By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With the shocking fall of James Nunnally not having any severe damage, after all, we can focus on the games. And as you can see on our GameCenter, nothing went as planned.
Olympiacos and CSKA Moscow are tied again on the top of the league standings, Panathinaikos Superfoods is all alone on the third spot and Real Madrid, Fenerbahce Dogus and Zalgiris Kaunas are tied in the fourth spot. And that brings us to our MVP.
MVP
Taylor Rochestie
While his performance is not a surprise, considering his recent games, the fact that he did it against one of the most well-organized teams in the EuroLeague earns him extra points. He had 16 points on 4/7 threes to go along with 10 assists, as Crvena Zvezda stopped the run of Zalgiris Kaunas at Belgrade. And suddenly the Serbs are not that far away from the playoffs.
Best Five
- Taylor Rochestie: A leader reborn.
- Nick Calathes: He returned to action in style, scoring 17 points on 7/10 field goals. He also had 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals, leading Panathinaikos Superfoods to the win over Anadolu Efes.
- Marko Guduric: He missed just three shots on the way to 18 points (3/4 2p., 2/3 3p., 6/7 FT) as Fenerbahce Dogus prevailed over feisty Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz.
- Kostas Papanikolaou: He is taking Olympiacos on his back when it’s needed. And he did it against AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while taking just seven shots and making five of them.
- Malcolm Thomas: By the numbers, he is the MVP of the night, stealing the thunder of Alexey Shved in Khimki Moscow Region’s road win over Bamberg Baskets with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.
Coach of the week: Dusan Alimpijevic
Sarunas Jasikevicius started the night with a standing ovation by Crvena Zvezda‘s fans, but in the end, it was the young coach of the hosts who took all the credit. Alimpijevic has on paper the most limited roster of the entire EuroLeague and he created a team which will be a factor in the playoffs race. That was proven against Zalgiris.
Last word: One for the captain
On the game that Juan Carlos Navarro became also the all-time leader in EuroLeague minutes played over Dimitris Diamantidis – after surpassing him earlier in the season in PIR – FC Barcelona Lassa managed to beat CSKA Moscow. Can this be a turning point? If that’s Navarro’s last season, it better be…