By Nikola Miloradovic/ info@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague playoffs are a strange animal, and coach Sasa Obradovic knows it.
After all, he made history leading Monaco to the Final Four for the first time in 2023, adding one more highlight to a career that already includes 10 domestic competition trophies.
With his former team also being in the mix and “being able to go all the way”, coach Obradovic believes that in total only Paris has exceeded expectations and all the other contenders, no matter their regular season finish, want to travel to Abu Dhabi.
Can they do it? Here’s the answers,
Olympiacos – Real Madrid
“One month ago, I would have said that Olympiacos is the absolute favorite. Now, I think that everything has changed, including this. Of course, there’s the matter of injuries. It’s unclear which players would be available, and even if they are all ready to go, in this situation, when you have players missing a lot of time, they might not give you what you expect on the court.
So the momentum is different. Of course, Olympiacos has the fans, the quality to win the series, and even more, but all these things will be part of the final result. The pressure will be big, and there are big expectations, not only for Olympiacos but also for all the teams with home advantage.
Real Madrid had many ups and downs, but after beating Bayern, they got a confidence boost, and sometimes those teams can hurt you, because they seem to have the rhythm that Olympiacos recently didn’t have. So I will go with the momentum factor here and I will give both teams a 50%-50% chance to advance”.
Fenerbahce Beko – Paris Basketball
“Fenerbahce beat them two times so far, but both times it was hard to do it. Also, the home court doesn’t mean a lot in Paris’ case; they proved that they can do it on the road. And in their regular-season game in Istanbul, they were actually very close to winning.
Still, I believe that Fenerbahce has more time now to prepare for the game, and a great coach like Saras can see a bit more what he should do on the court. No matter what, Paris was the big surprise this season, but I would give Fenerbahce as the favorite. There’s experience, a big investment, and the home court factor.
But with Paris, you never know, they might have a chance. In one minute, they can break the game and get things going their way”.
Panathinaikos – Anadolu Efes
“It looks like Panathinaikos was focused on the playoffs; I think that they are going to show their best basketball. The season was inconsistent, and that was evident. Still, I believe that coach Ataman knows how to motivate the team. You saw what he said after recent games, and I think that his players understand the message.
Despite the injuries, there are many big personalities in the roster, and despite all the good things that Efes did recently, Panathinaikos remains the favorite. It was a good run; they have pure quality, and sooner or later, this would come out on the court.
I think that this didn’t happen earlier because Larkin was injured, but when he is on his level, I am quite sure he can be a difference maker. So the first game will be very important and may give Efes a chance, but in the long run, because this is a series, I think that Panathinaikos will prevail”.
Monaco – Barcelona
“Talking about momentum, like I already did, Monaco was also inconsistent during the season. But I will always say the same thing, like when I was there. I feel that this team is the best in Monaco’s history; it’s something built during the last three years, plus the addition of Theis, a big signing. It’s a roster that can win.
This team has great character, and I know it. People like Calathes, Papagiannis, or Motiejunas don’t have a big role, showing how deep Monaco’s bench is and what kind of quality they have. They can really go all the way. In the end, despite that inconsistency, they are now in a good condition, and there’s a lot of hope that this year can be the one.
On the other side, Barcelona right now is the most dangerous team to play against in the playoffs. They found chemistry despite the injuries; they have a short rotation, but this helped them to be more focused. It depends on their key players and their performance, but they also have a chance because of their momentum. Plus, there’s a guy who is targeted all season long, I am speaking, of course, about coach Penarroya, and in this playoff series, he can delete everything that happened before. For me, it’s a very open series, but as I said, Monaco this year can win the trophy”.