By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
No Euroleague games this week. But don’t feel sad about it. We are going to keep your mood connected with what the top competition in Europe has to offer.
And in order to do that, we decided to present you our selection of the best players in the Top 16 so far in a slightly alternative way. How would it be if you took the 12 best performers of the Euroleague Top 16 and put them all together in one team? Exactly, you would create a squad made of dreamy material.
This is why we didn’t simply choose the players with the best numbers or the more victories for this list. Apart from their personal or team achievements, we took under serious consideration how their characteristics would be of perfect use in this “dream team”.
Our criteria on compiling the list had to do with three key factors:
A) The performance of each player.
B) How everyone would fit with each other and how all these amazing players would blend in together in terms of chemistry and effective team performance.
C) How well each individual’s team fares so far in the Top 16. We could not choose a player who scores… 20 points per game, but his team has only 1 or 2 victories, if you get what we mean.
So here it is… Eurohoops.net “Dream Squad” of the Euroleague Top 16.
NANDO DE COLO (CSKA MOSCOW)
It is rather special to get distinguished in this season’s CSKA where heavy teamwork oriented basketball is implemented. As a purveyor of scoring and passes (21 and 4.5 per game) Nando De Colo becomes the ultimate accelerator for what is already a powerful offensive machine. What is more, he is quite economical, being the top scorer in the Top 16 with a super 55% in his field goals. Very large for a combo guard.
Best Game in the Top 16:
Victory was a necessity against Real Madrid in Moscow for the second game of the Top 16. After all, CSKA had been defeated by Khimki, and would hate to start with a 0-2. Nando De Colo was the sharpest fang of the “Russian Bear” versus Real with 28 points and 7 assists.
Role in the “Dream Squad”:
Whether he would play for 15 or 35 minutes, either with or without the ball in his hands, De Colo would attract attention from the opposing defense, simply by standing on court. He will not only provide scoring by himself, but help his teammates do it in any possible way.
MALCOLM DELANEY (LOKOMOTIV KUBAN)
When the going gets tough, Malcolm Delaney’s basketball makes it smooth once more. In the second stage of Euroleague, the Baltimore born combo guard has increased his already highly noteworthy performance, averaging 19.3 points and 5.3 assists right now in the Top 16. The strongest pillar in Lokomotiv Kuban’s structure.
Best Game in the Top 16:
Against Cedevita in Zagreb he had the best game, at least in numbers, in his Euroleague career so far. Lokomotiv Kuban struggled quite a lot in the first half but things would have been worst if not for Malcolm Delaney’s magics. The basketball he provided, redefined the word “epic, even for his standards. By scoring 22 points in 13 minutes he kept his team close enough to then turn the tide and win the match. The American combo guard finished with 31 points and 41 in the evalution system, both personal records in Euroleague, while also having 8 assists.
Role in the “Dream Squad”:
Not simply a scorer, but also a play maker. Not just your “go to guy” in offense, but always there to help in defense as well. To put it simply: There is nothing that falls under a guard’s obligations and Delaney wouldn’t excel in for the sake of his team’s welfare. And if you needed someone to take that game winning shot, Malcolm would be the man for the job.