By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
After the end of the third week of action three teams are still unbeaten in Euroleague’s Top16. In Group E Real Madrid is all alone on top and in Group F CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos after road wins in Turkey are also at 3-0. On the contrary only Crvena Zvezda in Group E and Unicaja Malaga in Group F are still searching their first win, something that Laboral Kutxa, EA7 Milano and Galatasaray achieved this week. So here’s what happened in detail across the old continent the last two days.
MVP
De Colo was also great, but Jackson turned things around in Istanbul and did it with machine like efficiency. He had 21 points on 9/10 shots and 2/2 FT, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and just 1 turnover. Jackson may be kind of overlooked in a glamorous roster, however he is the guy who comes from the bench to save the day when things don’t go CSKA‘s way. That exactly what he did specially in the third quarter against Anadolu Efes.
Best five
- Aaron Jackson: He stepped up big when his team needed him the most.
- Jeremy Pargo: The biggest play of Maccabi‘s win over Barcelona belonged to Smith with his block, but overall Pargo was better and possibly had his best game so far in the season with 20 points on 7/14 shots, 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 4 turnovers.
- Matt Lojeski: Spanoulis stole his thunder in the end, still his consistency was more than great. He had 18 points shooting 60% from the floor (6/10) and also 8 rebounds in 25 valuable minutes of action.
- Linas Kleiza: He is not the player he once was, but when his shot fall in, then EA7 Milano can win. That happened with Linas scoring 15 points in Malaga with 50% shooting from the floor and 4/8 crucial threes.
- Colton Iverson: He is one of the few players who stayed in Vitoria since the start of the season and the reason is simple: consistency. He needed 23 minutes in order to produce a double double (10 p., 10 r.) in a very close game against Nizny.
Best losing performance: Andrew Goudelock – Taylor Rochestie
He had 23 points on 9/20 shots, he scored the 1/3 of Fenerbahce‘s points, but in the last two minutes he missed the chance to be the hero, taking and missing some key shots. Still Goudelock is a natural scorer and he demonstrates it in any chance he gets. However the only other thing in his stat sheet was two assists, proving to be quite one dimensional. On the contrary Taylor Rochestie continued his streak of “doing it all” with 24 points on 6/7 threes, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, but he couldn’t lead Nizhny to the road win over Laboral Kutxa.
Biggest win: Olympiacos
The Reds traveled to Istanbul the way they wanted to. They were not the favorites against a really talented and loaded team. However you know what happens when Olympiacos is considered the underdog, specially in Istanbul. The Reds got a win that is a solid step towards the home court advantage in the play offs, a goal may exceed the expectations even of their fans.
The unbeaten: Real Madrid
Yes, Real Madrid has its issues, but in Berlin by playing great defense the Spaniards got the win against a team which can’t be considered an easy opponent. Coach Laso has still much to do, but after the return of Rudy things seems to be much better for Real, despite the still complicated situation in the front line.
The home king: Panathinaikos
Zalgiris is not a powerhouse anymore. However Panathinaikos prevailed almost by 20 points and the Greens once more proved that specially at home, they are still part of the elite. The next game in Madrid against Real will be an indication for what more the team of coach Ivanovic can achieve.
The underachiever: Barcelona
After a great regular season, Barcelona has a 1-2 record after losing to Maccabi Tel Aviv. It’s too early to tell that the Catalans are in real trouble, but the fact is that they don’t produce the kind of basketball that’s expected from them. Time will tell if they will heal in time, even if there’s no shame to losing to the champs.
The disappointment: Unicaja Malaga
Despite the injury woes, the numbers tell their own cold truth. The leaders of Liga Endesa have started Top16 with three defeats. With the last being the “must win” game against EA7 Milano, Unicaja is already in trouble and the goal of the play offs seems to be quite far fetched at least at this point.
The last word: Basketball prevailed
Crvena Zvezda has to wait one more week in order to try getting its first win in Top16, Galatasaray prevailed on the road for the first time after nine games and guess what? We are talking about baskeball! The tragic death of Marko Ivkovic will not and should not be forgotten, but the point of sports is to unite and finally that’s what happened this week. With the presidents of the two teams sitting side by side in a press conference and the two teams giving us a great game in a sold out Kombank Arena.
Euroleague 2014-2015 – 13th Day
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Unicaja Malaga |
EA7 Milano |
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Crvena Zvezda T. |
Galatasaray MP |
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Panathinaikos |
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Laboral Kutxa |
Nizhny Novgorod |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv |
F.C. Barcelona |
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CSKA Moscow |
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Alba Berlin |
Real Madrid |