By Panos Katsiroumpas / info@eurohoops.net
The Magnifying Glass follows the second game day of the week, analyzing the amazing game that we saw in Vitoria, but also the two local derbies in Istanbul.
This game was a feast for the eyes! Amazing tempo, scary quality on the court, and huge suspense up to the final seconds. Baskonia and Olympiacos promoted the sport in one of the greatest games in recent years.
- Spanoulis the passer! Baskonia’s defense was oriented to stopping Spanoulis. Help from the strong side to block off the right lane, but also closing down the defense from the weak side when the big men cut inside. He might not have scored a lot or attempted a lot of shots, but he passed to his teammates when they cut inside from the strong side or to the shooters of the weak side. The result was 15 assists, a career high, in a great night that bumped him into 2nd place of the best passers in the history of the EuroLeague.
- Supporting Cast. Papanikolaou and Mantzaris took full advantage of the risks Baskonia’s defense took and executed the Basques. A total of 32 points with 7-for-12 in three-point shooting.
- Key player! Ioannis Papapetrou was the man that, in the end, decided the game to a large extent. His amazing defenses, his excellent positioning, and all the won hustle plays made the difference in the end.
- Fun to watch! In the same week Baskonia scored almost 90 points against Real and Olympiacos, essentially without Bargnani and or Beaubois. With the addition of Budinger and the return of the injured players they are going to be a wonderful team, one that is going to give us basketball at an amazing tempo.
Darussafaka – Anadolu Efes
Heurtel’s return! Granger might have gotten injured, his team might have been behind until the 38th minute, but the Frenchman put together a leader’s performance, his first this season. He took advantage of the good right lane, finished many plays with a floater but also shots. He finished the game with 15 points and 9 assists.
- Wanamaker and Wilbekin. When they’re on the court together they provide their team with a different kind of imagination. They can do everything on the court and they offer the unexpected both in terms of creation as well as execution.
- Without a center. Efes played really good defense with this line-up and came back to snatch the win. With Honeycutt, Thomas, and Brown in positions 3, 4, and 5, changing up in every play and not allowing their opponents any space, blocking them offensively. They took risks with the rebounds, but they opened up the court in offense too, since everyone could threaten from various positions.
- Deshaun Thomas! He was the MVP, as he was consistent throughout the entire game. He can score form the post, shoot well, put the ball on the floor, pass, and play in both forward positions. A multi-tool that made the difference with 17 points and 4 rebounds.
Sloukas the master! In his best appearance with Fenerbahce he played amazingly, read the defenses, moved behind the screens very well, and was on a great night in terms of execution and creation. The tally was 24 points and 7 assists and just three missed shots.
- A Swiss cheese of a defense. This is how Galatasaray’s defense, but also their defensive choices, can only be characterized. Nonstop hedge outs with no aggressiveness and bad positioning led to too many open shots for Fenerbahce, who had over 50% in two-point as well three-point shooting, scoring easily 103 points. Galata concedes more than a hundred at home for the second time.
- Galatasaray seem to have a problematic staffing situation with two identical players in the guard position, and more generally, mediocre or even poor creation. Aside from Daye, there doesn’t seem to be a direction for utilizing the many good big men on the roster.
- Fenerbahce got 17 offensive rebounds, as many as the home team’s defensive ones, securing many possessions and second-chance points. Overall, the possessions were overwhelmingly in favor of the winners.