's robot wasn't particularly built for playing defense. Their drivers also let us know that they didn't think they'd be as effective at it. If we were going to go that route, we would have needed to sub in 1086. That meant we would have also taken the climb points off the table in the endgame which was really helping us stay afloat with 330's climber issues lingering following SF2. 1086 also let us know earlier that the new Einstein balls may mess with the accuracy of their shot, which they had tuned using worn down balls. That proved to be true based on the accuracy seen in SF1 when they were on the field with us while 120's intake was being frantically repaired. We would have needed that autonomous shot to hit to offset the lost scale points. Even if 120 was getting shut down, that was still pulling a lot of the defensive attention away from us and 330.

Defending OP had to be done in the neutral zone. In match 1, we got a couple good blocking and slow down plays on them as we were chasing down boulders. In match 2, they did a great job avoiding those situations. In match 3, we again managed to find them a couple times and did just enough to be a nuisance.

I just want to point out that match 1 could have very easily gone the other way if either of 2 things happened in the endgame. If 1405 was able to get on the batter that would have been an additional 30 points and the score margin widens significantly. If OP would have gotten the scale, that would have been 10 more points and they win by 2. If both happen, that's a 40 point swing and we lose by more than a capture bonus. In match 2, they basically got us by an auto ball. Match 3 was essentially a draw. These finals were crazy close, obviously. Completely swung on just a few plays.