By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The group of the Euroleague champs has a four more teams with big Euroleague experience and a rookie. The Reds are by default the team to beat, Anadolu Efes and EA7 Armani Milano can do that, at least at their home court, Caja Laboral and Zalgiris Kaunas have to prove that they have chemistry and character, while Cedevita Zagreb has to prove that its place in Euroleague is well deserved.
What is it left to write about the champions? Well, only Maccabi Tel Aviv did win consecutive Euroleague titles in recent years. Olympiacos‘ roster is almost intact from last season with 11 players returning and only Marko Keselj. Lazaros Papadopoulos, Andreas Gliniadakis, Michalis Pelekanos and Panagiotis Vasilopoulos missing. You can even argue that with Perperoglou and Mavroeidis on board, the Reds are an even better team. The big question is the new coach, Giorgos Bartzokas. He is considered one of the most talented young Greek coaches, he has Euroleague experience with Marousi, but he has to replace a legend, like Duda Ivkovic.
PREDICTION: Their goal should be to repeat, but the “official” target is the qualification to the Final Four, something that seems realistic. After that, who knows what Printezis can do?
A Euroleague team with an NBA back court. Efes had a disappointing season last year, without winning anything at the end. Former NBA guard Jordan Farmar was signed in order to change that, together with Slovenian Sasha Vujacic. Those are the teams’ biggest names, together with Turkish center Semih Erden who also left the NBA. There is also Serbian power forward Dusko Savanovic and American guard Jamon Lucas from cross town rival Galatasaray. There is also a new coach, also from Galata, Oktay Mahmuti who in the past was again the boss of Efes from 2001 to 2007.
PREDICTION: Efes spend a lot of money in order to get to the final four for the first time in the modern era of Euroleague. They should get at least to the play offs.
EA7 Armani Milano
One more team which spends a lot of money and still chase big results. Milan added to last season’s roster two former Maccabi Tel Aviv players, Richard Hendrix and Keith Langford, and also experienced Italian guard Gianluca Basile. In theory the team of coach Sergio Scariolo has the tools to go all the way, but that was also the case last year and nothing great happened. Plus, with Italian champions Siena losing all its star power, it seems that Milan this season has its eyes mainly in the domestic prize.
PREDICTION: They are a lock for the Top 16. Αfter that nobody knows what they can do. This team has unbelievable talent and potential, but also a history of bad results.
Caja Laboral
Welcome to the post-Teletovic era. Without one of the most gifted scorers in Euroleague history, coach Dusko Ivanovic has to build almost from scratch. Gone is also experienced point guard Pablo Prigioni and center Tibοr Pleiss starts the season as a spectator, suffering from mononucleosis. Guards Fabien Causer and Taylor Rochestie were added in the mix, Carlos Cabezas will also help with his play making ability and Argentinian Andres Nocioni will be the star. Still there are many questions that need to be answered in order to consider Caja again a member of the Euroleague elite.
PREDICTION: They will fight to get to the Top 16, leaving Zalgiris out. This seems to be their ceiling for the season.
Zalgiris Kaunas
Spanish coach Joan Plaza accepted the challenge to build a Zalgiris capable of beating anyone in Europe. Big name Lithuanian players, like the Lavrinovic brothers, were added this summer in the roster, but the puzzling trade of Lithuanian national team starting point guard, Mantas Kalnietis, to Lokomotiv Kuban just days before the start of the season and the notoriously spontaneous decisions of team owner Vladimir Romanov could jeopardize any effort of building something really big. Kalnietis was replaced by veteran American guard Ibrahim Jaaber.
PREDICTION: Their realistic target is the Top 16. However, at this point Caja seems to be in a better shape in comparison to them.
Cedevita Zagreb
Cedevita participates in Euroleague for the first time in its history. The team was founded in 1991, it’s currently the most rich team in Croatia and last season played against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final of Adriatic league. This summer well known European players were signed, like French Mickael Gelabale, Serbian Predrag Suput and Vlado Ilievski from FYROM. The star of the team, thought, is coach Bozidar Maljkovic, the most successful coach in Europe in the nineties having won two Euroleague titles with Jugoplastica Split from Croatia (1989, 1990), one with CSP Limoges from France (1993) and one with Panathinaikos from Greece (1996).
PREDICTION: Cedevita will make some damage, but it’s doubtful if the team from Croatia can do anything else. They are good, but not good enough for the Top 16.