Hedge Out Stories: 5 things that stood out from EuroLeague double-round week

Another double-round week came to an end in the EuroLeague, with Olympiacos and Real Madrid making another step towards clinching the top two spots in the standings and the race for the playoffs remaining extremely tight.

That said, here are 5 things that stood out from EuroLeague Round 22 and 23:

Olympiacos plays the best basketball in the league; gets high praise from rival teams

Olympiacos rallied past Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes, completing the double-round week in a perfect way. The “Reds” (16-7) once again showed that their depth and talent are their cornerstone this season.

With Kostas Sloukas and Alec Peters out with inuries, the rest of the lineup stepped up and made the difference. Olympiacos defeated two fellow title contenders and remained on top of the standings and close to getting the ticket to the playoffs early on.

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Surely the most fun to watch team on both sides of the court, the “Reds” received high praise from both Fenerbahce head coach Dimitris Itoudis and Efes head coach Ergin Ataman.

In the triumph over Fenerbahce, the key figure was Isaiah Canaan with a season-high 20 points and a great defensive performance, as he seems to have finally found his role within the team.

Isaiah Canaan had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, since his arrival at Piraeus due to the comparison with Tyler Dorsey. It now seems that these days are through. Coach Giorgos Bartzokas has managed to fit him in the rotation and now Canaan is responding at his best.

Mario Hezonja’s career night helps Real Madrid win it all vs Monaco

Mario Hezonja had a career-high 30 points vs Monaco (11/17 shooting, 6/10 from beyond the arc, six rebounds, six assists, PIR of 34) and his performance was the key point in this game, as Real Madrid survived a late thriller at Salle Gaston Medecin (91-95).

Real knew that if the Monegasques won, they would sweep the season series and have the tiebreaker, hence overtaking the “Whites” in the standings.

In a back-and-forth battle for 40 minutes, Hezonja and co. stood tall and earned a crucial win that lets them retain the upper hand for a Top-2 finish.

Meanwhile, Monaco (14-9) looks way more mature than last year. Their win over ALBA Berlin on Wednesday, a genuine fun to watch and dangerous team, clearly implies that they remain at the highest level and they are looking for more than the playoffs this year.

How newcomer Chima Moneke will adapt to the team’s playing style is crucial, as the Monegasques aim for a EuroLeague Final Four spot this year. Yet, the loss to Real could hurt their chances for a home-court advantage.

Anadolu Efes struggles for consistency amid chemistry issues

Early in the season, there was only one question mark for the back to back EuroLeague champions. How will Will Clyburn fit in the team with Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin?

Efes has been the most unpredictable team this year. On their good night, they can dominate their opponents. Meanwhile, they look fragile and easy to lose to any team when their Big-3 struggles.

Currently outside of the playoff zone (11-12), all that matters for Efes is to clinch a playoff spot. If that happens, who would want them as an opponent en route to the EuroLeague Final Four?

With Clyburn and Micic leading the way and Larkin seeking consistency amid injuries, head coach Ergin Ataman urged his uperstars to show up in big games and up next Real Madrid visits Sinan Erdem Dome (Thursday, February 9) for a must-win game.

Barcelona stays at the upper echelon, but struggles to dominate opponents

Barcelona survived a thriller over Bayern Munich on Thursday (74-73) and remained in the upper echelon of the EuroLeague (third, 15-8).

Yet, they once again showed that they struggle to dominate their opponents and are getting close to major upsets. After 23 games, the majority of their contests has been decided in crunch time, which proves that the Catalans have the way to get the results when needed, despite being inconsistent.

Barcelona has the tools and the coach to get to the end. Winning even in a bad night shows that head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius is passing his mentality to the team eventually.

Sarunas Jasikevicius Barcelona Real Madrid
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball

The EuroLeague playoff race remains tight

After 23 Rounds, there is no doubt that this is EuroLeague’s most competitive version ever. Partizan’s triumph over Zalgiris Kaunas (74-88) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv’s road win over Valencia (93-94) mean that six teams are within one victory for the final two playoff spots.

Zalgiris had the upper hand in the playoff race until mid-January, but they are losing pace lately. The injuries of Isaiah Taylor and Keenan Evans seem to have disoriented the team.

They still have the time to recover and fight for the final two playoff spots, but the loss to Partizan hurt them. The Serbians, meanwhile, have three straight wins and the momentum on their side, as legendary head coach Zeljko Obradovic has started to watch his team play as he wants.

Partizan, Valencia, Zalgiris and Maccabi are tied for seventh and eight on the table with identical records (12-11). Efes and Virtus Bologna are just a win away (11-12), while Crvena Zvezda is also in the mix (10-13), despite losing five of its last six.

Last but not least, Baskonia, the apocalypse of this year’s EuroLeague, a very talented and fun to watch team, except when they play with overconfidence, are sixth (13-10), but know that their playoff spot could be in serious jeopardy if they don’t stay in the winning way.

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