By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With 10 rounds of regular season in the books, only one thing is for sure. Until the last moment, the teams aiming to the playoffs will be more than enough and the tie breaking advantage may decide a lot.
As you can see in the standings, only CSKA Moscow has a real distance from the pack (9-1), followed by Fenerbahce and Real Madrid at 7-3 and then Olympiacos and Baskonia at 6-4 are tied in the fourth position. After them, five teams have a 5-5 record, three more follow at 4-6 and no one has lost hope. On the contrary, some teams are gaining back their hopes like it happened in the case of our MVP.
MVP
Anadolu Efes is back on track for good and he was the main reason for that in Tel Aviv against Maccabi. Brown had an amazing double double with 22 points (5/10 2p., 2/2 3p.) and 12 rebounds to go along with 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and no turnovers in 32 minutes of action. If he continues like that, then his team will catch for sure the playoffs train.
Best five
- Milos Teodosic: With Nando De Colo out, Milos Teodosic does not have a problem to step up. And that was the case in Bamberg, where, despite 2/8 two-point shots, he more than did his part with 31 points, 7/13 threes, 6/6 free throws, 1 rebound, 8 assists and only two turnovers in almost 33 minutes
- Keith Langford: Once again he proved that he is a pure scorer. He led Unics Kazan to the win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milano with 25 points on 8/13 field goals and 8/13 free throws. He also had 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.
- James Nunnally: He had his break out Euroleague night against Real Madrid with 18 points on 7/9 filed goals, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and the winning free throw for Fenerbahce.
- Derrick Brown: He stole the thunder from his teammate Tyler Honeycutt who also had a monster game (21 p. 8 r. 5 as., 3 st.) but 2/9 threes.
- Antanas Kavaliauskas: He made Crvena Zvezda pay with 20 points on 7/8 field goals and 6/7 free throws in 20 minutes of action. Add to that 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.
Best losing performance: Nicolo Melli
The finish of the game overshadowed his masterpiece. He had 26 points, missed just two shots (5/6 2p., 3/4 3p.) and one free throw (7/8) along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks and just 1 turnover in 37,5 minutes of action. He was amazing but Brose Bamberg did not make it against CSKA Moscow in one more heartbreaking defeat for the Germans.
Coach of the week: Giorgos Bartzokas
Both Barcelona and Panathinaikos are works in progress, however the fact that Bartzokas was facing the former coach of Barca, coach Pascual, made this game even trickier. At the end the Greek coach and Barca prevailed with ease moving the club de facto in the post-Pascual era.
Biggest win: Olympiacos
Road wins are made of gold in Euroleague, specially in the new format. The Reds needed that result after losing at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv and the extra bonus is that they got it against a team which can end up beind their direct rival for the playoffs, or even for the home court advantage. Olympiacos is tied with Baskonia, but the Greeks have also already beaten the Spaniards on the road.
Last word: Fighters
After one third of the regular season, Baskonia is almost part of the top four, or if you prefer half a step away from the home court advantage in the tie with Olympiacos. The team from Vitoria doesn’t produce the brand of basketball they did last year, they have their issues and it’s more than early in order to predict where they will end up. However, the thing that remains the same is their character that led them to the Final Four last season.