EuroLeague Power Rankings: only five teams managed to go up / News - Basketnews.com

BasketNews presents the latest EuroLeague Power Rankings, with plenty of changes in the Top 5.

Credit: KK Crvena Zvezda, A.Martinez, T.Adanali, P.Moschandreau, S.Stevanovic - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration Credit KK Crvena Zvezda, A.Martinez, T.Adanali, P.Moschandreau, S.Stevanovic - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration

Before everyone sits at the Christmas table, BasketNews presents the updated Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Power Rankings edition.

Fifteen BasketNews staff members and experts had a say, positioning the teams based on their current form and the potential they got in the foreseeable future.

The clubs received 18 points for the 1st place vote, 17 – for 2nd, 16 – for 3rd, 15 – for 4th, and so on.

For starters, we have five teams going up, eight falling down, and five remaining at their previous spot.

ASVEL made the biggest jump, climbing up by five places. Meanwhile, Partizan fell from 10th place to the 16th spot.

Previous EuroLeague Power Rankings edition

18. ALBA Berlin – 15 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 17th

ALBA's woes continue as the German club suffered its 12th loss in a row on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, ALBA went down to the last place, receiving the lowest number of points possible.

17. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan – 44 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 16th

Olimpia Milan managed to snap their 9-game losing streak after beating Crvena Zvezda and Monaco, but it didn't convince our experts just yet.

The Italian team lost another position in our Power Rankings, and with Kevin Pangos, Shavon Shields, and Luigi Datome being sidelined, there's not much optimism in Milan's camp.

However, those two wins, including a victory from -17 down against Monaco, might be a trampoline to a brighter future.

16. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade – 64 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 10th

Big drop off for the Zeljko Obradovic side, despite two wins against Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes. Of course, it must be noted that prior to that, Partizan had a 5-game losing streak.

Partizan will also have a crucial stretch, facing such teams as Bayern, Monaco, Maccabi, Baskonia, Valencia, Crvena Zvezda, ASVEL, and Zalgiris. If most of those games are won, Partizan's situation in the standings could improve significantly.

15. FC Bayern Munich – 66 points ↔

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 15th

With 15 games in, Bayern are still looking for themselves. Last week Andrea Trinchieri pointed out that Bayern didn't practice for two weeks. Could it be the reason why the Bavarians are last in assists (13.2 APG)?

Maybe, but so far, Bayern are not the team that made the EuroLeague playoffs for two consecutive seasons. However, it's way too early to write off Trinchieri and his squad that could strike at any given time.

14. Valencia Basket – 72 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 13th

With a little bit more consistency, Valencia could aim for the Top 8. After beating such teams as Anadolu Efes, Olympiacos, Monaco, and Barcelona, the Spanish club also suffered defeats against Bayern or Virtus.

Nevertheless, in most cases, Valencia is a tough nut to crack and can cause problems for any team in the EuroLeague.

13. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne – 86 points ⬆

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 18th

Just like on the court, it is a huge jump for the French side in our Power Rankings. After a 5-game losing streak, ASVEL beat Barcelona, Partizan, and Olympiacos. Clearly, it didn't go unnoticed by our experts.

12. Virtus Segafredo Bologna – 97 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 11th

Despite snapping their 4-game losing streak after the wins against ALBA and Maccabi, Virtus lost another position in our Power Rankings.

The fact that Virtus will play Fenerbahce, Barcelona, and Olympiacos in the upcoming four games, along with injured players, also doesn't raise the Italian team's stock.

11. Panathinaikos Athens – 117 points ⬆

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 14th

Recently solid Panathinaikos form didn't go unnoticed. Just before losses against Valencia, Barcelona, and Anadolu Efes, PAO had a 4-game winning streak, beating direct rivals in the table.

Dwayne Bacon's arrival certainly rejuvenated the Greens, and with Marius Grigonis return to the lineup, PAO has another weapon in their artillery.

10. Zalgiris Kaunas – 133 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Ranking: 8th

After a spectacular month of November, the Lithuanian powerhouse slowed down a bit. Zalgiris had a 3-game losing streak that included first home game losses but managed to bounce back by beating Real Madrid and Bayern.

The biggest news was, of course, the official announcement of Kaunas hosting the upcoming Final Four. However, as Edgaras Ulanovas said in an interview with Gazzetta, at this moment, it's just a goal he can only dream about.

9. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv – 135 points ↔

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 9th

After a shaky November, Maccabi achieved 3 wins in their last 4 games and sits in 7th place. Wade Baldwin is yet to return from his injury, and that will definitely improve Maccabi.

So far, the Israeli powerhouse has done well enough to keep their 9th spot in our Power Rankings.

8. Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade – 172 points ⬆

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 12th

Facundo Campazzo didn't step on the court yet, but at the moment, our experts see Crvena Zvezda as a playoffs team.

Of course, the form speaks for itself as well. From November 17, Dusko Ivanovic's team suffered only one loss. Somewhat surprisingly, it came against off-shape Milan, but nevertheless, Crvena Zvezda are knocking on that Top 8 seed, and Campazzo's arrival only strengthens their chances.

7. Baskonia Cazoo Vitoria-Gasteiz – 196 points ↔

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 7th

Baskonia remain the only unbeaten team in December, going past such teams as Milan, Bayern, Anadolu Efes, Fenerbahce, and Virtus.

The offense might have slowed down a bit, but in contrast, the defense also improved, which should be a good sign for the Spanish team. Despite that, Baskonia didn't manage to break into the Top 6, but the gap is much much closer than it was the last time.

6. Anadolu Efes Istanbul – 199 points ↔

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 6th

Just like the last time, Anadolu Efes wobble around the playoffs seed. The back-to-back champions had a 5-game winning streak but were slowed down by Baskonia and Partizan.

However, Ergin Ataman's squad convincingly beat Panathinaikos, Shane Larkin is yet to return, and Efes tendency to do well in the second part of the season keeps them in the Top 6.

5. Real Madrid – 217 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 4th

Despite having an 8-2 record in their last ten games, Real Madrid lose one place in the Power Rankings.

After losing Campazzo to Crvena Zvezda, Real Madrid are still in need for a playmaker. Nevertheless, so far, it doesn't prevent Real from racking victories.

Walter Tavares keeps playing at the highest level, Mario Hezonja also had some flashes, while Rudy Fernandez finally made his EuroLeague season debut. With 4th place in the standings, Real look solid.

4. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul – 224 points ⬇

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 1st

After having a magnificent start, Fenerbahce slowed down significantly. After a 10-1 start, Fener dropped 4 games in their last 5 contests and holds a 3-game losing streak.

Before the game against Partizan, head coach Dimitris Itoudis admitted that the team is in a bad situation.

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to perform at the level we want in the last few games. We should bring our performance back to the level required by this organization and fight as we did a few weeks ago," said the Greek tactician.

However, Fenerbahce still have plenty of reserves left, as Kostas Antetokounmpo just signed for the team, while Nemanja Bjelica has yet to make his season debut.

3. Olympiacos Piraeus – 233 points ↔

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 3rd

One could argue that Olympiacos still lack a little bit of consistency and density they showed last season. Since their 4-0 start, Olympiacos didn't have longer than a 2-game winning streak and sit in 6th place in the standings.

However, seeing what Sasha Vezenkov does and knowing the rest of Olympiacos personnel, it should be only a matter of time before the Reds start firing on all cylinders.

2. AS Monaco – 234 points ⬆

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 5th

Since their loss against Maccabi on October 18, Monaco holds an 8-4 record, which allowed the Monegasque club to make the biggest jump among the Top 5 teams.

Jordan Loyd should also soon be available once again, bolstering Monaco's squad even more.

1. FC Barcelona – 261 points ⬆

Place in the previous Power Rankings: 2nd

In our pre-season Power Rankings edition, Barcelona were 3rd, then they climbed up to 2nd place and finally reached the top.

Slowly but surely, they did the same in the EuroLeague standings. As Sarunas Jasikevicius likes to say, there is plenty of suffering as Barcelona tend to waste its solid leads. On one occasion, it cost a victory against ASVEL.

Nevertheless, whenever Barcelona needed to lock down the opponent, they did it. Whenever they had to outscore the team, they've done it as well. On top of that, Cory Higgins and Alex Abrines just returned to the lineup.

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