By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
This week’s panel includes: Juan Antonio Casanova, former long-time EuroLeague writer for La Vanguardia in Spain; Ramunas Siskauskas, two-time EuroLeague champion and Euroleague Basketball Legend; Djordje Matic of Serbian newspaper Novosti; Antonis Stroggylakis, Global Version Editor, Eurohoops.net; and Igor Petronovic of Euroleague.net. Check out their opinions on three questions heading into the second double-round week of the competition.
1. Who is your favorite guard to watch so far this season?
Juan Antonio Casanova
Luka Doncic. Last season we wrote that guards were the most important players in the EuroLeague. It’s still true. The top five scorers and three of the top five in PIR are guards. But despite that super-high level, there is no doubt: Doncic is No. 1. Far from shying from greater responsibility in the absence of Sergio Llull, last season’s MVP, Doncic has grown by leaps and bounds to be the top-rated EuroLeague player through six rounds on a team full of stars like Real Madrid. He’s so intrinsically good that now you don’t have to remember that he’s only 18 years old.
Ramunas Siskauskas
I didn’t see all the games, but my favorite guard to watch so far is Luka Doncic. He plays with big confidence and if you didn’t know his age, you would say that he is a very solid and experienced player. He can score by himself, he can create for teammates, he can rebound and he plays pretty good defense. It’s really very interesting to watch him.
Djordje Matic
It’s very easy to answer who is the best guard in the Euroleague: Luka Doncic. It’s much harder to choose what position to put him in, since he can play on the same, highest level as a point guard, a shooting guard or a small forward. It’s not necessary to speak about his talents and qualities. Besides all of the basketball skills he has shown, that he could be a leader of one of the greatest clubs in Europe despite his age is another important detail of his excellence.
Antonis Stroggylakis
I have a feeling that this will be a unanimous vote. Among all its many impressive aspects, the Luka Doncic phenomenon is also fascinating because his game is truly fun to watch. It’s mesmerizing to see him play, to study his calculated moves and impeccable decision-making, and to witness him dominating the floor with wisdom far beyond his 18 years. It’s impossible to not be absolutely amazed by him, even without taking a glance at the stats sheet he so easily stuffs.
Igor Petrinovic
I have always been a fan of players who show improvement, who show growth in their performances throughout the season, and make big jumps from one season to another. Zalgiris Kaunas playmaker Kevin Pangos is one of those guys. In just over a year, Pangos has become a lot more consistent and more patient player. Always lethal and reliable from long range, Pangos is now finding his other sweet spots and rarely seems to force the issue anymore. He not only raised his scoring from 8.7 ppg. last season to 12.7 this season, but dramatically improved his 28.4% two-point shooting from a year ago to 57.1% accuracy this season. That has been enough for the great Sarunas Jasikevicius to play him the most minutes on the team.
2. Who is your favorite forward to watch so far this season?
Juan Antonio Casanova
Will Clyburn. It’s just his second EuroLeauge season, but he’s playing much better than in the first and it seems he’s arrived to stay among the biggest players on the continent. He has begun every game so far on CSKA’s deep bench, but he has been decisive. He’s an explosive and spectacular three-four, very strong physically, almost unstoppable when penetrating, and he’s working hard to correct his major defect: outside shooting. To become a complete player he needs only to consolidate his improvement in three-pointers, of which he’s now shooting 3 per game at a 44% accuracy rate.
Ramunas Siskauskas
One of my favorite forwards to watch so far is Will Clyburn.. After having a good season last year, he’s playing very solid also at the beginning of this season. He is one of the most important players on CSKA Moscow. The fact that he has quickly become the second-best scorer on such a deep team is proof in itself of his ability. His third-best performance index rating (19.8 per game) speaks for itself, as does his top 10 rankings in scoring and rebounds. When he gets in the game, get ready for big things to happen.
Djordje Matic
The forward position is much wider than the guard and center positions. There is a list of players like Lugi Datome, Giorgios Printezis and others who can change not only the course of a game, but the course of a season, as well. However, if we take a look at the season up to now, my opinion is that Will Clyburn. is the best at the moment. He improved not only all the statistical numbers from the last season, but he imposed himself as one of CSKA’s leaders.
Antonis Stroggylakis
We had come to know DeShaun Thomas as a reliable role player in every team he’d been with, but not really as something more than that. A solid supporting cast option, but never a star. So, to see him fully unfold his offensive strengths and morph into a weapon of mass destruction with Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv is pretty impressive.Thomas is a protagonist in Neven Spahija’s plans and this has filled him with tons of confidence that is quite visible on the way he operates on the court. It’s s also translated into numbers (14.8 ppg.) and wins for Maccabi.
Igor Petrinovic
DeShaun Thomas has finally lived the day when he turned into a go-to guy for a EuroLeague team, and he clearly likes every minute of it. It is great to watch Thomas play with such high confidence, stroking the ball so well, attacking the boards and play the key role in helping his Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv team succeed. He is playing almost double the minutes he did last season (more than 27 per game), and the fourth-year veteran has already set career single-game marks in points scored (28) and total rebounds (8) while matching his career-high in index rating (31).
3. Who is your favorite center to watch so far this season?
Juan Antonio Casanova
Vladimir Stimac. He’s the classic from the ex-Yugoslavia school, and his success has been stronger with his Serbian national team than with his clubs. At 30 years old, he has already been on 12 teams in seven countries, proof that he has not yet found his place. He’s trying now in Efes, which won its first game last week with Stimac as MVP of the Round. He was the team’s best player in two other games, as well. It’s better to foul him, due to his 58% free throw shooting, than to let him shoot, since he hits 68% of his two-pointers.
Ramunas Siskauskas
One center who has caught my eye again is Alex Tyus of Maccabi. That team is turning things around and he’s right in the middle of it, playing big minutes off the bench. He’s ranking first in rebounds in the EuroLeague, sixth in blocks, but most important is seeing Maccabi’s name alongside the leaders again. I think Tyus brought back some of the hunger that helped win the club the title a few years ago and as long as he’s out there on the floor, this team won’t quit.
Djordje Matic
In recent seasons, the center’s role has become mostly taking part in pick-and-rolls – on both sides of the court. Physically strong and fast players are lacking. There are few of them who can create situations for shots by themselves or assist others, like Kresimir Cosic, Vlade Divac and others used to do. One of the “old school” guys is Gustavo Ayon. Unfortunately, injury doesn’t let him to continue for some months, but anyone who likes this style can take a look also into the game of Nikola Milutinov, one of the most talented centers in Europe.
Antonis Stroggylakis
Few people thought that Vladimir Stimac would be ranked first among centers and third overall (tied with Will Clyburn) in PIR after six rounds in the EuroLeague season. But here we are and, honestly, it’s not that surprising. This is an old-school pivot who oozes fighting spirit and has learned to win every battle above, around and under the rim by scrapping as if it’s his last day on earth and his life is on the line. It was about time for him to enjoy the fruits of this labor with a first-time MVP honor. You can’t help but love such a player.
Igor Petrinovic
I love watching Matthias Lessort of Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade. The big man is one of those players who easily becomes an instant star and a fan favorite on any team he joins. How can he not with all the energy and hustle he provides, constantly crushing the boards, running fastbreaks and contesting shots. And what makes him even more special to watch is his connection with the incredible Zvezda fans. It is a player’s emotion matching the fans’ emotion, and sometimes it is hard to find anything more enjoyable than that.
Source: Euroleague.net