By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
There are more than 60 scenarios regarding which three teams will get the final “golden” tickets. Teams that were previously among the favorites, not only for a postseason place but also possibly home-court advantage, see their fate now depending on other squads and results that they can’t control.
Others are now relevant once more despite being considered just strugglers some months ago. There’s talk about every different situation, combination, and circumstances in this heated race. Here are some of the most interesting quotes ahead of decisive Round 30.
1. Losing the offensive backbone
Olympiacos approached the final, and most crucial, stretch of the EuroLeague regular season minus its top offensive guards when it comes to both scoring and facilitating: Captain Vassilis Spanoulis and Janis Strelnieks.
After a blowout loss to Gran Canaria, Olympiacos coach David Blatt couldn’t help but wonder how different his team’s situation would be with these two players on board.
“We are playing without our two main ball guards. You take the two main ball guards out of any team and I want to see what they do. And this is not the first time we’ve been in this situation. But you’ve got to deal with that, too, sometimes and we’ve got to find a way.”
2. Providing some indirect motivation
Zalgiris Kaunas is alive and well in the battle for a playoffs spot and might enter the postseason for a second season in a row if they beat an injury-plagued Real Madrid on the road and some other results conclude in their favor.
Zalgiris seemed so far out of the race, sitting in 13th place with a 9-15 record and six games left, that two games later, after his team lost in Kaunas, FC Bayern Munich coach Dejan Radonjic wondered if the Lithuanian side still had chances.
“Zalgiris’s chances? I don’t think it’s real. It’s possible? OK,” Radonjic said when he was told him that Zalgiris still had mathematical chances to survive.
The team from Kaunas has kept those slim chances by winning five games in a row now. And who knows, they might get the job done in Madrid.
3. Dreaming big
Coaches and players usually use the standard “one game at a time” quote, especially in situations like the battle for a spot in the 2019 EuroLeague playoffs. Zalgiris Kaunas center Brandon Davies though has learned to dream big, especially after last season’s accomplishment of the Lithuanian team making the Final Four for the first time since 1999.
And he can’t count his team out of anything, in any way.
“We’re still in the mix. I’m not giving up on our team. Obviously, some things have to go well for us. I think we’ve proven that it’s possible. Last year everyone counted us out as well and we made it to the Final Four. Maybe the people that were doing this interview last year, predicting the Final Four… we weren’t in there. You can’t really count anybody out. Our first step is to reach the playoffs, but I’m not counting us out until someone tells us it’s impossible.”