By Panos Katsiroumpas / info@eurohoops.net
The magnifying glass followed the sixth game day and focuses on the great games we saw in Istanbul, Moscow, and Vitoria.
Three-point execution! Dentmon and Diebler had a really big game against Olympiacos. The first one executed mainly in one-on-one plays from the perimeter and after a dribble. The second had really good movement from behind the screens but also took advantage of the bad reactions of Olympiacos’s defense that didn’t defend aggressively enough the screens along the wings.
Austin Daye was the key. He did an amazing job in defense marking Printezis, limiting his multifaceted game in the post magnificently. Very good perception and use of his body. He helped out a lot in offense as well, with many pop outs, but also by putting the ball on the floor and getting deep inside the paint.
Olympiacos’s defeat is down to their poor defense. Poor defense both individually as well as on a team level. Especially in transition, they largely lagged behind and gave up a lot of easy points.
We have to tip our hat to Sinan Guler who did everything on the court. He might have scored only seven points, but he played for 33 minutes, more than any of his teammates, he always marked the most dangerous player, mainly Spanoulis, while he took over the creation, having 12 assists. He also had four steals at crucial points of the game. The quiet hero.
Revenge! Baskonia obliterated Fenerbahce on every level. They dominated from the first minute, guided by their amazing defense but also the unbelievable energy they produced in every play. It was the best revenge for the lost semifinal in last year’s Final Four.
Fener’s first half was disheartening and essentially that’s where the game was over, with the Basques having a 17-point lead. Forced and difficult shots, very little ball movement, and collaborations that were quickly forgotten in Istanbul. The result, only 24 points scored in 9-for-36 shots, just two assists, and five turnovers.
Sito Alonso pulled off a tremendous trick. Essentially, he got all of the team’s big men out of the paint, an area in which Bargnani as well as Voigtmann and Tillie are super good, which resulted in the more explosive players finding room to get all the way inside the key. Udoh and Vesely played no role in the game whatsoever, while Baskonia’s big men executed from the perimeter, as they got inside the paint whenever there were mismatches, which they made the most of.
Shane Larkin has shifted gears in terms of fast basketball for European standards. He’s reminiscent of Tyus Edney, when he had come to Zalgiris. Truly rocket-propelled in this game again, he ran, passed, scored, stole balls, and effectively was the Basque team’s big MVP.
When a game is a derby and is decided by a single shot, then a quarter that ended 32-12 can only have decided the outcome. In the second quarter, with an offensive crescendo on every level, CSKA came back from a 10-point deficit and went ahead by 10 with a 22-2 run.
De Colo the executioner! Nando De Colo was delightful for yet another game. The Frenchman read all of Real’s defenses and executed with great variety. His mid-range shot gives him a big advantage since the defender he’s going to come across after a switch is forced to stay on him. This allows him to drive inside on many occasions, or shoot the ball if the defense stays inside. He had 28 points in 8-for-12 shots, while he also helped out in rebounding and creating.
Real’s defense had quite rightly targeted the collaborations that occurred mostly through CSKA’s pick-and-rolls. They defended pretty well for most of the game, blocked the lanes of Hines and Augustine to a great extent, and were hurt by some “cold” shots from the Russian team’s amazing shooters. The final figure of 13 assists (an average of 22 prior to this game) highlights the defensive effort of the Spaniards for three quarters.
The three-pointers hurt them. Aside from the bad second quarter, Real were off target but also hasty on many occasions in offense. They shot a total of 31 three-pointers, making only 8 with the disheartening 25%.