Experts Round Table: Round 9

By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net

This week’s panel includes: Juan Antonio Casanova, former long-time EuroLeague writer for La Vanguardia in Spain; Ramunas Siskauskas, two-time EuroLeague champion and Euroleague Basketball Legend; Djordje Matic of Serbian newspaper Novosti; Antonis Stroggylakis, Global Version Editor, Eurohoops.net; and Igor Petrinovic of Euroleague.net.

1. Which team helped itself most over the two games last week?

Juan Antonio Casanova

Panathinaikos. Only four teams won both games in a very challenging week. Each of them had relevant results, like Baskonia, which won its games by a combined 50 points. But looking at the strength of their adversaries, I’ll go with Panathinaikos. Ratifying its victory at home against Olympiacos in the previous round, Panathinaikos won first by 28 points against a Khimki team that had lost only once until then. Two days later, the Greens won a toss-up game on the court of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, that was coming off road wins in Barcelona and in Tel Aviv.

Ramunas Siskauskas

I think that Baskonia helped itself the most. Coach Pedro Martinez’s men completed their turnaround from a tough start to the season with a 30-point blowout of Real Madrid and a 20-point beating of Zalgiris. They have a lot of confidence going forward. As I wrote last week, now they are starting to play better and better. Another team worth mentioning is Milan, whose two wins – over Valencia and Brose Bamberg – were very important, too, and may prove to be that team’s turning point.

Djordje Matic

After a bad start, Baskonia rose up, as has Milan. Nevertheless, the biggest step forward last week was taken by Olympiacos. They traveled to Istanbul after their defeat at the hands of Panathinaikos. Many were asking themselves if Olympiacos has the potential to get to the top, but are forgetting that they have been playing without Vassilis Spanoulis and Kim Tillie from the start of the season, and without Georgios Bogris for a while. But by beating Fenerbahce they showed that they have team spirit, and then by beating Crvena Zvezda they returned to the top.

Antonis Stroggylakis

The situation at Olympiacos was close to critical following a blowout loss to Barcelona and a defeat to archrival Panathinaikos at home. The players were facing major criticism, doubts and some serious concern after a series of underperformances on offense. Yet everything changed with the road victory over Fenerbahce. It was an impressive result, even more so considering the game’s roller-coaster quality. The Reds first came back from a double-digit deficit and then lost their own 10-point advantage after the champs forced overtime. But they kept their cool and won. Beating Crvena Zvezda in Piraeus was just the icing on this turnaround cake.

Igor Petrinovic

After dropping three out of its first five games, Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens got two big wins last week. The 28-point drubbing of Khimki Moscow Region would not mean nearly as much without the road win over Anadolu Efes in Istanbul two days later. Coach Xavi Pascual’s men did so in different fashion, too. They hit 17 triples to dismiss Khimki and then rode a fantastic performance by Nick Calathes to edge Efes. Coupled together with the road win against the archrival and league co-leader Olympiacos, the Greens have suddenly put together a respectable winning streak, and built some a confidence ahead of the clash with the depleted Real Madrid.

2. Which team was hurt most by the two games last week?

Juan Antonio Casanova

Khimki. There were also four double losers last week. Above the largest negative point difference, the 52 points accumulated by Crvena Zvezda against two highly superior opponents, CSKA and Olympiacos, I believe the biggest disappointment of the week was Khimki. They suffered twice as many losses in one week as in the previous six rounds. And its easy to see why. Khimki’s two lowest scoring totals of the season came because of 26% three-point shooting and rebounding deficits last week. Losing by 28 in Athens to Panathinaikos and falling at home to Khimki hurt equally.

Ramunas Siskauskas

I think the team most hurt by last week’s two games was Valencia. They lost both games and one of them was at home against Milan. I don’t want to say that Milan is a bad team, but they did not start the season well and I think Valencia expected to beat then, especially when leading by 16 in the third quarter. To blow a lead can be demoralizing, as can losing a game after two overtimes. It was a painful loss for Valencia. To then go to Barcelona and lose by 18 made matters worse.

Djordje Matic

Zvezda suffered two identical huge defeats and finds itself at the bottom of the table. But the truth is there are not many who expected Zvezda to be able to beat CSKA in Belgrade or Olympiacos in Greece. The double program last week was most damaging for Khimki. The team from Moscow started the season very well and had a good chance to stay at the top of the table. But, I think with two losses – at Panathinaikos and at home against Maccabi – they lost the advantage from their big win in Madrid.

Antonis Stroggylakis

Out of the teams (Khimki Moscow, Crvena Zvezda, Valencia, Unicaja Malaga) that lost both games last week, I’ll go with Unicaja Malaga, simply because one of their defeats arrived in heartbreaking fashion, in a must-win match against Zalgiris Kaunas at home. Unicaja really needed to win this one since it was an ideal opportunity to build a winning streak and their next task was facing Real Madrid on the road. The latter proved to be mission impossible and now the EuroCup champs are 3-5.

Igor Petrinovic

Losing two games in a double-week is not the end of the world, but it turned Valencia’s campaign quickly in the wrong direction. After a promising 3-1 start, Valencia has now lost four in a row. And even though three of the four losses came on the road, the one that hurt Valencia the most was a double-overtime home defeat against AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan last week. The underlying story of having two games in three days is that teams get a chance to bounce back from bad games very quickly, not needing to wait an entire week for another chance. But then, there is the other side of that coin, which Valencia experienced. As demoralizing as it is letting a 16-point third-quarter lead slip against a last-place team, things got even worse with a big loss at FC Barcelona.
valencia

3. What player is having the best “late start” to the season?

Juan Antonio Casanova

James Gist. Back to Panathinaikos. Nick Calathes came within a rebound of a tirple-double in the last round, but his progression has been steadier than his teammate, James gist, who is playing much better now than at the start of the EuroLeague. The two form a great tandem, pure showtime. Gist averaged 5 points (shooting 37% on two-pointers), 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 PIR in the first four games. In the last four, those numbers have multiplied to 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 17 PIR. Plus he decided the win in Istanbul with a block on Errick McCollum of Efes.

Ramunas Siskauskas

Baskonia last week extended Matt Janning’s contract for the rest of the season and it’s obvious why. He had little impact as Baskonia started the season 0-4, and it wasn’t due to lack of opportunity. Janning started and played 29 minutes in the opener against Olympiacos, but finished with an index rating of minus-1. Through four games, his accumulated index was minus-4. Since then, he has been a major part of the Baskonia turnaround with 13.3 points on 10-for-19 three-point shooting and a combined index rating of 51. Janning has gone from replacement player to key contributor in a matter of weeks.

Djordje Matic

If we do not count the game against Milan, Nando de Colo had a slow start, because against Real Madrid and Panathinaikos he had consecutive games without reaching double digits in points. If I’m right, this hadn’t happened since his first season with CSKA. But in the fourth round against Efes, he found his rhythm and has not stopped since. It is interesting that even though he had problems shooting from the field, the best free throw shooter in the league wasn’t missing from the line. He has made 27 of 27 this season.

Antonis Stroggylakis

After beginning the season in a nervous manner, Janis Strelnieks began to get more and more comfortable in his new surroundings and has recently become nothing less than a shining beacon for the Olympiacos offense. It started with his 18 points against Panathinaikos and continued against Fenerbahce (16 points and 4 assists ) and the win over Crvena Zvezda (9 points and 5 assists). In the absence of Vassilis Spanoulis, he’s carrying the role of both a reliable facilitator and a lethal sniper for the Reds, initiating scoring in every way imaginable.

Igor Petrinovic

After averaging a mere 10.6 points over the first three games, former EuroLeague MVP and All-EuroLeague guard Nando De Colo is back to his usual self. Since a slow(er) start, the CSKA Moscow scorer is posting 20 points per night. That includes a 25-point, 10-assist performance against Zalgiris, 23 points in 20 minutes against Valencia, and scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half of that unbelievably exciting game against Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul last Friday. Not by coincidence, once De Colo got his engine started, CSKA’s offense looks like, well, a CSKA offense.

Source: Euroleague.net

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