By Panos Katsiroumbas/ info@eurohoops.net
The magnifying Glass focuses its attention on all the European courts where the Euroleague is being played and each week it will choose to examine through its basketball lens some of the games that steal the show in the top competition!
The aim is to focus each time on a number of games and concentrate on those elements that constitute the main factors and causes of their final outcome. One of the most fascinating and competitive Euroleague seasons of all time is under way and there’s a lot for us to talk about. Let’s grab the magnifying glass and head on to the courts!
Trapped in Izmir
In the very first tip-off of the season, Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir sprung the surprise of the first round thanks to its excellent defense against FC Barcelona Lassa. Karisyaka head coach Ufuk Sarica’s players were tough, put their bodies on the line in every play and made it very hard for Barcelona to get close to the basket. On the offensive end, Karsiyaka systematically struck on the pick-and-roll, whether from the top or through a side pick. Colton Iverson and Juan Palacios had some pretty good finishes. They gave Ante Tomic – one of the best big men in Europe and the anchor of Barcelona in the paint – big problems to defend this style of game, but Barcelona’s guards had problems stopping that play, too. Aside from its defensive issues, Barcelona head coach Xavi Pascual’s players had a really hard time finding the target. Even though they presented an offensive arrangement with plenty of movement and screens away from the ball, their shots were made under pressure and even those that weren’t ended up being mostly off target. Barca took just 19 shots inside the paint and made just 6 of 29 three-pointers, which demonstrates the quality of the Karsiyaka defense. One thing that Barcelona lacked was facilitating through pick-and-rolls and using Ante Tomic’s passing ability. Tomic shot just 1 for 5 and had no assists despite being the center with the most assists in the Euroleague each of the last three seasons. He had not gone without an assist in 20 consecutive Euroleague games before this. Barcelona had only 3 assists in the first quarter and 13 for the game, most in the fourth quarter, after having averaged 19 on the road last season.
“Nuclear” perimeter trio!
In a classic European derby, CSKA completely dominated. Maccabi were disappointing on the defensive end. With a simple screen on the ball the Russians created imbalances, opened up lanes, reached the basket easily and passed to the free players for a great number of open shots. The trio of CSKA’s guards looks like they’re starting out the year at a very high level. Aaron Jackson, Nando De Colo and Milos Teodosic scored, “penetrated” the defense and created plays for their teammates with great ease. In total, the three of them had 44 out of the 100 points and 13 out of the 18 assists of the Russian team. For Maccabi, several important players who define their game were on a bad day, players like Devin Smith and Taylor Rochestie. Even though the later scored 14 points, he didn’t make a lot of shots and his levels of facilitation were low, with only 2 assists. Maccabi’s defense was quite poor on every level and CSKA’s backcourt players got in the paint way too easily. It’s telling that the Russians had 22/29 shots in total from inside the paint, with versatile threats and a comfortable circulation of the ball. Guy Goodes’s team was troubling in offense as well. Their collaborations were few and they scored mostly thanks to the individual outbursts of the quality offensive players they have on their roster.
Possessions, Kuzminskas and the Serbs!
It was a nice game that took place in Malaga. Basically, the outcome can be ascribed to one thing and one thing only: the number of possessions. The Spaniards had 11 more offensive rebounds and 6 less mistakes. These two statistical fields produce 17 extra possessions! Even though the German champions had better percentages in their 2- and 3-point shooting, they lost the game relatively easily in the end. And if we look for another reason for Malaga’s dominance? That would be Mindaugas Kuzminskas. In 22 minutes, the Lithuanian had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Bamberg had some issues defending the pick and rolls, as Malaga punished all the mismatches created within Brose’s key. Richard Hendrix and Will Thomas did a good job with their forceful screens on the ball and their finishes in the paint. Bamberg tried to get back in the game with smaller line-ups, with Nicolo Melli in ‘5’ and Nikos Zisis, Janis Strelnieks and Brandley Wanamaker threatening from the perimeter. But they didn’t receive much help from their big guys. Gabe Olaseni and Yassin Idbihi were thoroughly beaten both in defense and in offense. Nemanja Nedovic was significant in the 3rd quarter, the point in the game when Malaga erupted. Stefan Markovic’s reading of the game shows that he’s a team player on every level. His 7 assists played a major role in the outcome of the game.
Singleton the wildcard!
A lot of the times, competitive games that unfold unpredictably and are characterized by periods of domination by both teams are decided by a single match-up! This is exactly what happened in Krasnodar. Lokomotiv Kuban and Panathinaikos Athens were moving along hand in hand and nothing had been settled until Chris Singleton took matters into his own hands. Why was the American so important? While the home team where looking for ways to contain the offensively charismatic Miroslav Raduljica, Singleton decided the outcome of the game in a couple of minutes. He struck on the Serbian center’s slowness. He scored five points in a row, put his signature on the 75-67 score line, played two good defenses on Raduljica and forced Sasa Djordjevic to take him off the court. Another basket by Kyrylo Fesenko took the lead to 10 (77-67) and it was all over. Malcolm Delaney was also decisive throughout the game, scoring, facilitating and pressing on the ball. Panathinaikos were poor in the last period and they paid the price (with a 18-9 score for Lokomotiv), and as with all teams with new members on their roster, it’s going to take time. Dimitris Diamantidis, on the other hand, remains of enduring value through time! He was the best player of his team in the second half in a milestone game for him: he reached 253 appearances, surpassing another Greek Euroleague legend, Theodoros Papaloukas, and the only one still ahead of him in this department is Juan Carlos Navarro with 278.
Total domination
Khimki, one of the teams with the most bona fide offensive talent in the Euroleague, chanced upon an out of shape Real Madrid and made the most of it, with truly a complete appearance in all aspects of the game. The number one difference was the energy level. The home team had much more of it and that translated into +11 possessions. It also resulted in 8 more offensive rebounds and 3 less mistakes. If we add to the equation the fact that Rimas Kurtinaitis’s team were better in their 2- and 3-point shooting, the 84 points from a team with such an amount of talent is a very natural performance! Two more elements contributed to Khimki dominating without being threatened by the European champions from beginning to end. One was effective defense. Khimki conceded 14, 18 and 17 in the first three quarters, against a team with a lot of class and several solutions in offense. Even the concession of 21 points in the final period, when everything had been decided and the home team had dropped their tempo, is not big. The second element? Khimki is known for their accumulation of talented guards, but in this bout it was their two big men who were thundering! James Augustine dominated in the first half, when Khimki set up a solid foundation for a win, and Marko Todorovic took over from there in the second half. The two of them worked together for a total of 25 points and 15 rebounds with 11/17 shots facing Real’s frontline which, at this time, is showing some weaknesses, mostly numerical. Finally, Khimki had 5 players who scored double-digits and Laso’s team only two, Llull and Maciulis who scored them early in the game. A total domination by the holders of the Eurocup trophy against the European champions.