By John Rammas/ info@eurohoops.net
As always, status, team dynamics, form and the significance of results were taken into consideration for ranking the 16 teams.
16. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Previous ranking: 15 (-1)
Record: 6-19
At home: 4-9
Away: 2-10
Offense-defense: 76.9 ppg.-83.4 ppg.
With seven defeats in its last eight games, Anadolu Efes Istanbul is stuck in last place and it will be difficult to get unstuck. Despite the addition of Sonny Weems, the team’s offense remains one of the worst (second worst), as does its defense (third worst), and Efes also has the worst points difference (-159). Despite all this, with a schedule that includes three games against top-eight teams (vs. Khimki Moscow Region in Round 27, at Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 28 and at Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz in Round 30), Efes‘s impact on the competition can still be meaningful.
15. FC Barcelona Lassa
Previous ranking: 11 (-4)
Record: 8-17
At home: 7-6
Away: 1-11
Offense-defense: 80.4 ppg.-79.8 ppg.
The loss to AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan was the last game for FC Barcelona Lassa under the instructions of Sito Alonso, but changing coaches (Svetislav Pesic returned) didn’t change the results either. The 88-54 win over Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade in Round 25 was Barca’s first after five consecutive defeats, which were enough to keep them pinned at second-to-last place since Round 22. At the same time, it was the seventh win in 13 home games, which is completely at odds with Barcelona’s away record, the worst in the entire competition with only one win (65-79 at Khimki in Round 15).
14. Valencia Basket
Previous ranking: 13 (-1)
Record: 9-16
At home: 7-6
Away: 2-10
Offense-defense: 77.5 ppg.-80.3 ppg.
With every passing round, Valencia Basket is coming to terms with its fate, one that, unfortunately for some teams, is linked to their fate as well. And this is because with wins like those against Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens (67-63 in Round 15), Khimki (85-83 in Round 20), CSKA Moscow (103-99 in Round 22) and Brose Bamberg (86-70 in Round 24) recently, Valencia seems to have taken on the role of regulator. The Spanish champion will try to do the same thing for the rest of the regular season as well, especially at home (against Real Madrid in Round 27 and Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv in Round 30), since away from home, Valencia still have one of the worst records (third worst).
13. Brose Bamberg
Previous ranking: 14 (-1)
Record: 9-16
At home: 7-5
Away: 2-11
Offense-defense: 75.4 ppg.-79.5 ppg.
For a while now, Brose had started taking a tumble in the rankings and following the 77-69 defeat by Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul in Round 22, it was time for Andrea Trinchieri to lose his spot on the bench, too. Now, the German champs continue under the instructions of Luca Banchi, who made his debut in the 87-79 loss to Olympiacos in Round 25, Brose’s third loss in the last four games. How could it be otherwise with the worst offense in the competition? When Brose has managed to excel on offense, it has done some damage (a 93-86 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 18 and a 95-74 win over Panathinaikos in Round 21), but away from home Brose has the second-worst record in the league.
12. Unicaja Malaga
Previous ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 10-15
At home: 7-5
Away: 3-10
Offense-defense: 77.6 ppg.-80.7 ppg.
Unicaja Malaga has been in 10th place for 12 rounds now and could have been going after something better at the close of the regular season if they hadn’t suffered seven defeats in its last 10 games. The last two were away from Malaga (80-76 at Zvezda in Round 24 and 101-76 at CSKA in Round 25), where Unicaja seems to always come up short as the team with the fifth-worst road record. The sixth-worst defense hasn’t helped the situation either, especially since it’s combined with the 11th-best offense.
11. Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
Previous ranking: 10 (-1)
Record: 10-15
At home: 7-5
Away: 3-10
Offense-defense: 77.3 ppg.-83.2 ppg.
As of late, Zvezda has been fluctuating between 11th and 12th place and the explanation for this is simple, for almost every home win (like the 80-76 victory over Unicaja in Round 24) there is also an away loss (fifth worst record), including last week’s 88-54 trouncing at Barcelona. This latest result fully reflects their image on both ends of the court, where Zvezda has been the fourth-worst on offense and fourth-worst on defense. With four of the reaming five games against likely playoff teams (at Panathinaikos, vs, Fenerbahce, vs. Madrid, at CSKA), the final stretch appears to be just as difficult.
10. AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
Previous ranking: 16 (+6)
Record: 9-16
At home: 5-7
Away: 4-9
Offense-defense: 81.6 ppg.-85.7 ppg.
Milan has been unable to get unstuck from the bottom of the rankings for a while now, but with five wins in the last eight games, the bottom spots no longer have its name. In fact, Milan’s last win was against Khimki, which greatly influenced the situation in the playoff hunt as well as the race for home-court advantage. If Milan’s defense (worst in the competition) was as good as its offense (sixth best), perhaps now their motivation wouldn’t just be limited to prestige.