By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Round 20 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague brings Željko Obradović back to Athens, where he coached Panathinaikos and won five EuroLeague championships.
The tactician is now at the helm of Partizan Belgrade, and his side will visit the defending champions, whom they defeated in the first half of the season at home.
“They’ve been playing outstandingly lately – winning easily with a huge margin. They’ve managed to compensate for the injury of Mathias Lessort. We’re talking about a team that is the European champion and built for the highest goals. They are announcing that they want revenge, that they want a similar atmosphere to what was in the Arena, and that they want to play much better than they did in Belgrade,” Obradović said about the Panathinaikos team.
The biggest threat to his team is expected to be Kendrick Nunn, who has been in great form lately, and captain Vanja Marinkovic still can’t help his team due to injury. Him and talented Mitar Bosnjakovic are ruled out of the upcoming Round 20 match in Athens.
“Someone will have to take over Vanja’s role. I don’t believe that only one player is important. Team defense is needed. If too much attention is given to Nunn, it opens up space for other players and the team with the best three-point shooting percentage. There is no noticeable change, and Nunn is definitely the best player in the EuroLeague at this moment,” Željko Obradović concluded.
Nunn has been averaging 20.9 points this season, leading Panathinaikos to a 12-7 record in the EuroLeague standings, while Partizan struggled at the beginning but has picked up steam lately and currently boasts a 9-10 record.