By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Merry happy Christmas everyone. For another year, Eurohoops sources found out what the 16 clubs of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague asked from Santa Claus.
These findings have been neither confirmed nor denied by the clubs however, sources are adamant that this is what Santa read when he opened the letter from each EuroLeague team.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Milos Teodosic
Anadolu Efes has been making a strong push for the playoffs this season and, right now, it will be a surprise if they don’t get there. Heck, they are even presenting a strong case for being a Final Four contender.
There’s always more room for improvement though and if their Christmas wish about Milos Teodosic comes true that would be one kingly gift by Santa.
Ax Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano
Experience
Milano has all the tools needed for playoffs return (established as the primary goal of the team for 2018-2019). The pair of Mike James/Nemanja Nedovic is doing heavy damage, Arturas Gudaitis is a “beast” inside the paint, Vladimir Micov is having his “best season ever” and there are more than solid players in every position. So what does Milano need? A special pinch of experience to help them handle difficult situations, particularly down the stretch. This can be a difference maker in their hunt for postseason.
Buducnost Voli Podgorica
Earplugs
You can’t really blame Aleksandar Dzikic when he turns up the volume to express his complaints to his players. Often in NSFW fashion.
At the same time, you should really feel for the guys when they hear their head coach increasing the decibels to make his point. So yes, get these dudes some earplugs.
More love from fans of other teams
“We played also with some significant players out last season and nobody was feeling pity for us,” CSKA Moscow Dimitris Itoudis said after a recent EuroLeague game. While CSKA Moscow is generally considered as the team that performs the most attractive and effective basketball in recent years in EuroLeague, the love and appreciation they receive from fans of teams “not named CSKA” is disproportionate to that.
Darussafaka Tekfen
Deliver down the stretch
Darussafaka could’ve been in a much better position than the 1-15 record that has placed them at the bottom of the EuroLeague standings, if they had a bit more luck in crunch time scenarios. They lost the game to Maccabi in the very last second, had a drought in the final minutes vs. Panathinaikos and almost made an upset on the road vs. Khimki Moscow. Against Gran Canaria, they led by 15 in the third period but they collapsed afterward and they were up by 3 vs. Zalgiris with 1:14 left. Thus yes, some help in endgame situations could come in handy.