By Stelios Toromanidis/ info@eurohoops.net
Boban Marjanovic is making an impression with his appearances in the NBA, but in Crvena Zvezda, his successor, Maik Zirbes, is following in his footsteps and reminds us of Marjanovic. How similar are they, after all? Eurohoops.net makes the comparison.
Real dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the earth for more than 160 million years. But with the abrupt temperature drop suffered by our planet 65 million years ago, they couldn’t survive and perished.
The “basketball dinosaurs” are centers (usually 210 cm. and over) with a heavy frame and a prolific presence that dominated the basket, spreading fear to everyone who… went near it, for many decades.
But for several years now, basketball has… shifted gears. It requires fast feet and quick thinking in defense as well as in offense. This is the reason the two-meters tall and versatile centers like Hines, Tyus, Lasme have appeared, players that are… hell bent on wiping out their beastly colleagues.
Some, of course, have their objections and prove in action that the “old type” of big men is not through yet. One of those is Crvena Zvezda’s coach, Dejan Radonjic, who for two consecutive years has been leading his team to the Top 16 of the Euroleague, basing much of their game on the presence of a giant-center.
From Boban to Maik!
Last year, this particular role was played with great success by the 27-year-old Boban Marjanovic, who sees the world from 222 centimeters. He had to work hard and wonder through several teams until he found his way to Crvena Zvezda. Radonjic gave him a leading role, he was selected in the top five of the competition, he emerged first in the evaluation system and made a lot of records as he got double-doubles (points and rebounds) in 16 out of the 24 games he played in, a performance that surpassed Tanoka Beard’s 15 in the 2004-05 season. His achievements did not go unnoticed by the Spurs, who offered him a one-year contract for 1.2 million dollars.
His departure from Zvezda initially seemed to weaken significantly the Serbs’ frontline. But as it turned out along the way, this didn’t happen, as Radonjic pulled another… heavy ace from his sleeve: Maik Zirbes. He might not be as tall as his predecessor, but at 2,08 m. tall and with a massive displacement, he makes the difference. The German, who was the backup for Marjanovic last year with a low level of productivity (6,2 points, 3,3 rebounds), was upgraded and showed excellent improvement. He played for the first time in the Euroleague with Bamberg’s colors for two years in 2012-2014. He showed some good signs but until this season he hadn’t proved that he could carry out this role. So far he’s fifth in the evaluation system of the Euroleague and fourth in points scored, being the front man of Crvena Zvezda’s qualification in the Top 16.
He might be a fair way away from Marjanovic’s playing level. But, as far as his role is concerned, the 25-year-old German really looks like… last year’s Boban, as is revealed by the comparison of their statistics.
A similar harvest of points, difference in rebounds
Even though the sample of games is not the same for the two (Marjanovic 24 – Zirbes 11), their statistical representation is similar in several categories, the most important being the one of points scored per game, where the German is slightly ahead of the Serb (16,8 against 16,6). In fact, it took them almost the same amount of time to bring this off (26 against 27:40). Zirbes has 69% in two-point shooting and 71,7% in free throws, whereas Marjanovic has 62,1% and 78,1% respectively.
One way to stop such strong centers is to… foul them. Last year, Marjanovic drew 4,6 fouls per game, which made him the first in the whole competition. Zirbes, even in this department isn’t… too far behind as he draws 4,2 fouls in every game, a performance that puts him at fourth place behind Bilan, Raduljica and Bourousis. Also, in categories such as offensive rebounds, assists, steal and turnovers, the two present very small differences.
The only areas in which there is any real distance between them are the evaluation and the rebounds. Boban collected twice as many defensive rebounds from his “successor” (7,2 versus 3,6). In this way, the harvesting of six more ranking units per game for the Serb versus the German is justified.
The ball in their hands
For those who are not convinced that this year Zirbes has put himself in… Marjanovic’s shoes, we deepen our survey even further in special statistical categories like the one that has to do with the percentage of possessions when the ball passed from their hands. So, last year Marjanovic participated in almost half of Zvezda’s attacks (49,5%) while this year Zirbes takes part in a similar percentage of possessions (47,7%)!
We left the (+/-) category for last. This category looks at whether their team was up or down in the score when each of them was on the court. Both of them have plus signs, with Marjanovic being a bit more effective. When the… ex was on the court, Zvezda won by three points, while in the case of the… current one, they win by two.
In the end, their role and effectiveness shows that Crvena Zvezda has adopted an “old” yet effective way of playing. And as is evidenced: dinosaurs are still alive, still living among us.
| Crvena Zvezda | Boban Marjanovic | Maik Zirbes |
| Season | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
| Games | 24 | 11 |
| Minutes | 27:17 | 26:06 |
| Points | 16,6 | 16,8 |
| Def. Rebounds | 7,2 | 3,6 |
| Off. Rebounds | 3,5 | 3 |
| Total Rebounds | 10,7 | 6,6 |
| 2p. % | 62,3 | 68,9 |
| Free throws | 78,1 | 71,7 |
| Assists | 1 | 0,6 |
| Steals | 0,4 | 0,7 |
| Turnovers | 1,4 | 1,7 |
| Fouls drawn | 4,6 | 4,2 |