By Panos Katsiroumpas/ info@eurohoops.net
The Magnifying Glass, faithful to its appointment with Eurohoops’ readers, analyzes the battle between Fenerbahce and Olympiacos and highlights the key points that put Barcelona on… the road to success against Olimpia Milano. Finally, it travels to the Russian capital and explains how CSKA subjugated Maccabi, to round off the analysis of three important clashes on the first game day for the 23rd round of the EuroLeague.
CSKA Moscow – Maccabi Tel Aviv
The wonderful Nando!
Once again the French guard was a pleasure for the eyes. He was a constant threat to the visitors’ basket throughout the entire game and bailed his team out whenever it was needed. He scored from every point in offense, while whenever he found a lane he attacked the paint. The way he receives the ball on the move simultaneously with a screen, gives him the advantage of speed and often the defense doesn’t have the right balance to block him, especially a bad defense like Maccabi’s. The final tally was 29 points and 8 drawn fouls.
And yet, it was an opportunity
Maccabi could have gotten something more out of the game if they were slightly better in one of those three bad quarters, if they weren’t so naïve in defense and controlled the rebounds a bit better. CSKA were off from the perimeter, but were saved from the 18 offensive rebounds and Maccabi’s added turnovers.
Rodeo
The second quarter was the definition of street basketball. Attacks in less than 7 seconds, anarchy, and generally a bad mess. This kind of basketball favored Maccabi who scored 34 points in the second quarter when in the other three they scored a total of 47.
Beyond Hines, chaos!
Aside from the anarchy and the speed, Hines’s absence in the second quarter was important in Maccabi having such an output in offense. It’s not the first time we see this, but without the American, CSKA’s defense misses a lot in terms of strength, positioning and switches. This might be CSKA’s only striking weakness this year.
Bogdanovic made the difference!
The great Serbian player was the essential difference between the two teams in this very tough derby. He scored every time his team seemed to get stuck in offense and was generally a constant threat. He was a very big threat in every hand off screen that he got and as a result he was either one step ahead of his marker, or he struck the switch in defense. In the second half he also scored some big shots through good teamwork and screens away from the ball.
3rd quarter
The part of the game in which Olympiacos completely dominated. They did so because they struck on every mismatch, got the ball in the paint, and from the good reading of the big men and the excellent movement they got open shots. They ran at every opportunity and defended amazingly well inside the key, with Milutinov and Birch covering the basket.
4th quarter
The absolute subversion of the scene. 47-58 became 65-60 with a 17-2 run. The home team managed this thanks to their pressing defense, the traps carrying the ball across and the effective switching defense that Olympiacos couldn’t read like they did in the third quarter. Aside from this, the visitors didn’t have a player who could directly penetrate the defense and create rifts. This is where Spanoulis’s absence was really felt.
The key player
Bogdanovic and Datome might have led Fener in offense, Udoh might have been amazing in defense, both in switches as well as the pick-and-rolls and the protection of the key, but it was Nikola Kalinic who did the great quiet work. Through his defense he essentially isolated Printezis from Olympiacos’s offensive function. Getting in front of the ball and positioning his body properly he didn’t allow the captain access to the ball during a quarter in which Olympiacos were drowning in offense. The home team’s comeback had a lot to do with him as well.
Olimpia Milano – Barcelona
The third quarter was key
Barcelona stayed alive in the hunt for qualification, having an amazing third quarter in Milan. Through their defense they blocked off the lanes to their basket, while they worked well in defensive transition, where they got hurt in the first half. As a result, they brought off a 10-24 run in this quarter and started the last quarter with a big advantage.
They did it only for 7 minutes
Milan managed to punish the slow feet of Barcelona’s big men in defense only for seven minutes, especially when they had small and athletic line-ups on the floor. They opened up their offense with Macvan an important part of this line-up and they got to the point where they were leading even by 15 points (45-30) at the 17th minute. Unfortunately for the Italian team, the recipe wasn’t successful as the game went on and defeat came understandably.
10-35
This was the run Barcelona had between the 17th and 30th minutes. Essentially they dominated for such a long period with Milan not having answers in defense or offense. The fact that, even with such a run, the game remained close until the end, doesn’t really flatter Barcelona.
Abass and Vezenkov
The nouvelle vague of the two teams was excellent and they showed us that the talent is there. Abass was spectacular, he penetrated the defense at every opportunity, while he showed that he has range by shooting well from the perimeter too. Vezenkov was Barcelona’s best player in the period they dominated, while it was the first time he was so efficient creatively. Aside from the 13 points, he had 5 rebounds and as many assists, while he contributed in defense too with 3 steals.