[lptitle title=”Start the countdown“]
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By Panos Katsiroumpas/ info@eurohoops.net
It might be more than 2 months before the new Euroleague season starts but nonetheless the teams’ recruitment is continuing at a rapid pace. We will try, even at this early stage, to approach the style of play of the biggest teams, based on the changes to their rosters, but also to prepare an initial Top 8 in a similar vein to the NCAA. A Top 8 in which we will make a preliminary prediction regarding the teams that have the most chances of rising to the throne, in 9 months from now in Berlin!
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[lptitle title=”8. MACCABI T.A. & KHIMKI “]
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The Israelis made some very important moves in the transfer market. With Farmar and Rochestie they will have an impressive offensive line along the perimeter, while Faverani together with Mbakwe can threaten in various ways close to the basket. The people’s team will continue with the sure way of the Run n Gun but with an exceptionally astute player at the helm. Surely there will be a few more quality additions until the rosters are locked in place and Maccabi will once again be more than competitive.
Khimki’s Russians kept the backbone that led them to the comfortable win of the Eurocup. They reinforced their backcourt with Shved, a player who can contribute in all kinds of offensive games, and together with Rice and Koponen they will constitute a nuclear arsenal. They still have one of the most offensively complete bigmen of the tournament, who listens to the name Paul Davis, but they are lagging considerably in some pieces of the puzzle, like defense in the pick-and-roll and pressure on the ball. They are going to rely on the offensive talent they have accumulated and to get in the Top 8 they will have to outdo themselves.
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[lptitle title=”7. PANATHINAIKOS“]
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This year the Greens are turning a new page, as this season is expected to be the 1st where the keys for the guards’ positions are going to change hands and no longer be kept by Dimitris Diamantidis. Calathes’s arrival offers great quality in transition, in reading the game and in defense on the ball. There is also more quality in the forward positions with the arrival of Pavlovic, while Pappas’s return will make coach Djordjevic’s job even easier.
The only part that the greens seem to leave open is that of the undersized center with the choice of the bigger bodies being a risk especially in the defensive part. But even there in offense, the greens will also have an excellent pick-and-roll finisher who is also good in post situations in the face of Miroslav Raduljica, with Kuzmic also providing solutions of a similar quality. We are definitely waiting to see how well Panathinaikos’s front line is going to respond in the defensive part. Perhaps this will be the biggest challenge for Djordjevic with the existing roster.
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