By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
How do you define a “mess”? While at least seven teams are already making playoffs plans, there’s a four-way tie in the standings for the fourth spot and the home court advantage, between Real Madrid, Zalgiris Kaunas, Khimki and Panathinaikos.
The next few weeks will be more than interesting, as you can see in our GameCenter, especially if our MVP continues to play like that.
MVP
Vasilis Spanoulis
What can you add that has not written yet for this guy? So let’s stay on the facts. He is almost 36 years old and dominated the game against Valencia, leading Olympiacos Piraeus to the win with 25 points and nine assists. He got the nickname “Kill Bill” for a reason.
BEST FIVE
- Facundo Campazzo: He has a great night with 11 points after taking just five shots and he also had nine assists, three rebounds, three steals and no turnovers in Real Madrid‘s triumph over FC Barcelona Lassa.
- Vasilis Spanoulis: May is not that far away and it’s time for the real Spanoulis to stand up.
- Alexey Shved: He scored 20 points, led Khimki Moscow to the crucial win over Panathinaikos and also tied a historic streak. There’s not a better scorer than him in Europe right now.
- Will Clyburn: He is all over the floor for CSKA Moscow in the not so easy game against Baskonia and he had 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and three turnovers.
- Aaron White: He was perfect for Zalgiris Kaunas in one more road win, this time against Anadolu Efes. He didn’t miss a shot (6/6 FG, 3/.3 FT) on the way to 15 points and has four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one turnover to go along.
Coach of the week: Pablo Laso
Just days after losing the “Copa Del Rey” to Barcelona, he managed to beat the arch-rival of Madrid on the road. Sometimes when you are a coach in a team which is “expected” to win, you don’t take a lot of credit. However, the first quarter which ended with the “Whites” leading almost by 20 (30-10) is one more proof that not only Laso knows his team, but he knows also how to press the right buttons.
Last word: The race for the last spot
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost a big chance in Spain to beat Unicaja and make a huge step towards the playoffs. But Malaga had other plans, they prevailed and now they are tied with Baskonia at 10-13. The two Spanish teams will make a run to catch up with the Israelis who still had a two-win advantage (12-11), keeping things interesting until the end.