3x3 EuroLeague: El Clasico predictions and unlikely trend in Greece / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix, Vangelis Stolis Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix, Vangelis Stolis

As usual, before the upcoming Turkish Airlines EuroLeague round,BasketNews presents a 3x3 EuroLeague edition.

This week, BasketNews' journalists Orazio Cauchi, Uygar Karaca, and Giorgos Kyriakidis, discussed the upcoming El Clasico derby, Olympiakos Piraeus and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens decision to release their players to the national team window, and Andrea Trinchieri's idea on how EuroLeague copies the NBA model.

"It's too much, basically, it's too much," Trinchieri made a comment on a heavy schedule. "We're trying to copy the NBA. I understand - the NBA is the best basketball product, but you cannot just copy the things without having the same stuff."

El Clasico predictions

Orazio: In this case, I see Barcelona as the favorite team to win the game.

Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius' team is in good shape, they won their last three games, and they have almost a full roster available. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is dealing with several absences, and they have recently shown a shaky form in their last domestic games.

If Thomas Heurtel misses the game, it will be a big loss for Real. The French point guard has been an integral part of Real Madrid's success this season, and without him winning against Barcelona will definitely become harder.

As with every El Clasico, anything can happen, but I'm going to put my euro on Barcelona this time.

Giorgos: It's always hard to predict the winner in such games, but certain factors must be considered.

Real Madrid have been unbeaten at home (13-0). Barcelona won by 13 points (93-80) in the first round, and if Madrid wants to surpass them in the standings, they also have to win the tiebreaker.

I'd assign some extra motivation to the hosts because of what happened in previous games this season. Nikola Mirotic had 31 points and 10 rebounds in the first round, leading Barca to an easy win.

Credit Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Real Madrid have brought in Gabriel Deck, who could potentially hold off the Montenegrin forward. Unfortunately for the hosts, Deck, as well as Jeffery Taylor and Adam Hanga, remain sidelined.

This leaves Madrid without three defensive weapons, which can do many things on the court. On the other hand, Barcelona are in good condition and welcomed back Nick Calathes.

Dante Exum has emerged as a key factor in recent games, and he might assume a leading role in that contest. Real have lost to Gran Canaria, Andorra, and Valencia at home in the Spanish League, but Barcelona are no better in this respect.

The main question here is: If it's not Barcelona, then who will prevent Real Madrid from finishing the regular season unbeaten at the Wizink Center?

Uygar: I'll go for Real Madrid this time. I know that Barcelona look more healthy and compact, but Real Madrid still know how to pull this off.

Besides, two losses in succession will make them even more aggressive. Also, Laso did not deny that El Classico was a priority in his mind, not the Fenerbahce game or the loss against Valencia.

As it was many times this season, Real Madrid won and lost the games in their effort behind the 3-point line, and they are rarely as bad as they were against Fenerbahce.

PAO and Olympiakos will allow their Greek players to join the national team. Is this the beginning of a new trend?

Orazio: I'm not so sure that Olympiacos and Panathinaikos' decision to let their Greek players join the national team will start a new trend.

A lot will depend on which players will be called up by the national team. For EuroLeague teams, this situation is increasingly difficult because the schedule is a real mess, and players are forced to play way too many games in such a short span of time.

For example, in Italy, Armani Exchange Milan allowed Davide Alviti and Paul Biligha to join the national team for the upcoming games. However, Alviti and Biligha have basically no minutes in Euroleague, they play mostly in the Italian league.

If the national team had called up Melli, Milano would have never said yes to that request. So, for me, until all the parties involved won't find a common solution for the schedule, this situation will continue, and only certain players will be allowed to join their national teams during the season, while the most important players will continue to sit out.

Credit FIBA

Giorgos:First of all, one must look at the conditions regarding this treaty between the Greek Federation and the two powerhouse clubs. Vangelis Liolios, the man who succeeded former president Giorgos Vassilakopoulos after almost 40 years, has been in charge for almost six months.

During the election period and in the time that followed, one of Liolios' main concerns was to get the Greek national team a new head coach and to make sure that both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos would be willing to let some of their first-class players join the team.

The former owner of Promitheas Patras has built an excellent relationship with the Angelopoulos brothers who run Olympiacos. Furthermore, his efforts for unity have also been facilitated by the fact that Dimitris Giannakopoulos, who had openly declared his opposition to Liolios' nomination and election, has no longer a say in PAO's strategy and policy-making.

Greece will be facing Turkey in back-to-back games that are expected to be decisive for the two teams. It will be interesting to see which Olympiacos players will join the Greek NT just a few hours after one of the Reds' most crucial games in the season, against AX Armani Exchange Milan.

On March 25, Panathinaikos center Giorgos Papagiannis will be playing with his NT in the Athens region of Ano Liosia instead of the OAKA, where PAO will be hosting Red Star. If the Greens were still in contention for a playoff spot, I don't think such a move could stand any chances of taking place.

The same goes more or less for most EuroLeague clubs and their international players. Although Europe is not the NBA, which means lower contracts and less club pressure-monitoring, it's usually personalities like Tornike Shengelia that can transition from one place and game to another in just a few hours to fulfill both their contractual obligations and their patriotic duties.

Overall, I think that EuroLeague players - save some special occasions like the one in Greece - will mostly remain with their respective clubs whenever the national team is playing.

Even if Panathinaikos and Olympiacos seem to be eager to let them go, it's still hard to imagine key players like Shane Larkin, Kostas Sloukas, or even Giorgos Papagiannis skip an important EuroLeague clash to play with the NT.

Credit FIBA Media

Uygar: I don't think so. This might have received the green light for this time, but I wonder what their reactions would be in some different time and context. Especially for Panathinaikos, it's not the end of the world if they lose again.

For Efes and Fenerbahce, it was the same in the previous window. The teams show mutual understanding as long as the other side equally suffers. However, the tensions between FIBA and Euroleague are only swept under the carpet, I believe.

Do you agree with Trinchieri that EuroLeague improperly copies the NBA?

Orazio:Personally, I understand coach Trinchieri's view; he's not the only one to have expressed these doubts. Even coach Itoudis had a similar opinion when he spoke to our website.

If the NBA is really the model to follow, the number of teams has to increase. More teams would mean more games and more chances to have some games off instead of being forced to play every single match like it's a final.

The main issue remains the same, though: with the current format, there's already a certain degree of difficulty in building the schedule, with more teams involved, the situation would only get worse.

Unless the domestic leagues would be willing to renounce some of their teams, but I don't think that will happen soon. I'm afraid we're stuck in a situation which will be really difficult to solve.

Giorgos:I agree with Trinchieri when he says that in Europe, every game is a struggle.

One of the EuroLeague's main goals was to increase the club's revenue. The most obvious and effortless way to accomplish that goal was by increasing the number of games played between the top teams.

Since the continent's first-tier competition turned into a league, more games were squeezed in the schedule, more fatigue accumulated, and more coaches started making complaints.

The Italian coach is also right to point out that quality has been sacrificed on the altar of quantity.

Credit BasketNews/Begum Unal

It's impossible for any team, even those with bigger rosters, to cope with so many high-level games. After all, who will pay for any losses suffered? As usual, the coach will be held responsible for everything. But Trinchieri wrongfully accuses the format of not allowing teams to make up for lost ground.

Until 2012, there was a 10-game regular season and then a 6-game TOP 16 that decided the playoff spots. That makes 16 games. Now, all teams get to play at least 34 every season. As recent history has proven, almost any team can recover from a bad start or a losing streak - provided that more slumps don't get in the way.

The basketball calendar is alarmingly hectic, while COVID has added to the perils players have to deal with. Tanking in Europe is not an option, and if a coach or team fails to deliver, there's always another one to take their place. Travel facilities and amenities, like private jets, are also a rare commodity, mostly reserved for the clubs that can afford them.

Many things that NBA teams take for granted are nowhere to be found in Europe. There is no draft, no salary cap, not even a rudimentary Financial Fair Play in place since all relevant measures have always been extremely lenient and without immediate effect.

The EuroLeague Head Coaches Board and the Players' Association had better consult with each other and present the EuroLeague board with some ideas on how the competition could improve for those involved in it, instead of venting out their frustration in public. Until that happens, we will be only picking up quotes of indignation.

Uygar:I think Trinchieri has a lot of points to agree with.

In addition to the number of games, I think NBA is a different world, a different type of business model where many people watch the teams because of the stars and some games are really expendable in that sense.

People are not really disturbed to see some player open the path against their opponent to make a wide-open dunk.

In EuroLeague, this is something unacceptable to see. Whereas in EuroLeague, the city, the club culture, and a certain style of play are on the foundations of the competition. The games' number expansion brings the intensity down, threatens the players' health, and damages the brand directly.

Besides, in the NBA, you can make up for the fatigue of some players with two-way contracts, G-League support, and sometimes, from the international market.

In EuroLeague, not many players are available in certain quality when the injuries hit hard. The players are less replaceable for the clubs in EuroLeague, and hence, the quality of the games get really down.

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.