By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In EuroLeague’s “Experts’ Round Table” for Round 10 of the regular season the topics that are discussed have to do with the teams that grabbed the most important wins in the double-round week, the player who is having the best “late start” in this campaign plus, a choice that has to do with… clutch criteria.
Per EuroLeague.net:
1. Which team helped itself most over the two games last week?
Theo Papaloukas
“I think the right choice is Olympiacos Piraeus. They suffered three consecutive losses, which is rare for them, and had a losing record. The away win in Germany over FC Bayern Munich was imperative and, two days later, they managed to beat Real Madrid and double their positive results. They broke the champions’ long winning streak (13 wins in a row), reacted following the consecutive defeats, their record is positive once again (5-4) and the schedule ahead provides them the opportunity to build a steadier course in the regular season.”
Luca Chiabotti
“Four teams won both games last week and three of them beat teams at the bottom of the standings. I would like to choose Khimki because it got a key victory on the road in Kaunas, but the injury to Alexey Shved has compromised the good moment of the team. So I choose Anadolu Efes because it showed that it has a big team mentality in a back-to-back situation.”
Gokhan German
“I think Khimki. Olympiacos, Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes won two games in a row last week, but Khimki’s victories were more important. Last year they reached the playoffs and this year their goal is the same. They lost six of their first seven games. They need that kind of series more than other teams. So after the Buducnost game, they won in Kaunas. It was very crucial. Now that Shved will not play a couple of games, those two wins are very valuable for Khimki.”
Bugra Uzar
“My answer is Olympiacos Piraeus. They had lost to Fenerbahce Istanbul in a tough game before the double round last week and it looked like things were not going well. However, they managed to beat FC Bayern Munich in Germany. We all know that Bayern is a tough team to beat at Audi Dome. But the second victory was even more impressive. The Reds won the game against Real Madrid with Vassilis Spanoulis’s clutch shots and handed them their first defeat of the season. If they had lost both games, they could have been in a very bad situation regarding their pursuit of home-court advantage, but now they are back on track.”
Javi Gancedo
“My first choice would probably be Khimki Moscow Region, but Alexey Shved’s injury – one month out with a broken finger – changes everything, so I am going to say Olympiacos Piraeus. Not only did Olympiacos get consecutive wins, but it also managed to become the first team to defeat Real Madrid this season. It was defining week for Coach Blatt’s team – Nigel Williams-Goss had his first big scoring night in the EuroLeague, Vassilis Spanoulis hit 5 of 6 three-point shots against Madrid and both players proved they can play very well together. It limited FC Bayern Munich to just 62 points at home, forcing it to shoot with its lowest percentages so far this season. The team was really solid; seven players scored in double digits against Bayern or Madrid, but only two of them – Janis Strelnieks and Zach Leday – did so in both games. Everything went well for Olympiacos; Nikola Milutinov even hit his first career three-point shot after 120 EuroLeague career games.”