By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It couldn’t get much better! Games decided at the last moment, epic fights between great teams and stars emerging just after the tip off of the new season. Ladies and gents, welcome to Euroleague 2014-15.
Eurohoops will round up everything that happened and it’s worth mentioning after the end each gameday of the top European competition and let’s start by the man who stole the show.
MVP
He had 19 points, shooting 50% from the floor in his Euroleague debut, he made the biggest shot of the game in crunch time and he had also 4 rebounds, 4 assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes of action. Last season’s Eurocup MVP is more than ready for the big stage and he couldn’t prove it more emphatically than with his game in Fenerbahce‘s win over EA7 Milano.
Best five
- Jeremy Pargo: In his first Euroleague game after his return to Tel Aviv he was more than great. Yes Limoges is not the hardest opponent, but 20 points and 9 assists in the 92-76 win just can’t be denied.
- Andrew Goudelock: It was his night in Istanbul.
- Tarense Kinsey: He did everything on the floor for Nizhny. Ηis team was kind of lucky at the end of the 88-86 win over Sassari, but he had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and did more than his part.
- Davis Bertans: He got room to operate in the new roster of Laboral Kutxa and did just that with 20 points on 8/13 shots in the 88-69 triumph over Neptunas.
- Boban Marjanovic: He is an old school back to basket monster and he proved it once again, having 22 points on 11/14 shots and 10 rebounds in the 76-68 win of Crvena Zvezda over Galatasaray.
Best losing performance: Nihad Djedovic
He was the main reason for Bayern’s chances to win the game at Barcelona. In numbers that means 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Djedovic was great against a loaded team, being the leader of a quality roster. That’s why we picked him over Mardy Collins who had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assist for Turow, playing essentially all alone against one of the weakest Panathinaikos teams of recent years.
The biggest win: Olympiacos
Since it’s just the start of the season, the win of Olympiacos was by far the most important result of the first week. The Reds changed their coach just days after the game after the resignation of Giorgos Bartzokas, they are only one of the three teams which got a road win and by beating Valencia they have already made a big step towards the top spot of their group, since the Spaniards are their main rival for the first place.
The favorite: CSKA Moscow
Despite missing Khryapa and De Colo, CSKA started the season by demonstrating its power in Berlin, in one of the hardest gyms to play and getting the win without feeling any real pressure in the second half. It’s business as usual in Moscow.
The underachievers: Real Madrid
It’s still the start of the season, however the game of Real against Zalgiris Kaunas was not expected. The Lithuanians are having a hard time in their domestic league, they are still searching for a point guard, but Madrid couldn’t control the game against them, at least for the first half. Yes, it was just the first game, but we expect more from last season’s finalist.
Last word: Duda’s learning methods
The image might be shocking to some one new to European basketball. Anadolu Efes‘ coach Dusan Ivkovic almost kicked his player, Dogus Balbay, after a mistake on the way to the 82-76 win over Unics Kazan. It’s not what you would expect from a respected coaching mastermind, but on the other hand if Ivkovic believes in you, then he would try anything in order to make you reach your potential. And Dogus may be on the way to achieve just that…
Euroleague 2014-2015 – 1st Day
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EA7 Milano |
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Alba Berlin |
CSKA Moscow |
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Nizhny Novgorod |
Banco di Sardegna Sassari |
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PGE Turow |
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F.C. Barcelona |
FC Bayern |
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Limoges |
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Cedevita Zagreb |
Unicaja Malaga |
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Galatasaray MP |
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UNICS Kazan |
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Laboral Kutxa |
Neptunas |