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EuroCup quarterfinalists are all about team play

05/Mar/19 10:58

ALBA Berlin, Unicaja Malaga, LDLC ASVEL Villerbanne, Morabanc Andorra, Valencia Basket, Rytas Vilnius, UNICS Kazan and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar prove that hero-ball is not enough in the 7Days EuroCup.

By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net

Having a star at the peak of his performance is a blessing, as was the case last season in the 7Days EuroCup when Scottie Wilbekin and Darussafaka proved to be a title-winning combination. Team play, chemistry and overall efficiency, however, have proven to be the much safer road this season.

That’s exactly the case among the current crop of EuroCup quarterfinalists. While the overall numbers of all eight teams are admirable, in almost every instance, they don’t rely on a specific player, but on team effort. Most of the top teams of the competitions are built around team play – and their numbers prove it.

Individual scoring is not enough

Some of the most charismatic scorers in Europe compete in the EuroCup, but putting up big numbers does not always equate to team success.

Out of the top 20 scorers in this season’s competition, only two – Rokas Giedraitis of ALBA Berlin and Raymar Morgan of UNICS Kazan – are still in the running for the trophy. The players on the top scorers’ list are impressive, but 18 of them are already out of the competition.

RANK PLAYER TEAM G. P. AVE.
1 GARRETT, DIANTE Tofas Bursa 10 184 18.40
2 LANDESBERG, SYLVEN Turk Telekom Ankara 10 175 17.50
3 KARASEV, SERGEY Zenit St Petersburg 9 151 16.78
4 BOSTIC, JOSH Arka Gdynia 10 164 16.40
5 HAYES, NIGEL Galatasaray Istanbul 10 157 15.70
6 STIMAC, VLADIMIR Turk Telekom Ankara 10 154 15.40
7 PULLEN, JACOB Cedevita Zagreb 11 168 15.27
8 HAMILTON, JORDAN Germani Brescia Leonessa 10 149 14.90
9 KIKANOVIC, ELMEDIN AS Monaco 16 238 14.88
10 RAGLAND, JOE Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 16 236 14.75
11 MEJIA, SAMMY Tofas Bursa 10 147 14.70
11 ALLEN, BRYON Germani Brescia Leonessa 10 147 14.70
13 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS ALBA Berlin 16 233 14.56
14 COBBS, JUSTIN Cedevita Zagreb 16 231 14.44
15 MILLER, PATRICK ratiopharm Ulm 13 182 14.00
16 GREEN, JAVONTE ratiopharm Ulm 15 208 13.87
17 MURPHY, ERIK Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt 12 166 13.83
18 REYNOLDS, JALEN Zenit St Petersburg 16 221 13.81
19 KADJI, KENNY Tofas Bursa 10 138 13.80
20 MORGAN, RAYMAR UNICS Kazan 10 137 13.70

That doesn’t mean, however, that the eight quarterfinalists are defensive-oriented teams. Far from it. ALBA, Unicaja, MoraBanc, Valencia, UNICS and Lokomotiv are the second to seventh best-scoring teams of the competition, behind only Tofas Bursa.

RANK TEAM GAMES POINTS AVE.
1 Tofas Bursa 10 909 90.90
2 ALBA Berlin 16 1399 87.44
3 Unicaja Malaga 16 1377 86.06
4 UNICS Kazan 16 1363 85.19
5 MoraBanc Andorra 16 1349 84.31
6 Valencia Basket 16 1347 84.19
7 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 16 1336 83.50
8 ratiopharm Ulm 16 1334 83.38
9 Cedevita Zagreb 16 1327 82.94
10 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 16 1315 82.19

The other two quarterfinalists, LDLC ASVEL Villerbanne and Rytas Vilnius, are not far behind, with the Lithuanians scoring 79.56 points per game and the French side averaging 77.25.

How is this possible? Almost four players on each quarterfinal team are scoring in double-digits, proving that in general, good teams in the EuroCup have many scoring options and they are expected to share the ball and the shots.

Rebounding is a team effort

What’s really impressive is that pretty much the same situation exists if you take a look at the rebounds, too.

There’s the notable exception of Luka Sikma of ALBA, who is the fourth-best rebounder of the competition, but in total, just four players from the eight quarterfinalists are included in the top 20 rebounders.

RANK PLAYER TEAM G. TOTAL REBOUNDS AVE.
1 REYNOLDS, JALEN Zenit St Petersburg 16 129 8.06
2 STIMAC, VLADIMIR Turk Telekom Ankara 10 71 7.10
3 AUGUSTE, ZACH Galatasaray Istanbul 10 70 7.00
4 SIKMA, LUKE ALBA Berlin 16 111 6.94
5 FAYE, MOUHAMMAD Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 13 90 6.92
6 HOGUE, DUSTIN Dolomiti Energia Trento 9 62 6.89
7 LUKOVIC, UROS Mornar Bar 10 67 6.70
8 UPSHAW, ROBERT Arka Gdynia 10 66 6.60
9 LANDALE, JOCK Partizan NIS Belgrade 16 104 6.50
10 ABASS, AWUDU Germani Brescia Leonessa 10 63 6.30
11 BILAN, MIRO LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 15 90 6.00
12 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN Valencia Basket 15 88 5.87
13 GABRIEL, KENNY Turk Telekom Ankara 10 58 5.80
14 EVANS, DWAYNE ratiopharm Ulm 13 75 5.77
15 HAYES, NIGEL Galatasaray Istanbul 10 56 5.60
16 HUMMER, IAN AS Monaco 10 55 5.50
17 JONES, JARROD AS Monaco 16 87 5.44
18 SUAREZ, CARLOS Unicaja Malaga 9 48 5.33
19 HAMILTON, JORDAN Germani Brescia Leonessa 10 53 5.30
20 ROBERTSON, QUANTEZ Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt 14 74 5.29

And, once again, the situation is quite different if you look at the numbers from a team perspective, as six of the eight quarterfinalists are included in the top 10 rebounding teams of the competition.

RANK TEAM GAMES TOTAL REBOUNDS AVE.
1 Rytas Vilnius 16 589 36.81
2 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 16 580 36.25
3 Partizan NIS Belgrade 16 577 36.06
4 ALBA Berlin 16 574 35.88
5 Galatasaray Istanbul 10 354 35.40
6 Unicaja Malaga 16 566 35.38
6 ratiopharm Ulm 16 566 35.38
8 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 16 563 35.19
9 UNICS Kazan 16 562 35.13
10 Zenit St Petersburg 16 557 34.81

Andorra is 14th in the list, averaging 33.75 rebounds per game and, surprisingly, Valencia ranks 19th with just 31.75 on average. Still, there’s proof once again that individual numbers at this level are not tied with the total team efficiency.

Sharing is caring

Assists are one individual stat that changes the dynamic- Assists indicate that a team runs like a unit on offense. And contrary to scoring and rebounding, here the tables are turned. Six out of the top 10 passers in the EuroCup this season will compete in the quarterfinals, proving that the old saying about an assist making more than one person happy can apply even to a whole team.

RANK PLAYER TEAM GAMES ASSISTS AVE.
1 GARRETT, DIANTE Tofas Bursa 10 61 6.10
2 RAGLAND, JOE Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 16 96 6.00
3 KALNIETIS, MANTAS LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 15 88 5.87
4 ALBICY, ANDREW MoraBanc Andorra 15 87 5.80
5 COBBS, JUSTIN Cedevita Zagreb 16 88 5.50
6 VAN ROSSOM, SAM Valencia Basket 15 81 5.40
7 HENRY, PIERRIA UNICS Kazan 16 83 5.19
8 PENO, STEFAN ALBA Berlin 15 72 4.80
8 CAMPBELL, TJ Turk Telekom Ankara 10 48 4.80
10 FERNANDEZ, JAIME Unicaja Malaga 15 69 4.60

So, it’s not a surprise that five quarterfinalists are among the Top 10 passing teams of the competition, with ALBA and Valencia stealing the show.

RANK TEAM GAMES ASSISTS AVE.
1 ALBA Berlin 16 369 23.06
2 Valencia Basket 16 346 21.63
3 Tofas Bursa 10 205 20.50
4 Zenit St Petersburg 16 315 19.69
5 Limoges CSP 16 310 19.38
6 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 16 308 19.25
7 Unicaja Malaga 16 304 19.00
8 UNICS Kazan 16 299 18.69
9 Cedevita Zagreb 16 298 18.63
10 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 16 294 18.38

Andorra (18.13) and ASVEL (17.75) just missed the cut, ranking 11th and 13th, respectively, while Rytas is the 20th team in passing, averaging 16.13 assists.

Tags Eurocup quarterfinals
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