By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Only one of the bottom teams didn’t get a win this week, Unics Kazan, and the race for the playoffs still is more than open. You have to expect the unexpected in this season’s EuroLeague and that’s one more proof.
After 12 rounds, 15 of the 16 teams of the competion have at least 4 wins, with CSKA Moscow leading the race in the standings at 11-1 and then Real Madrid, Olympiacos, Baskonia and Fenerbahce tied at 8-4. Panathinaikos is the only team with a 7-5 record and that brings us to the MVP.
MVP
Nick Calathes
Against Fenerbahce he registered a personal best with a 34 ranking, which was a product of 16 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block and only 1 turnover. Panathinaikos beat the Turkish club and Calathes proved once again that he is the most important player of his team.
Best Five
- Nick Calathes: MVP with a record.
- Brad Wanamaker: You can argue that Real Madrid was missing three key players, Llull, Randolph and Thompkins. Still this win was more than important for Darussafaka Dogus and Wanamaker had an amazing game with 27 points on 8/12 field goals (4/6 3p.) and 7/9 free throws.
- Fabien Causeur: He registered a career high as Brose Bamberg got an important win over Anadolu Efes. The French guard just couldn’t miss and he scored 28 points, 8/9 2-pointers, 3/5 3-pointers and 3 assists.
- Tornike Shengelia: He was one of the main reasons for Baskonia‘s road win over Unics Kazan. He had in total 19 points and 10/11 free throws, with two of them deciding the final outcome.
- Alex Tyus: Galatasaray survived EA7 Emporio Armani Milano and he was the key for that with 14 points, 6/8 shots, 7 rebounds, 2 turnovers and also 2 huge blocks.
Best losing performance: Keith Langford
Unics lost by a point and he lost the chance to be part of the best five. For one more game he was a one-man-offense with 28 points, 10/18 field goals, 6/6 free throws and also 5 assists. With that kind of performance he gets away for his 4 turnovers and he almost won the game for Kazan.
Coach of the week: Dejan Radonjic
He has build a solid unit while he has on his hands one of the lowest bugdet of the Euroleague in order to sign talent, probably even less than Zalgiris Kaunas. Crvena Zvezda somehow has five wins, the latest against Maccabi Tel Aviv and that makes the Belgrade club a contender for the playoffs, in a race that’s expected to be more than exciting for everyone, including the Serbs.
Biggest win: Panathinaikos
The Greens needed a big result against one of the main contenders for the Euroleague title and finally they got it. Beating Fenerbahce is never easy and the Greens after this result demonstrated that they can be capable for something more than just entering the playoffs. In a week during which they secured the services of Alessandro Gentile, this was a fitting end.
The last word: Milos is back
After a scare about a possible injury and one game of absence, Milos Teodosic returned with a vengeance, leading CSKA Moscow to an easy win against Barcelona. Yes, against Barcelona which still has injury woes, but also couldn’t contain the Serb star.