By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Have you ever felt that when things seem to be in order, suddenly the balanced changes? That’s exactly what happened tonight in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Baskonia making a stand against Barcelona and Fenerbahce losing crucial ground.
While CSKA still leads with ease, Real Madrid, Olympiacos and Baskonia are now tied in the second place at 9-4, followed Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce (8-5), Darussafaka at seven wins and Anadolu Efes at six wins, while the rest of the eight teams are between 5 and 4 wins. As you can see in the standings, nothing can be taken for granted. Sill we can be sure of some things and Luca Doncic’s talent is one of them.
MVP
Luka Doncic
You can argue that Real Madrid got an easy win over Brose Baskets, but this does not change the fact that a 17 years old player was once again the best player of the “Whites.” He had 16 points on 6/11 field goals, 5/5 free throws, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers. You can’t but marvel at his abilities and expect even bigger things at the future. After all he is the younger ever weekly Euroleague MVP.
Best Five
- Rodrigue Beaubois: The French guard was the top scorer of Baskonia (19 p.) in the crucial win over Barcelona, he sealed the deal with 2/2 free throws and he also had 2 rebounds, 2 asssts, 3 steals and also one turnovers.
- Mike James: He is back! This was his best game for Panathinaikos since his return from injury with 19 points and 7 rebounds in the easy road win at Milan.
- Evgeny Voronov: Without Keith Langford he stole the show as he scored 22 points on 7/7 two-points shots and 1/3 threes, leading Unics Kazan to the valuable win over Galatasaray.
- Luka Doncic: We put him on the “4” position and we are sure that he can do that also.
- Will Clyburn: No many big men did well this week and Clyburn is a strange hybrid. Still he excels in the paint and did it this time against Fenerbahce with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
Best losing performance: Ante Tomic
Barcelona’s center had a great game, however this was not enough. He had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. He shot 60% from the field (6/10) and missed only one free throw (6/7). He did his best, Baskonia’s front line could not contain him, but he left Vitoria empty-handed.
Coach of the day: Sarunas Jasikevicius
The lack of quality in Zalgiris Kaunas roster is an issue. Still the basketball genius of Saras has things figured out. Zalgiris is part of the playoffs race and they beat Anadolu Efes on the road. If this is a sign of things to come, then the rest of the EuroLeague has to be aware…
Biggest win: Darussafaka Dogus
Beating Fenerbahce on the road is not easy. The fact that Darussafaka is also a rival in the Turkish league made things even more complicated. Still the team of David Blatt found the way to prevail in a dogfight and they just needed a win of that kind, against one of the top Euroleague contenders. It’s obvious that Blatt’s team will have its ups and downs, but a spot in the playoffs seems to be the minimum of their abilities.
Last word: Invincible CSKA Moscow
No Milos, no Nando and no problem even on the road against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Yes, Maccabi is not having its best days, still the resilience of CSKA Moscow is nothing short of amazing. The champs have a 12-1 record, they are the team to beat, but this seems almost impossible.