By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Status, dynamics, form and the significance of results were the criteria for ranking the 18 teams.
Due to the unique circumstance of some teams playing more games than others because of the pandemic – not to mention some teams out-performing our wildest expectations – we are waiving our normal restriction limiting teams from moving more than six places from one month to the next.
Without further ado, here are the new rankings:
#18 LDLC ASVEL VILLEURBANNE
Previous ranking: 17 (-1)
Record: 0-3
At home: 0-1
Away: 0-2
Offense-Defense: 70-78.3
In contrast to Zenit St Petersburg below, ASVEL sample so far is more than enough for them to be assessed. Maybe as they go forward and games become successive they will manage to improve in many areas, but until then, the last place in the standings and the power rankings is rightfully theirs.
#17 ALBA BERLIN
Previous ranking: 14 (-3)
Record: 1-3
At home: 0-2
Away: 1-1
Offense-Defense: 77.5-87.8
ALBA enjoyed playing basketball like few teams did last season but now the only enjoyment seems to be for their opponents. The only exception was the game against CSKA (88-93, Round 4), which, in order to win, they had to stretch above their standards. Their offense is only the 10th best and their defense is the worst by far. With 15.3 turnovers per game (third highest), they cannot hope for anything better.
#16 KHIMKI MOSCOW REGION
Previous ranking: 7 (-9)
Record: 1-5
At home: 1-3
Away: 0-2
Offense-Defense: 76.8-83.2
Khimki had the misfortune of playing with an emergency roster in most games, waiting until Round 6 against Zvezda (83-77) to celebrate its first win. Contrary to what one might expect, it wasn’t Alexey Shved or Jonas Jerebko or Greg Monroe who led Khimki to that victory, but Errick McCollum, who just joined the team. With a full roster now, Rimas Kurtinaitis expects immediate improvement both in offense (fifth worst) and defense (second worst).
#15 CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS BELGRADE
Previous ranking: 14 (-1)
Record: 2-3
At home: 2-1
Away: 0-2
Offense-Defense: 77-78.4
The opening games have been bittersweet for Zvezda, which has both won and lost games that perhaps they weren’t expecting to win or lose. Last week’s defeat by Khimki dropped Zvezda below even. They could have won more if they were even marginally better on offense (sixth worst scoring, with the worst two-point shooting, 46.3%), where Jordan Loyd (top scorer with 22.6 points) is not always enough. Not that they don’t need some work in defense, too (ninth worst).
#14 MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV
Previous ranking: 6 (-8)
Record: 2-4
At home: 1-2
Away: 1-2
Offense-Defense: 78.3-80.2
Maccabi should be more concerned about themselves than about their opponents. With the exception of the recent defeat by Fenerbahce (65-75, Round 6), the previous three – which were consecutive – were all by 3 or 4 points. Until Ioannis Sfairopoulos and his players figure out how to close out their games more effectively, they’ll be low in the rankings. Any improvement in defense would be welcome (fourth worst defense, but second in steals with 7.8), while they can definitely do better in offense, too (eighth best).
#13 TD SYSTEMS BASKONIA VITORIA-GASTEIZ
Previous ranking: 12 (-1)
Record: 2-2
At home: 2-1
Away: 0-1
Offense-Defense: 74.3-71.3
The last 4 minutes in the Round 6 loss to Barcelona (71-72) said more about Baskonia than their results in all four games so far this season. They didn’t score (0-11 run) and their problems in offense (league-worst assist-to-turnover ratio, 0.98) were emphasized even more. Their defense, ranked second best (first in steals with 9.0), proves exactly to what extent the offense is a problem.
#12 PANATHINAIKOS OPAP ATHENS
Previous ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 2-2
At home: 1-1
Away: 1-1
Offense-Defense: 80-79.8
A new era in terms of management and players has found Panathinaikos on the right track, with an even record through four games considered positive. With no game last week, for the second time this season, the sample from the last win over Fenerbahce (82-68, Round 5) is the most recent. It is encouraging in terms of offense (fourth best scoring, fifth best assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.34) but the same is not the case in defense (sixth worst). The upcoming games against CSKA and Efes, both at the OAKA, could be described as “crash tests”.
#11 OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS
Previous ranking: 9 (-2)
Record: 3-3
At home: 2-2
Away: 1-1
Offense-Defense: 77.2-75.7
Even though they seemed to have quickly overcome an opening-day home loss to Zalgiris (67-68), consecutive losses to Bayern (74-68, Round 5) and Efes (79-84, Round 6) were a harsh reminder for Olympiacos that a lot of work lies ahead. Despite their fourth highest rankings in two-point shooting (57.4%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44), their offense remains the seventh worst, while their defense is producing somewhat better results (seventh best).
#10 REAL MADRID
Previous ranking: 2 (-8)
Record: 2-4
At home: 2-1
Away: 0-3
Offense-Defense: 79.3-82.2
In the span of six games, Madrid – with two titles among six Final Fours in the Pablo Laso era that started in 2011-today – have managed to become the toughest riddle of the season. They’ve only beaten the very deficient Khimki (94-85, Round 3), and also Bayern (100-82, Round 6) in the German team’s worst game but Madrid’s best. That raised Madrid to the league’s fifth best scoring average, but it still has the third worst defense. Upcoming away games against Zalgiris and Zvezda might clear the picture somewhat.
#9 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG
Previous ranking: 10 (+1)
Record: 2-0
At home: 1-0
Away: 1-0
Offense-Defense: 73.5-69.5
The games against Efes (69-73, Round 1) and Barcelona (74-70, Round 2) remain the only ones Zenit have played, and in the upcoming one against Olympiacos they will have gone almost a month since their last game in the EuroLeague. Now the question marks are bigger than the initial enthusiasm.
#8 VALENCIA BASKET
Previous ranking: 10 (+2)
Record: 3-2
At home: 1-1
Away: 2-1
Offense-Defense: 78.6-75.4
Valencia made quite an investment in the free agency market and they’re already seeing results. They are the only team that has beaten the top-ranked Zalgiris (82-94, Round 5), while their only defeats have come from the so-called powerhouses: Barcelona (66-71, Round 3) and CSKA (84-75, Round 6). They are distinguished for the balance in their game (seventh best offense with the best assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.67 and sixth best defense), in which Bojan Dubljevic (12th in average PIR) remains the point of reference.
#7 ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL
Previous ranking: 1 (-6)
Record: 2-3
At home: 0-2
Away: 2-1
Offense-Defense: 78-78.6
Up until the cancellation of the previous season, Efes had a total of four defeats in 28 games. They’ve already reached three in five games so far this season. The absence of Shane Larkin was perhaps the most basic reason, something that became even clearer with his return in the Round 6 win over Olympiacos (79-84). Until then, mediocrity characterized their game (ninth best offense and 11th worst defense though third in steals with 7.8). Efes is called to change that dynamic immediately.
#6 FENERBAHCE BEKO ISTANBUL
Previous ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 3-3
At home: 1-2
Away: 2-1
Offense-Defense: 74.7-72.3
Three consecutive defeats to CSKA (77-78, Round 3), Bayern (71-75, Round 4) and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (82-68, Round 5) reminded Fenerbahce of how difficult the times are, but also of their own difficulties. However, the last win over Maccabi 65-75, Round 6) quickly expelled those concerns. Bless the defense (third best), since Nando De Colo (5th in the PIR) and Jan Vesely (13th in the PIR) still need more help in offense (fourth worst even though they’re first in three-point shooting with 42%).
#5 CSKA MOSCOW
Previous ranking: 2 (-3)
Record: 3-3
At home: 2-1
Away: 1-2
Offense-Defense: 79.3-79.8
More than a few teams would envy CSKA‘s roster, but none would envy their results. The last win over Valencia (84-75, Round 6) bumped them up to .500 while they have defeats like the one to ALBA (88-93, Round 4) that will be hard to make up later on. One would expect that Will Clyburn (ninth in the PIR), Mike James (12th in the PIR) and the +20 points in two overtimes would have them higher than fifth place in terms of offense, and they also have the fifth worst defense, too.
#4 FC BAYERN MUNICH
Previous ranking: 18 (+14)
Record: 4-2
At home: 1-1
Away: 3-1
Offense-Defense: 80.8-79
When most teams are trying to adapt to the circumstances of this time, FC Bayern Munich seem unaffected by any kind of difficulty, even those that are brought about by significant changes to the roster. Andrea Trinchieri has managed to get the most out of everyone in these opening rounds (Vladimir Lucic is third in the PIR) and it remains to be seen whether this start can be followed up on as they move forward. The only exception is the performance in the game against Real Madrid (100-82, Round 6), in which, even though they may have performed according to their standards in offense (best of all), they got really derailed in defense (seventh worst now).
#3 ZALGIRIS KAUNAS
Previous ranking: 16 (+13)
Record: 5-1
At home: 1-1
Away: 4-0
Offense-Defense: 80.2-74.5
The first six rounds have found Zalgiris having repeated the best start in their history (5-1 in 2005-06 as well as in 2012-13) and they are undoubtedly the competition’s pleasant surprise. Martin Schiller has found the perfect balance between the Lithuanian (e.g. Marius Grigonis) and foreign elements (e.g. Joffrey Lauvergne) and the entertainment he presents is more than attractive and, above all, effective. The defeat by Valencia (82-94, Round 5) is the only sour note for the third best offense (second in three-point shooting with 41.4%) and the fifth best defense.
#2 AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN
Previous ranking: 5 (+3)
Record: 3-1
At home: 2-0
Away: 1-1
Offense-Defense: 80.3-77
Milan is one of the few teams that have managed to align their wants with their results in these first games. They may not have been able to step on the court in the last two rounds, however wins like the ones over Bayern (79-81, Round 1) and Madrid (78-70, Round 4) were enough to reveal part of their capability. The second best offense (third in three-point shooting with 40.5%) led by Sergio Rodriguez (fourth in the PIR) supports this view, while they’re not doing so badly in defense (eighth best) either.
#1 FC BARCELONA
Previous ranking: 2 (+1)
Record: 5-1
At home: 3-0
Away: 2-1
Offense-Defense: 77.5-73
FC Barcelona are one of the few teams that were aiming high before the start of the season that have not veered off track. Even though there were few changes to the roster, they lack consistency in their performance but, despite that, what they’re doing is more than enough for now. The return of Nikola Mirotic will obviously help them improve in every other respect, something that was immediately apparent in the last win over Baskonia (71-72, Round 6), which was decided by his own block at the expiration. Until they up the tempo in offense (sixth best), the biggest credit goes to the defense (fourth best).