By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
With 16 rounds on the book, we are almost in the middle of the season. So, in theory, we should have a clearer picture of the top contenders in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
And while this is true, upsets are registered constantly and the only sure thing is that you should expect the unexpected. Nobody is safe and this time around, there’s even a change at the top.
As usual, status, momentum, form, and importance of results were the criteria for ranking the 18 teams.
#18 ALBA BERLIN
Previous ranking: 18 (-)
Record: 4-12
Home: 2-5
Away: 2-7
Offense-Defense: 81.1-84.4
Better late than… later. Just before the end of the calendar year, ALBA Berlin finally registered its first win since November 19. In its defense, the win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne is a result that should have come much earlier. There were many times during ALBA’s 12-game losing strike that the final result wasn’t consistent with the team’s effort on the floor, let alone the flow of the game.
#17 FC BAYERN MUNICH
Previous ranking: 14 (-3)
Record: 5-11
Home: 3-5
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 74.5-78.8
Just when Bayern seems to get on track, it falls off once again. This is evident from its record as the team never managed to climb higher than the 14th spot in the standings (after Round 12). Bayern finished 2022 with back-to-back defeats and it remains to be seen if it can do something better this week against Panathinaikos Athens.
#16 LDLC ASVEL VILLEURBANNE
Previous ranking: 17 (+1)
Record: 6-10
Home: 3-5
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 74.2-79.8
The French club remains an unsolved mystery. It lost five straight games, then won three in a row, including a road win over FC Barcelona and an amazing comeback against Olympiacos Piraeus. And after that, it lost to last place ALBA Berlin. There is nothing more to add.
#15 PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS
Previous ranking: 10 (-5)
Record: 6-10
Home: 4-4
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 78.9-82.9
Panathinaikos appeared to be gaining momentum, but very quickly the four consecutive victories we followed by four consecutive defeats. The last one came at OAKA in the “eternal derby” against Olympiacos with a final margin of 24 points that hurt even more. Will there be a reaction? Nobody knows…
#14 VALENCIA BASKET
Previous ranking: 15 (+1)
Record: 7-9
Home: 4-4
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 81.3-84.8
Valencia hasn’t had consecutive wins since the first half of the first round, but when it wins, it does so with a bang like against Barcelona in Round 15. However, until the team presents consistency and goes on a winning run, it is doomed to be trapped between 11th and 12th place at best, and pretty much that’s been the case since Round 8.
#13 VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA
Previous ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 7-9
Home: 5-3
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 76.9-81.1
Virtus completed 2022 with three wins in its last four games and that’s the best run it has managed since the beginning of the season, especially considering it came off of four consecutive defeats. Though it held ninth place after Round 8, that remains the highest spot it has seen in the standings all season.
#12 EA7 EMPORIO ARMANI MILAN
Previous ranking: 16 (+4)
Record: 6-10
Home: 2-6
Away: 4-4
Offense-Defense: 70.8-75.9
Is there life on planet Milan? This is how it looks after three consecutive victories, despite the usual very important absences (Shavon Shields, Gigi Datome, Kevin Pangos), and even missing Coach Ettore Messina from the bench due to flu. After nine consecutive defeats, the team once hailed as a Final Four contender still has a long way to go, but things could have been worse.
#11 ZALGIRIS KAUNAS
Previous ranking: 7 (-4)
Record: 8-8
Home: 6-2
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 76.4-78.3
Zalgiris Kaunas ended 2022 with a loss at Monaco and had a generally rough December with a 2-4 record. Still, the Lithuanian power remains on track to qualify for the playoffs. Its mighty homecourt remains a big asset, plus the impending returns of players like Tyler Kavanaugh and Lukas Lekavicius might give it back some of its lost momentum.
#10 PARTIZAN MOZZART BET BELGRADE
Previous ranking: 12 (+2)
Record: 7-9
Home: 5-3
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 83.5-85.3
Do you remember the time when Partizan had five consecutive defeats? Faintly? This is because it is now on a three-game winning streak. And two of those victories came against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and on the road against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. If it can keep up accordingly, Partizan might even make it to the playoffs and be part of the top eight, where it has been so far in the standings only twice – after Rounds 6 and 8.
#9 CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET BELGRADE
Previous ranking: 11 (+2)
Record: 8-8
Home: 5-3
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 75.9-78.6
If there was an award for the most improved team compared to the first month of the season, Crvena Zvezda would have won it by a landslide. Its record is an impressive 7-2 under Coach Dusko Ivanovic with the last loss being a much-discussed one against Barcelona. The injury to Luca Vildoza might create even more issues.
#8 ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL
Previous ranking: 6 (-2)
Record: 8-8
Home: 5-3
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 82.6-77.8
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv spoiled Shane Larkin’s cold debut (4 points in 16:56), but one thing’s for sure: The real Shane Larkin will make Efes an even better team. Things are a lot like last year’s regular season troubles for the two-time defending champs, so the rest of the EuroLeague contenders should not be fooled.
#7 MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV
Previous ranking: 8 (+1)
Record: 9-7
Home: 7-1
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 81.5-80.6
If something was missing until recently with Maccabi, it was winning on the road. With two road triumphs in the last three outings, the Israeli club is slowly starting to stabilize itself in the top eight. And they can hope that things can get even better with Wayne Baldwin (19th in the league in PIR) returning to action very soon.