EuroLeague Power Rankings: significant Olympiacos surge and tight battle for Top 8 / News - Basketnews.com

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With Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's regular season coming to an end, it's time to have a look at the updated Power Rankings edition.

In the latest Power Rankings edition, our experts had a say, and the positions of the teams are determined on their current form and the potential they got in the foreseeable future.

For starters, we have ten teams going up, four falling down, and only one remaining at their previous spot.

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade made the biggest jump, climbing up by five places.

Since all three Russian teams were suspended until the end of the season, they were not included in this Power Rankings edition.

15. Panathinaikos OPAP Athens ⬆ (16)

Current record: 6-17

Since the last Power Rankings edition, Panathinaikos captured one win and suffered three straight defeats. A single victory does not change the trend, knowing the history of the latest Greek derby edition, where PAO were dismantled by 28 points (73-101).

14. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ⬇ (15)

Current record: 7-17

ASVEL's form continues to go down the hills. T.J. Parker's squad lost three times in a row and now has a total losing steak of eight games. Even the recent return of Elie Okobo could not change the overall picture of the team.

13. Zalgiris Kaunas ⬆ (18)

Current record: 7-18

Zalgiris climbed out of the absolute bottom, claiming the 50% record in the last six games. It seems that Edgaras Ulanovas and Joffrey Lauvergne revived the team, which crushed Real Madrid (68-47) and slipped by EuroLeague leaders FC Barcelona (91-84) at Zalgirio Arena.

12. Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ⬆ (17)

Current record: 10-15

Baskonia gained momentum in the final stretch of the season, winning three consecutive matches. Their two blows came at the start of March by one and three points' margin respectively.

The latter away duels against Maccabi Playtika and Crvena Zvezda cost them badly. Now it's too late to dream about the playoffs spot unless a miracle happens. For that, Baskonia need wins in all three remaining games and a gazillion of other matches must go their way.

11. ALBA Berlin ⬆ (14)

Current record: 9-13

The German powerhouse had a three-game winning streak before the previous round, in which they lost against Baskonia. The defeat was really painful, as a very demanding schedule awaits them in fighting for the Top 8.

ALBA will have trips to Istanbul (two games) and Monaco. Besides, Israel Gonzalez's men are set to take on Barca, Red Star, and PAO at home. Only the latter duel seems like a victory material early on.

10. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ⬆ (12)

Current record: 11-11

The sacking of Ioannis Sfairopoulos did not inspire the squad for big steps forward. The winding Maccabi's road goes on and on all season long.

Since the last edition, the Israeli champs were blown away at Sinan Erdem Dome by 32 points (77-109), edged out Baskonia in the nail-biting ending (94-93), and burned down in Belgrade's hell (77-84).

9. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ⬇ (8)

Current record: 9-13

Paradox: with Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely being out, Fener went on a five-game winning streak, as of now their situation is complicated. De Colo is back and Sasa Djordjevic's team lost three matches in a row versus playoffs contenders such as Monaco, Zvezda, and Efes.

Baskonia, Barcelona, ALBA, Panathinaikos, and Maccabi await the Turkish powerhouse but our experts do not see them making the Top 8.

8. Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade ⬆ (13)

Current record: 11-13

Who could think that Crvena Zvezda will be among the best 8 EuroLeague teams? Looking from the current standpoint, it seems more likely than unlikely.

The Serbian powerhouse went 4-2 in the last six-game stretch and Nikola Kalinic's words "We will try to reach the playoffs" came to fruition.

Everything is in Zvezda's hands, as they meet ALBA, Bayern, Zalgiris, and Anadolu Efes in the upcoming final games. All of the opponents are beatable and that's the only plan for coach Dejan Radonjic.

7. FC Bayern Munich ⬆ (11)

Current record: 12-10

After the Russian clubs have been removed from the competition, it's significantly improved Bayern's position in the standings and gave them a strong boost before the upcoming battle for the Top 8.

Interestingly, since the latest Power Ranking edition, Bayern played only once, losing to Olympiacos 88-98. The main reason for that is the Covid outbreak in the team, but the Bavarians are set to make their return this week.

Covid will be another factor that might affect the German club and its chances of securing a Top 8 finish. However, Bayern are also among the teams that played the least number of games (22), so they will have a little bit more room for mistakes.

6. AS Monaco ⬆ (10)

Current record: 11-13

Monaco currently sit at 8th place, which secures a ticket to the playoffs and a place in the next season's EuroLeague.

However, the principality team also has only four games left, and their schedule is pretty competitive as Monaco will meet Olympiakos, Baskonia, Armani Exchange, and ALBA. Luckily for Monaco, three of those games will be played at home.

On the other hand, current Monaco's form is rather inconsistent. Since January 28, Monaco went 4-3.

5. Anadolu Efes Istanbul ⬆ (7)

Current record: 13-10

Canceled results against Russian clubs had a significant and positive effect on Efes. If many wondered whether the reigning champions would make the playoffs, now they comfortably sit in fifth place.

However, it's still early to celebrate as their remaining schedule is quite brutal. Efes will face Real Madrid, Armani Exchange, Bayern, ALBA (all at home), and Crvena Zvezda away. Furthermore, Efes didn't find their form throughout all season.

Last season, Efes also had a sluggish first half of the season, but in January 2021, they caught a big wave of confidence, which took them all the way to winning the trophy. From January 2021 up until the end of the regular season, Efes won 14 games out of 18, including an 8-game winning streak.

"Last season, we had a big contribution from Sertac Sanli when Pleiss and Dunston were injured," Ataman said last week after the win against Zalgiris. "Unfortunately, this season, we didn't get the same contribution from our young player Petrusev.

"Also, Krunoslav Simon was also a very important player in our system for the last three years. But this season, he has many injury problems. We got a good defensive contribution from Anderson Elijah Bryant, but with Simon, everything was more comfortable for us.

We were playing with three guards. Simon is taller, he can defend play pick & roll. We had a lot of ups and downs this season because of that," Ataman added.

4. AX Armani Exchange ⬇ (3)

Current record: 16-7

Armani Exchange have already clinched the spot in the playoffs, and now their only concern is to improve the position in the standings or at least to maintain the home-court advantage.

Despite their sometimes sluggish offense, Armani Exchange managed to rack the victories with their rock-solid defense, with the exception of last game against Real Madrid, which was lost 88-92.

3. Real Madrid ⬇ (2)

Current record: 18-6

Despite their recent sloppy form, our experts don't write Real off just yet. The Spanish powerhouse had a 4-game losing streak recently, but despite that, managed to keep their 2nd seed for now.

Also, they managed to win two games in a row against Armani Exchange (92-88) and ASVEL (70-58), so most likely that terrible stretch is a thing in the past for Los Blancos.

2. Olympiacos Piraeus ⬆ (6)

Current record: 17-8

A spectacular jump for the Greek powerhouse, and rightfully so. After the Covid outbreak in the team, Olympiacos found their groove once again, winning 6 games in their last 7 meetings.

Olympiacos are only one win away from 2nd-seeded Real, although Los Blancos have a game in hand.

Giorgos Bartzokas' team has three games left against Monaco, ASVEL, and Barcelona. Seeing Olympiacos' current form, it's safe to say that it's still possible to improve their position in the standings.

1. FC Barcelona ↔ (1)

Current record: 19-5

All 15 of our experts picked Barcelona as the No. 1 team, making it a unanimous decision. Just like throughout all season, Barca are showing a consistent form and is a team to beat.

Catalans won 7 of their last 8 games, with the only loss being a surprising defeat against Zalgiris in Kaunas.

With Dante Exum arguably being the best in-season signing, Barcelona are still waiting for Cory Higgins' return, so Spanish champions still have some reserves left.

If Barca win at least 3 of 4 remaining games, they will clinch the first seed. Two victories will also be enough if Real and Armani Exchange lose at least once.

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