By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Status, dynamics, form and the significance of results were the criteria for ranking the 16 teams.
Here’s the story so far, with 15 games left for the end of the regular season.
#16 DARUSSAFAKA TEKFEN ISTANBUL
Previous ranking: 16 (-)
Record: 2-13
At home: 2-6
Away: 0-7
Offense-Defense: 75.9-85.1
With 12 defeats in a row, Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul were about to break every negative record in the competition, but fate owed them at least one win and gave it to them when everyone least expected it, against Olympiacos Piraeus (79-75). It’s just that one for the moment, so last place in the rankings is still theirs, as it has been since Round 7. With Toney Douglas having gotten straight to work – he’s now first in the team in points (12.8) and assists (5.2) – Darussafaka like to believe that more wins are not far off. Until then, it will have the EuroLeague’s second-worst offense (although the first with 12.5 offensive rebounds per game), the third-worst defense, and the worst assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), among other things.
#15 BUDUCNOST VOLI PODGORICA
Previous ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 3-12
At home: 3-5
Away: 0-7
Offense-Defense: 72.5-84.3
Four consecutive defeats brought Buducnost VOLI Podgorica back to a harsh reality and made the wins over KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (99-84, Round 7), CSKA Moscow (93-92, Round 9) and FC Barcelona Lassa (67-64, Round 11) look like a distant memory. Now, Aleksandar Dzikic has been replaced on the bench by Jasmin Repesa. Perhaps things would have been different if Buducnost had been able to hold out in the last game against FC Bayern Munich (93-88); the newly-acquired duo of Norris Cole and Goga Bitadze certainly tried. Maybe, too, if the team didn’t also own the worst offense and fourth-worst defense, but you can’t go very far with maybes.
#14 KHIMKI MOSCOW REGION
Previous ranking: 9 (-5)
Record: 5-10
At home: 4-4
Away: 1-6
Offense-Defense: 77.7-80.8
The absence since Round 9 of Alexey Shved, the competition leader in PIR with 25.9, has set Khimki back, so much so that it now sits in 14th place. Three consecutive away losses (72-65 to Bayern, 88-74 to CSKA, 79-63 to Maccabi) didn’t make this team’s mission any easier, while December ended with yet another defeat, at home this time (77-85 to Baskonia). The only win, a dramatic 85-84 decision over Darussafaka, was the least they could do, when their offense has dropped to 77.7 points, giving Khimki both the fourth-worst offense and defense in the EuroLeague. Khimki has also missed Anthony Gill for a few games, as indicated by a league-low 20.0 defensive rebounds per game.
#13 HERBALIFE GRAN CANARIA
Previous ranking: 14 (+1)
Record: 6-9
At home: 4-4
Away: 2-5
Offense-Defense: 81.2-87.9
Against prognostications, a coaching change and the release of Chris Evans, Herbalife Gran Canaria is no bit player in its first EuroLeague season, and might yet take on an important role. Although the end of 2018 may have found the islanders in 12th place, they’re just one win away from the top eight. Now, it will be interesting to see how much commotion they are able to cause, like they did at the beginning (86-94 over AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan) and end (73-66 over Zalgiris Kaunas) of December. In their last win, in fact, they kept Zalgiris very far from their league-worst average in defense. In offense, where they are seventh best, Gran Canaria never had a problem.
#12 MACCABI FOX TEL AVIV
Previous ranking: 13 (-1)
Record: 5-10
At home: 3-4
Away: 2-6
Offense-Defense: 78.0-80.1
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv are 4-4 under the instructions of new head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos, but still has a long way to go. Slowly, at least, the team’s fortunes seems to have started turning with some wins in the final seconds, as happened with Darussafaka (71-73) in Round 11 and Milan (94-92) in Round 15. Just as important, this improvement has come while Jeremy Pargo still injured and Tarik Black out in the last game. Maccabi is hoping that, with a full roster, it can finally improve on offense (fifth-worst) and thereby take better advantage of its fifth-best defense.
#11 PANATHINAIKOS OPAP ATHENS
Previous ranking: 10 (-1)
Record: 7-8
At home: 6-3
Away: 1-5
Offense-Defense: 79.5-80.1
Defeats and problematic performances, even in games that resulted in wins (75-67 over Darussafaka), succeeded one another for Panathinaikos OPAP Athens until the situation demanded a change. This came in the shape of a new coach (Rick Pitino in place of Xavi Pascual), which already at the first opportunity turned out to be beneficial (96-84 over CSKA). Eight defeats in the regular season and three in the previously impregnable Olympic Sports Center Athens were already too many. Nick Calathes (leading the competition in assists with 8.1 and second in steals with 1.7) is still Mr. Do-It-All in the effort to elevate the team’s offense (sixth worst) and defense (sixth worst, with the third-lowest number of defensive rebounds at 20.8). The lowest number of turnovers (10.6) and the highest in steals (7.8) in the competition should help produce more wins.
#10 AX ARMANI EXCHANGE OLIMPIA MILAN
Previous ranking: 7 (-3)
Record: 7-8
At home: 3-4
Away: 4-4
Offense-Defense: 85.9-85.7
December did not go well for Milan. Despite the return of Nemanja Nedovic, the team counted four defeats in five games. The win over Panathinaikos (83-86) was not enough to give Milan an edge over the other teams that aspire to make the playoffs, while its last defeat to Maccabi (94-92) kept it out of the top eight in the standings for the first time. Arturas Gudaitis, ranked fourth with an average PIR of 20.1, and Mike James (fifth with 18.6) continue to perform at very high levels, but now consistency is required by everyone else, too. Much more so when the gap between the offense (fourth best) and the defense (second worst) remains wide.
#9 ZALGIRIS KAUNAS
Previous ranking: 8 (-1)
Record: 7-8
At home: 3-3
Away: 4-5
Offense-Defense: 81.4-80.7
The absences of important players (Nate Wolters, Leo Westermann, Paulius Jankunas, Antanas Kavaliauskas) have not allowed Zalgiris to keep a consistent course, and its last defeat to Gran Canaria (73-66) is characteristic of the situation. Despite that, December was the team’s best month (3-2). A win over Olympiacos (83-75) stood out. Their offense (sixth best) could have been much better without a league-worst 13.3 turnovers, but the defense (ninth best) to a certain extent contains the damage. Brandon Davies (sixth in the competition in the PIR with 18.4) contributes to both.