By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
To be exact the “Whites” are the only team with 16 wins in the standings. CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos are tied at 15-6, Fenerbahce follows at 14-7 and the trio of Panathinaikos Crvena Zvezda and Baskonia share the 5th spot with a 12-9 record. Anadolu Efes and Darussafaka Dogus are also tied at the 8th spot (10-11) and Zalgiris Kaunas is lurking near them (9-12). Still the night belongs to Madrid and to the rising star of the EuroLeague.
MVP
Luka Doncic
You know him pretty well at this point. Still, this 17 years old phenomenon is not slowing down. His latest feat was leading Real Madrid to the top in the win over Baskonia with 16 points. 9 rebounds, 6 assists and a highlight that can be his trademark for years to come. Not only he delivers, but he is doing it for the team with the best record in the EuroLeague.
Best five
- Erick Green: Olympiacos was missing key players, Vasilis Spanoulis above everyone else, but he made it happen against Unics Kazan with 25 points (7/8 2p. 3/5 3p. 2/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, one block and no turnovers!
- Janis Strelnieks: He couldn’t miss as Brose Bamberg beat Maccabi Tel Aviv and he had 25 points on 10/10 FG, five of them three pointers, 4 assists and one rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
- Luka Doncic: One of a kind
- Derrick Brown: He led Anadolu Efes to end the 7 wins streak of Crvena Zvezda with 20 points (8/15 FG), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and one turnover, being just amazing.
- Ekpe Udoh: He registered a double-double for Fenerbahce against CSKA Moscow with 15 points, 6/8 FG and 3/4 FT, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, 3 turnovers and 2 blocks.
Best losing performance: Brad Wanamaker
He tried to save Darussafaka Dogus against EA7 Emporio Armani Milano until the very end, having 20 points, 5/8 FG, 9/11 FT, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. He is the guy that makes things happen in the Turkish team, but this time Wanamaker couldn’t stop the Italians and his playoffs spot of his team is all but secured.
Best coach: Sarunas Jasikevicius
This is the third time in a row that we pick him and there’s a good reason for that. Not only Zalgiris Kaunas pushed Barcelona at the edge, but they did it by playing attractive basketball as the have a 3-0 wins run. No matter what Zalgiris achieves this season, the fact remains that Saras is already an up and coming coach in the old continent.
Biggest win: Real Madrid
This was a tough one. Fenerbahce beat CSKA Moscow for the second time keeping the tie breaking advantage, still the win of Real Madrid on the road at Baskonia is the most important result of this week. Simply because now the “Whites” are all alone on top of the standings.
Last word: Greek State Warriors
In theory Greek basketball is all about slow pace and defense. Not this week. Olympiacos and Panathinaikos got two road wins and even if Unics Kazan and Galatasaray are not the strongest opponents, they did it by shooting over 50% from long range (16/31 for the Greens, 14/25 for the Reds). Specially Panathinaikos attemted and made more threes than two pointers (13/30). There’s no bigger proof that basketball is changing, even in the old continent.