By Panos Katsiroumbas/ info@eurohoops.net
The Magnifying Glass for Round 9 focuses on the great games that took place in Piraeus, Milan, and Moscow.
Execution from the perimeter! Maccabi had a very good game in the Peace & Friendship Stadium and this was largely due to the accuracy from mid- and long-range. In the first quarter they scored 22 of their 24 points from outside the paint, they took advantage of poor individual defenses but also all the help of the rival defense, and scored almost all the open shots that they got. The same thing happened whenever the home team tried to turn the game around.
Hastiness, this was the main feature of Olympiacos’s offense, especially in the third quarter. Shots after one or two passes, choices without any balance, a lot of missed shots, and a bad tempo. This didn’t only cost them in offense but in the defensive transition as well, which was bad after these kinds of offenses, giving up easy points to Maccabi.
Printezis’s bad night was crucial. Against a team that plays with light power forwards, Olympiacos’s forward didn’t get inside the paint often and when he did he was off target. Among other things, he only played 13 minutes. A clear strong point of the home team backfired.
Seeley, Weems, and Iverson had perhaps their best games in the entire time they’ve been in Maccabi. The first one scored big shots in the first and third quarter, the second was holding the conductor’s wand, with executionary duties, while he also restricted Spanoulis in defense, and the third one beat all of Olympiacos’s big men with his game in the post as well as finishes in the pick-and-roll.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan – Fenerbahce
Sloukas the Maestro! Once again the Greek guard went wild and this year looks like it’s going to be his year. He was amazing, orchestrating Fener’s entire offense without neglecting his ability to get the ball through the hoop. He had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and just one turnover in 35 minutes!
Bad finale. The Italian team once again had some very impressive stretches, but had a very bad start to the last quarter. They scored just 4 points in the first 8 minutes, and as a result, a game that seemed theirs slipped from their hands. In yet another game, Alessandro Gentile was on a bad day too.
A defense of concrete Fener seemed to have at times in the first but also the fourth quarter. With pressure on the ball they forced their opponents to attack through the lanes where they were met by Udoh and Vesely, who were good especially when they were on the court at the same time.
This year’s Milan have an interesting approach. They become very predictable with Gentile on the court, but they are a team of kamikazes, especially when there are combinations of line-ups that include McLean, Sanders, and Abass. With these line-ups they wear out their opponents with their pressure and explosiveness, while they are deadly in transition too. Repesa is showing us good things after some time, while Sanders has been brilliant so far.
One-man show! This is the only way the unreal things Milos Teodosic did in the game can be characterized. He scored from everywhere on any kind of defense, he read the lanes and dished assists left and right like it was no big deal. He was the absolute protagonist of the game and the main reason for CSKA’s easy win. He finished the game with 34 points, 10 assists, and ZERO turnovers. Amazing.
Offensive rebounds. As long as the game was still a derby and with CSKA having some trouble, offensive rebounds largely kept them in the game. The Russians dominated in this area, having 16 offensive boards when their opponents secured only 17 defensive ones. Overall, they overpowered them with 42-24.
Bargnani. For the third game in a row, the Italian star was probably negative for his team. Very bad in defense, he couldn’t defend the pick-and-roll or the post, while he didn’t provide any help whatsoever. Furthermore, he wasn’t much better in offense either as he took bad shots, didn’t see passes to open teammates, and generally wasn’t of much help. Only 3-for-10 and Sito Alonso probably has to mull this one over.
James Augustine remembered his good self from last year, doing well the things that he’s capable of at an exceptional degree. Good finishes in pick-and-rolls, with 13 points in only 6 shots, while he also gathered 10 rebounds.