By Panos Katsiroumpas / info@eurohoops.net
We’ve reached the moment we’ve all been waiting for. After a sensational Top 16, the time has come to take a look at the big knockout battles that will take 4 out of the 8 teams to the Promise Land, or else, the Final Four in Madrid. Eurohoops, and more specifically, the Magnifying Glass, will try to analyze the 4 pairs, all the key points and the players “barometers” in these four games.
Fenerbahce against Maccabi. A battle between two teams that have been through different stages in the season with good moments but also with bad ones too.
Fenerbahce, who have the home advantage, have changed their game drastically during the season. They started with a run ‘n gun approach, with no fixed sources of creativity and with a defense that was systematically exposed. With the addition of Zisis, the use of Vesely in 5 and the establishment of roles in terms of who is going to have the upper hand in the game, the Turks became more of a 5-against-5 team and dramatically improved their defense. On the other hand, Maccabi likes to play in a certain rhythm, trying to cover the entire court at every opportunity, with post play only when Sofoklis is on the court. On the defensive part they try out zone defense, and even when they play man-to-man they do not press fanatically and prefer to switch on all the screens.
Key points
How Fenerbahce responds to Hickman’s absence. His absence has an even greater impact against a team like Maccabi since Hickman is really good at offensive and defensive transitions, as his track record in Maccabi has proven. Sipahi and Mahmutoglu cannot seem to earn Obradovic’s trust and the components along Fenerbahce’s perimeter are now limited.
Taking advantage of mismatches. With Maccabi’s defense not especially bothered with a lot of rotations, instead switching at every opportunity, a lot depends on how well they anticipate the mismatches that the Turkish team will have and of course how well they can take advantage of them. The more they can do this the more they increase their chances of qualifying.
Transition game. Maccabi is a team that loves to run at every opportunity. With the formations they use, with Randle as a power forward and Tyus as a center, they have the fastest pair of bigmen and they can do some damage on the open court. In other words, if the Israelis can find spaces they can kill off any team in Europe.
Formations. Both teams have tried out many formations during the season and generally, and it appears like even now the coaches are still trying different things out. Maccabi is one of the teams that can keep up with Fener in their constant changes in formations with versatile formations, even with Alexander as a center. In general, I think that this match-up suits Maccabi.
Points in the paint. Fener is more accurate from the perimeter but Maccabi is the better team when it comes to accuracy from the paint. When the game is centered around Sofoklis’ posting, and in some cases Smith’s too, and with the penetrations of Randle, Pargo, Ohayon, and the contribution by Tyus, the Israelis get a lot of points in the paint. The more Fenerbahce restricts them the harder it gets for them to score.
Players-Barometers: Goudelock and Vesely
From Fener, we’ll include in this category Goudelock and Vesely. The first is a barometer in the offensive part, and against a defense that to a certain extent leaves spaces open, he has to get some good shots and make the right decisions and not overdo it when it comes to the execution part. Vesely on the other hand, is the most important link in Fener’s defensive game. He’s very good at marking at switches and able to shut off passageways to his team’s basket. If he’s consistent in the defensive part he’ll give his team a great advantage.
Pargo and Sofo
For Maccabi we go straight to Pargo and Schortsanitis. If the performance of these two stay at a high level then Maccabi’s performance goes to a higher level as well. For Pargo it’s important how well he’ll be able to distribute the ball as in proportion to scoring. When he combines these two to a good extent his team is a winner on the court. The same goes for Sofoklis. When he’s on a good day and stays away from foul trouble he dominates. He wears down the opponent’s front line, scores a lot, and forces the defense to close in on him creating spaces for his teammates.
Prediction
In our opinion, what happens in the first two games is important. If Maccabi breaks down Fener’s home advantage then they’ll qualify in 3-1, and if they don’t they’ll be knocked out, even if it takes 5 games to do so.