By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The VTB League Finals commence today (8/6) with Game 1 between CSKA Moscow and Khimki Moscow. And you can safely expect the following players to lead the way for their teammates, control most of the traffic on the floor, dictate the game’s rhythm and manage most of these attacks in what is expected as a grand “battle of the guards”
Milos Teodosic (CSKA Moscow)
After coping with an injury that kept him sidelined in the quarterfinals against Astana and following a EuroLeague Final Four with top notch individual performances from his part but no team success, Milos Teodosic delivered what CSKA needed in the semis. He averaged 16 points and 3.7 assists while being the top scorer of the “Army Men” in Game 2 and 3.
The upcoming Finals against Khimki Moscow are considered by many as the last games we are going to see from the Serbian playmaking wiz for quite some time, considering the sirens’ call from the NBA. Yet another reason (not that he needs motivation or anything) why we expect him to not only provide for CSKA but, why not, throw some unforgettable shows to help his team win the championship.
Alexey Shved (Khimki Moscow)
The 2016/2017 VTB League MVP was also the indubitable star of the semifinals. Amidst playoffs packed personal performances that have simply been exhilarating (27.6 p.p.g., 5.6 a.p.g.) , Shved led Khimki Moscow to the Finals and the 2017/2018 EuroLeague after overcoming Zenit St. Petersburg 3-2. Shved was particularly immense in Game 2 and 3 scoring 33 (tying his season-high) in the first and then notching 28 along with 6 assists and 4 rebounds on the road to completely turn the tables.
Khimki’s achievement is impressive not only because they lacked home court advantage but also because they came back from a 0-2 deficit. That wouldn’t have been possible without a player of Shved’s caliber, personality and leadership. These qualities are what his teams will need in order to compete against the mighty CSKA, the defending champions which are the absolute and total favorites in the series.
Nando De Colo (CSKA Moscow)
Mr. “MVP” didn’t manage to lead CSKA in the EuroLeague crown, as he did last year, and the repeat so you can easily imagine that his desire to finish the season with a trophy burns even brighter. The French player’s penetrative skills, accurate shooting, and lacerating cuts through the opposing defense stand in the top shelf of the CSKA arsenal in order to bring down Khimki.
He and Teodosic, the “Splash Bros” of CSKA Moscow have a challenge ahead of the match-up against Alexey Shved (and Earl Rowland), which simply feeds them extra. De Colo averaged 13 points and 3.3 assists per game vs Lokomotiv but it’s mathematically certain that he’s going to bring the full extent of his firepower now to win the VTB title.
Earl Rowland (Khimki Moscow)
Rowland saved the best for last in the semifinals against Zenit with one complete performance (19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) on both ends to help his team make it to the finals. He was also the main character behind what was possibly the most decisive play of the match in a sequence that spanned from one end of the floor to the other.
With the score 78-80, 50 seconds remaining and everything up for grabs, he played huge defense on Sergey Karasev, stealing the ball from his hands and hammering it to the basket of Zenit to make it a two-possession game. It was certainly a risk to try and rob the.. “wallet” of Karasev since if he failed, Khimki’s defense would be in disarray. However it exemplified how he used his experience and will to succeed in a defining game-winning play. And his team will crave this kind of material from him in the upcoming Finals.