By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
With the season in full swing, we already have some major changes in the power rankings, with some deep dives and also huge leaps forward. What didn’t change after the 10th game of the season is the dominance of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, which has already created an advantage against the other contenders.
As usual, status, momentum, form and importance of results were the criteria for ranking the 18 teams.
#18 ALBA BERLIN
Previous ranking: 9 (-9)
Record: 3-7
At home: 1-3
Away: 2-4
Offense-Defense: 81.1-81.9
Until the third game, Alba Berlin was undefeated and received one compliment after another from the opponents. Since then, they have seven consecutive defeats despite playing their usual brand of basketball. The team still performs at a high level and produce an enjoyable spectacle, however, the drop compared to the launch is obvious.
#17 LDLC ASVEL VILLEURBANNE
Previous ranking: 15 (-2)
Record: 3-7
At home: 1-3
Away: 2-4
Offense-Defense: 71.7-77.3
November proved to be a tough one for ASVEL, closing it with consecutive defeats, saying goodbye to the positive record they had until Round 6. They struggle on offense as the second-worst team in the league, something evident in two recent losses (@Crvena Zvezda 71-67 R8, @ Panathinaikos 77-58 R10) though being the fifth-best defense gives them hope.
#16 AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN
Previous ranking: 6 (-10)
Record: 3-7
At home: 0-5
Away: 3-2
Offense-Defense: 68.3-75.2
They are suddenly at the bottom of the standings with six straight defeats, no wins at home and the league’s worst offense? Things couldn’t be worst for Milan. The absences of Savon Shields, Gigi Datome, Stefano Tonut and, most recently, Kevin Pangos – some short-term and others long-term – make it questionable how and when they will recover.
#15 VALENCIA BASKET
Previous ranking: 11 (-4)
Record: 4-6
At home: 2-4
Away: 2-2
Offense-Defense: 78.3-81.6
After three consecutive defeats, Valencia has one of the longest negative streaks in the league, dropping from their previous positive record. The harm is double if one considers that the last two losses were registered at home and will be followed by consecutive trips to Belgrade (@ Partizan R11) and Tel Aviv (@ Maccabi R12).
#14 FC BAYERN MUNICH
Previous ranking: 18 (+4)
Record: 3-7
At home: 1-4
Away: 2-3
Offense-Defense: 73.6-77.6
They had to wait until the November 3 for their first win (vs. Efes 91-78 R6), but it’s better late than… later for Bayern. They have added two more wins since then and they are in a much better shape now, always by comparison, since they remain part of a four-way tie for last place.
#13 VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA
Previous ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 4-6
At home: 2-3
Away: 2-3
Attack-Defense: 75.1-77
The recent double-game week was not kind to Virtus Bologna, which suffered two narrow defeats, first by Panathinaikos (88-85 OT R9) and then by Efes (85-80 R10). Perhaps things would have been different if Toko Shengelia had returned to action. They have a 1-5 record in the last six games, letting their opponents score 80+ points.
#12 PARTIZAN MOZZART BET BELGRADE
Previous ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 4-6
Home: 3-1
Away: 1-5
Offense-Defense: 84.2-86.9
Just when Partizan was starting to find their way, they lost their path again with three defeats in the last four games. And if in some of those contests, they performed much less than what the fifth-best offense would suggest, in theory, in others they were just playing the worst defense in the league. Vladimir Brodzianski (28 years old, PF/C) has also been added to the roster.
#11 CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS BELGRADE
Previous ranking: 17 (+6)
Record: 4-6
Home: 3-1
Away: 1-5
Offense-Defense: 72.7-78.2
A coaching change is always the easy solution, but for Crvena Zvezda it turned out to be more than beneficial. The arrival of Dusko Ivanovic instead of Vladimir Jovanovic was the electric shock the club was looking for. In fact, they are unbeaten under the bench veteran. It remains to be seen how much room there is for improvement.
#10 PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS
Previous ranking: 16 (+6)
Record: 4-6
At home: 3-3
Away: 1-3
Offense-Defense: 79.3-83.2
Panathinaikos just celebrated their first back-to-back wins since last season and they look to be on the rise, especially after the acquisition of Dwayne Bacon, with whom they have a 3-2 record. Surprisingly, these two victories came without injured Marius Grigonis. Overall the club still has a long way to go, both in ranking and work required.
#9 CAZOO BASKONIA VITORIA-GASTEIZ
Previous ranking: 10 (+1)
Record: 5-5
Home: 4-1
Away: 1-4
Offense-Defense: 87.9-85.9
The best offense and the second-worst defense in the league are the signatures of always unpredictable Baskonia. And if this behavior on defense is something they must correct as soon as possible, the same applies to what they do away from home. Or, better put, what they have only done once away until now, which is win.
#8 MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV
Previous ranking: 4 (-4)
Record: 5-5
Home: 5-1
Away: 0-4
Offense-Defense: 81.8-83.3
November was disappointing for Maccabi, whose 1-4 record for the month cancelled everything they had built in October (4-1). The problem is road games; they are the only team without an away win, something that needs immediate improvement. After all, the remainder of their 2022 schedule includes another four (out of six) road games.
#7 ZALGIRIS KAUNAS
Previous ranking: 14 (+7)
Record: 6-4
Home: 4-0
Away: 2-4
Offense-Defense: 78.5-78.6
Zalgiris remains perfect in Kaunas and they have started to win away from home, as well. Sitting sixth in the standings is the best possible reward. The road victory in the last game (@Valencia 76-80 R10) and, even more, the way it happened, coming off a 20-point defeat (@Baskonia 93-73 R9), is a testimony for the level and the mental qualities of the team.
#6 ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL
Previous ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 5-5
At home: 3-2
Away: 2-3
Offense-Defense: 83.6-80
The duo of Will Clyburn and Vasilije Micic are doing their best until Shane Larkin returns to action. Efes is once again spreading terror along its path, at least in the three straight wins which have gotten them back to .500. It should be noted that they don’t yet have a positive record since their opening win (vs. Zvezda 92-79 R1).
#5 AS MONACO
Previous ranking: 2 (-3)
Record: 7-3
Home: 4-1
Away: 3-2
Offense-Defense: 83.3-80-7
With four home games in November, Monaco could have been even higher in the rankings. An aggressive team on offense by nature, they lost one game by conceding 93 points to leader Fenerbahce (93-86 R9), but they also were defeated by Valencia reaching almost 90 points (89-84 R7). You see where we’re going…
#4 OLYMPIACOS PIREAUS
Previous ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 7-3
At home: 3-2
Away: 4-1
Offense-Defense: 85.3-78.8
Back-to-back home defeats to Monaco (81-85 R5) and Valencia (82-83 R6) did not dishearten Olympiacos, not even when another one from Maccabi Tel Aviv (90-84 R9) occurred on the road. Oddly enough, that was their first loss away from home and part of why they are still among the top of the standings with ease.
#3 BARCELONA
Previous ranking: 5 (+2)
Record: 7-3
Home: 5-1
Away: 2-2
Offense-Defense: 80.3-76.2
Barcelona came out of the difficult November schedule with the fewest possible losses and has found stability among the top spots of the standings, their goal from the beginning. In fact, these victories include Fenerbahce‘s only defeat (81-80 R6). All this with Nikola Mirotic still out of action.
#2 REAL MADRID
Previous ranking: 8 (+6)
Record: 7-3
At home: 4-2
Away: 3-1
Offense-Defense: 84.6-78.7
They may have been slow to accelerate, but Real Madrid seem to be at top speed again. They are riding the best active streak of any team, with five consecutive wins, and now nobody remembers that they started the season with a negative record. In the midst of everything, the name of Nigel Williams-Goss was erased from the injury list.