By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Records, team dynamics and form as well as the significance of results were among the criteria for ranking the 16 teams.
16. AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
Previous ranking: 13 (-3)
Record: 4-11
At home: 3-5
Away: 1-6
Offense-Defense: 76.9 ppg. – 81.5 allowed
Unfortunately for AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan, it turns out they can do worse than last season, since they cannot seem to get unstuck from the bottom positions in the rankings. With six defeats in the last seven games – their only win in this period being against Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz (92-85) – they cannot hope for much more as they also have the third-worst defense in the league. It’s telling that, since the start of the season, their best ranking has been 12th place, while, together with Anadolu Efes Istanbul, they share the most appearances in 16th place (4).
15. Valencia Basket
Previous ranking: 14 (-1)
Record: 4-11
At home: 3-4
Away: 1-7
Offense-Defense: 74.5 ppg. – 77.2 allowed
Defeats were piling up and Valencia Basket seemed unable to react until the visit by Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens (67-63), when the losing streak stopped at 10. Those defeats were more than enough to take them from third place at one point (Round 4) to the bottom of the rankings, but how could it have been otherwise when they have the third-worse offense in the league? The difference of just 40 points for a team with 11 defeats in 15 rounds shows that several of those defeats were close games, but at the same time it shows that something is missing.
14. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Previous ranking: 10 (-4)
Record: 4-11
At home: 2-6
Away: 2-5
Offense-Defense: 76.3 ppg. – 80.6 allowed
Efes had to wait until Round 10 to get its first win at Sinan Erdem Dome and followed that up with four defeats in a row – at home and away – and a coaching switch (Ergin Ataman in Velimir Perasovic’s place) functioned as a reminder that nothing is going their way this season. Efes has the fifth-worst offense and defense and they have been occupying one of the bottom two positions in the rankings for a few weeks now, as their recent home win over Brose Bamberg (69-58) was only enough to take them from 16 up to 15.
13. FC Barcelona Lassa
Previous ranking: 8 (-5)
Record: 5-10
At home: 4-4
Away: 1-6
Offense-Defense: 80.7 ppg. – 78.9 allowed
The white flags are out early once again this season at FC Barcelona Lassa, but the away win – the first in seven games – over Khimki Moscow Region (65-79) has cooled things down for now. Because putting an end to the streak of five consecutive wins is fine, but it won’t make much of a difference if they don’t follow up on that. The fourth-best offense still gives them hope that they can do it, even though the resumption of the regular season in 2018 (at home against CSKA Moscow and away against Panathinaikos for starters) looks even more foreboding than their record away from home.
12. Brose Bamberg
Previous ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 6-9
At home: 4-4
Away: 2-5
Offense-Defense: 73.1 ppg. – 79.3 allowed
Until a short time ago, Brose was pushing to get back in the top eight, but until a short time ago, the German champs didn’t have five defeats in their last six games. Paradoxically, their only win in this period was the one at home over Olympiacos Piraeus (67-65), but in no case was that enough to give them what they want. The 12th place is their worst ranking since Round 3, but their offense is even lower since it’s the worst among all teams.
11. Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
Previous ranking: 16 (+5)
Record: 6-9
At home: 3-4
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 76.5 ppg. – 81.5 allowed
One good result can change a lot for a team and the road win against Real Madrid (83-87) did exactly that for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, which was counting five consecutive defeats up to that point. Including the one against Madrid, Zvezda now has four wins in the last six games, the most-recent one being another road win, this time over Milan (88-91). The mission is still difficult and the second-worst defense isn’t very helpful, but the latest positive results seem to have brought them closer to the top eight and away from the bottom of the rankings.
10. Khimki Moscow Region
Previous ranking: 6 (-4)
Record: 8-7
At home: 6-2
Away: 2-5
Offense-Defense: 77.3 ppg. – 79.4 allowed
Khimki is one of two teams that have a positive record but a negative point difference (-31) and this confirms the erratic nature of its competitive character. The recent defeat at home by Barcelona (65-79) and the total of three losses in the last four games further confirms this. With the third-worst record away from home, they are not in position to win back their losses away from Moscow and now, even their presence in the top eight has been called into question.
9. Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
Previous ranking: 7 (-2)
Record: 8-7
At home: 6-3
Away: 2-4
Offense-Defense: 79.7 ppg. – 80.9 allowed
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv was courting a spot in the top four for a while, but for the last month and a half they’ve been trying to hold on to their place in the top eight. The fourth-worst defense in the competition does not allow them to get consistency in their results and aside from a -17 point difference, they also have three defeats in the last four games. If the losses away to CSKA (101-86) and Panathinaikos (89-76) can be considered planned for, then in no way does the same apply for the recent one to Unicaja Malaga (78-89). And so, they never cashed in on their win over Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul (82-73).
8. Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz
Previous ranking: 9 (-1)
Record: 7-8
At home: 4-3
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 81.3 ppg. – 81.7 allowed
Pedro Martinez continues to straighten up Baskonia – now at 7-4 under his guidance – and from the bottom of the standings at some point, they have stabilized in ninth place in the last five games and are pushing to go even higher. The recent home defeat by CSKA (81-90) can be considered expected, but it will be trying for a long time to win back the loss versus Milan (92-85) – despite the fact it was away from home, since it came at a time when it was in form. Baskonia could also improve its defense, which is the worst of all.
7. Unicaja Malaga
Previous ranking: 15 (+8)
Record: 7-8
At home: 4-3
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 75.9 ppg. – 79.5 allowed
Five consecutive defeats had them pegged in last place, but when you’ve hit rock bottom the only place to go is up, and Malaga looks like it can go even higher. With wins at home over Khimki (93-84), away over Barcelona (83-90), at home over Milan (74-71), and away over Maccabi (78-89), the top eight is now within striking distance. If it makes it, it will be for the first time since the opening game, when they were just at the limit (8th).
6. Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul
Previous ranking: 4 (-2)
Record: 9-6
At home: 4-3
Away: 5-3
Offense-Defense: 78.1 ppg. – 72.0 allowed
The increased number of defeats is an unavoidable fact with the new format, but it’s also hard to take when you’re defending champion Fenerbahce; much more so when half of those were at home, since alongside the one by Olympiacos (83-90), there were two more added by Zalgiris Kaunas (89-90) and Madrid (77-79). Together with the loss at Maccabi (82-73) in between, there is also the fact that they lost their place in the top four after seemingly settling in in Round 6.
5. Real Madrid
Previous ranking: 5 (-)
Record: 9-6
At home: 5-2
Away: 4-4
Offense-Defense: 83.8 ppg. – 77.9 allowed
The important absences became too many for Madrid, and so did the defeats at some point (six defeats in seven games) but, like it is with every big team, the reaction was proportionate. After first winning the consecutive home games against Barcelona (87-75) and Valencia (91-72), they kept going with Bamberg (66-81) and Fenerbahce (77-79), in a game where Luka Doncic flirted once again with a triple-double. Its four consecutive wins was the second best streak in the competition this season, where Madrid also has the second-best offense.
4. Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens
Previous ranking: 2 (-2)
Record: 10-5
At home: 7-0
Away: 3-5
Offense-Defense: 77.7 ppg. – 75.5 allowed
The loss away to Zalgiris (80-74) put an end to the Greens’ streak of five consecutive wins, while the one to Valencia (67-63) put an end to the Spanish team’s streak of 11 consecutive defeats. As it turned out, Nick Calathes’s third absence in a row did them in, since they had won two in the meantime, against Maccabi (89-76) and Zvezda (63-69). They’re hoping to win back their losses against Efes and Barcelona in the impregnable Olympic Sports Center Athens (7-0), but until then they’ll be talking about the missed opportunity to bump themselves up to second place and, at the same time, put some more distance between them and the fifth.
3. Olympiacos Piraeus
Previous ranking: 3 (-)
Record: 11-4
At home: 6-1
Away: 5-3
Offense-Defense: 73.4 ppg. – 71 allowed
Olympiacos’s players continue to come and go (Georgios Printezis and Nikola Milutinov were the latest important absences), but at least Vassilis Spanoulis is back. In the presence of their captain they got important home wins over Madrid (92-83 OT) and CSKA (88-86), but away from home they couldn’t make it against either Bamberg (67-65) or Zalgiris (74-68), only against Efes (58-61). Even so, the Reds remain within striking distance from the top, as the best defense in the competition allows them to.
2. Zalgiris Kaunas
Previous ranking: 11 (+9)
Record: 10-5
At home: 5-2
Away: 5-3
Offense-Defense: 80.3 ppg. – 79.3 allowed
Zalgiris had a perfect record in December and the 5-0 streak becomes even more impressive when one looks at the teams they beat. The away win over Fenerbahce (89-90) stands out, next to those against Panathinaikos (80-74) and Olympiacos (74-68), with the last one deservedly placing them in the top four. Now, Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius only has to worry about Arturas Milaknis’s many – on-target, the truth is – three-pointers in the last crucial seconds of games and the degree of readiness of the newly acquired Beno Udrih.