By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
In Euroleague’s modern history, since 2000, there have been many extraordinary pairs in the backcourt! There have been duos that made extraordinary performances or duos that managed to lead their teams to the Euroleague title.
One of these pairs that had found the perfect chemistry, due to the players’ different skill set, was the one of Theo Papaloukas and J.R Holden! The duo helped CSKA Moscow win the Euroleague title twice (2006, 2008) as members of CSKA Moscow, which is considered one of the most consistent teams since the beginning of the competition!
Since 2002, the “Bear” has qualified to the Final-4 12 times, an accomplishment that no other team in Euroleague’s history has managed to overcome. The Muscovites only missed the 2002 Final-4 in Bologna and the 2011 one in Barcelona.
Now, though, there is another pair in the backcourt that, according to the numbers, is the most productive in Euroleague’s history!
Milos- De Colo: Two artists in the backcourt
The French combo guard Nando De Colo has made a great start to the season so far and is already considered an MVP candidate! He averages 18.1 points, 4.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 22.3 PIR in 26 minutes of action.
The Frenchman also has a great shooting percentage, namely 60% in two-pointers, 44.4% from the three-point range and 91.5% from the free-throw line. De Colo is also the competition’s top scorer, second in the ranking system, second in field goals made (61) and eighth in the assist list.
For his part, Milos Teodosic has also made great performances so far, averaging 13.8 points, 6.2 assists, two rebounds, 0.9 rebounds and 15.6 PIR in 25 minutes of action. He has 56.8% in two-pointers, 37.7% from the three-point range and 90% from the free-throw line! Until now, he is fourth in the assists list and fifth in field goals made (23).
Impressive sum
The total sum of their production and effectiveness in CSKA’s offence reaches an amazingly high level, with Dimitris Itoudis’ team having the best offence in the league so far (91.1 points).
As a pair, Milos and De Colo score 31.9 points per game (35% of CSKA’s overall points), dish out 11.1 assists (with the team averaging 20.4 per game), grab 5.5 rebounds and make 1.8 steals.
It’s also worth mentioning that the respective numbers in the defending champions Real Madrid‘s backcourt pair of Sergio Rodriguez and Sergio Llull are 22.9 points, 10.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals!
The most important thing, though, is that they can score from the three-point range and the mid range as well as from close range, while they dish out a big number of assists in every game. Consequently, it’s very difficult for their opoonents to adapt to this playing style and things will get better, as the duo will certainly find better chemistry in the near future. Moreover, their playing style helps the other members of the team (forwards, centers) to score many points, making the team’s offence even more effective.
Their ultimate target, though, is to lead CSKA to the title for the first time since 2008. Until now, the Russian team has a very talented and deep team, where every player has a significant role on both ends of the floor and as a result, the squad can play at the same high standards for 40 minutes.