EuroLeague‘s beat: nightmare in Kazan, godly Scottie, and end of Zalgiris suffering / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: D.Repečka, Roman Kruchinin, Seffi Magriso - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration Credit D.Repečka, Roman Kruchinin, Seffi Magriso - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration

BasketNews continues the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague beat edition. Here, you’ll be able to find all the info you need about what happened in the latest EuroLeague round.

Zalgiris’s first win of the season, Neven Spahija’s second debut on Baskonia’s bench, Lucic getting Djordjevic’s credit, ASVEL and PAO plagued by feeble playmaking – all of that and more in EuroLeague’s Round 9 beat.

EuroLeague’s beat Round 10

WIN, AT LAST! It may have taken Zalgiris Kaunas no less than 222 days to finally score a EuroLeague win, but it’s all worth it. The Lithuanian powerhouse needed ten games into the 2021-22 campaign to celebrate for the first time, being 0-9 before Tuesday night.

Coincidence or not, their last victory in the competition was a 93-78 blowout against Panathinaikos at home.

Racking up some season highs couldn’t hurt either.

REFUSE TO WIN. Apart from suffering their fourth straight loss, Panathinaikos are very close to making it one full year without a road win. The Greens have only beaten archrivals Olympiacos in Piraeus and have lost all of their 13 contests outside the Greek borders. Their last triumph came in Milan on December 3, 2020 (80-77). They’ve gone 0-15 after that one.

BEGINNER’S LUCK. Of course, Neven Spahija is anything but a beginner in Vitoria. He actually coached Baskonia in the 2007-08 season, leading the club to the Spanish League title and the EuroLeague Final Four.

Now, another term has just started in the best way possible. Baskonia eased past Crvena Zvezda, largely thanks to a huge (30-10) second quarter. That was the perfect way to snap a four-game losing streak under former coach Dusko Ivanovic.

On top of that, Wade Baldwin notably got above-average playing time, staying on the court for more than 28 minutes. Future will tell if it’s the beginning of a new era for him also.

TABLES TURNED. Baskonia came into that game as the worst offense in the EuroLeague, having scored just 68.0 points per game, whilst ranking 16th on defense, allowing an average of 80.0 points per contest.

The 93 points scored were a season-high for the club while the 74 points given up were the second-fewest Baskonia has allowed in a game this season.

Moreover, Baskonia shined offensively against the team that was ranked first in points allowed. Red Star were giving up just 67.2 points per game.

LUCIC GETS CREDIT. “Even when Bayern lost the game against Chemnitz, Lucic was exceptional. They lost against Monaco, but Lucic was exceptional. He is in great game shape. Tonight he has shown this in very tough shots.

I know him: that’s why I wanted him here [in Bayern], that’s why I was fighting for him for the national team all the time. So, Lucic is Lucic. He should enjoy this moment of his basketball career. He deserved it. Big heart.”

Fenerbahce coach Sasa Djordjevic knows Vladimir Lucic better than most coaches around Europe. So, singing his former player’s praises after a 22-point performance against the Turkish side was only fitting.

TOUGHNESS IS ALL THAT MATTERS. “It was a physical, tough defensive game,” Bayern Munich coach Andrea Trincheri noted. “Unluckily, they lost a few games and we expected a tough game,” Vladimir Lucic added. “We showed toughness. When things got tough, we didn’t fold and we didn’t back down,” Corey Walden concurred.

For the record, the Germans conceded only 63 points to Fenerbahce in a performance that brought to mind their impressive 2020-21 EuroLeague run.

BRICKS GALORE. Nando De Colo scored 2 points on 1/4 2FG, 0/6 3FG. Darrun Hilliard scored 2 points, making 1/4 2FG and 0/5 3FG, logging PIR of -6. Ioannis Papapetrou registered 10 points on 1/8 2FG, 1/5 3FG and 5/9 FT.

Hilliard was the only one to come out victorious despite his season-low performance.

SHOOTING WOES. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul remain the single-worst three-point shooting team in the EuroLeague. They went 4/21 vs AX Armani Exchange Milan in Round 9 and got even lower (3/20) in their loss to Bayern Munich. Who could get them out of the dead-end?

FRENCH NIGHT IN LYON. Fabien Causeur came as close to his scoring career-high as ever, logging 25 points in 18 minutes. Guerschon Yabusele chipped in another 18 against his former team, ASVEL. Nothing could go wrong for Real Madrid as they cruised to another win.

LONELY ELIE. Elie Okobo did almost everything possible to prevent Real Madrid’s imminent road win in Lyon. Proving once more that he’s a bona fide candidate for both the Alphonso Ford and the EuroLeague MVP award, the 24-year-old guard scored 16 out of 24 ASVEL points in the first quarter and 26 overall.

In addition, he dished out 6 out of his team’s 11 assists. His teammates scored a combined 48 points and the outcome of the game was predictable.

TURNOVER MACHINES. For many, the assist-turnover ratio determines a lot in terms of a team’s efficiency. Panathinaikos and ASVEL are the two EuroLeague squads to register a negative balance in that respect.

The Greens from Greece have 133 turnovers and 130 assists, while their French counterparts are even worse (127 assists-142 turnovers). However, TJ Parker’s team are still 6-4, while the Greeks stand next to the bottom at 2-8.

SHABAZZ WHO? While Shabazz Napier remains sidelined, Jordan Loyd is taking care of business at Zenit St. Petersburg.

On Wednesday evening, the American guard finished the game with a season-high 25 points (7/11 2PT, 3/6 3PT, 2/3 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists, and a season-high 33 PIR.

QUIET. One of this season’s gems, Oscar da Silva, was silenced in St Petersburg. Despite playing almost 16 minutes, 23-year-old forward didn’t score a single point (0/1 2PT, 0/1 3PT), grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked 2 shots, and finished the game with 5 PIR.

MAMMA MIA. AX Armani Exchange went to Kazan as the best team of the EuroLeague, but their performance was from the best.

Italian didn’t stand a chance and lost to UNICS 71-97. At one point, the Russian club had a 35-point lead (95-60).

DEADLY TRIO. Isaiah Canaan, O.J. Mayo, and John Brown combined for 61 points.

Canaan was the top scorer with 22 points (2/2 2PT, 6/8 3PT), Mayo added 20 (1/2 2PT, 5/9 3PT, 3/3 FT), while Brown finished with 19 points (7/7 2PT 1/3 3PT, 2/3 FT) and a game-high 27 PIR.

Moreover, UNICS hit 14 3-pointers and tied club's record.

3. This is how many Olympiacos Piraeus scored in the fourth quarter against Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Moustapha Fall made one free throw, while Sasha Vezenkov added a mid-range jumper, but that was it for the Greek powerhouse, which lost the game 69-88.

UNRECOGNIZABLE. That was Georgios Bartzokas’ message after the loss.

“We were very bad both on the offensive and the defensive end. We did not play like Olympiacos. We were very far away from an organized team display, “Bartzokas said after the game.

ON FIRE. Rodrigue Beaubois finished the game with EuroLeague career-high 29 points, including EuroLeague career-high 7 made 3-pointers. French guard also added 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 33 PIR.

“We found Rodrigue Beaubois tonight,” Ergin Ataman noted. “He was very hot in offense with his shots when others missed too much. Micic only scored 1/10; also, Larkin was not shooting well as well. Beaubois gave us a lot when we had a problem in the offense.”

UNSTOPPABLE. Scottie Wilbekin torched Monaco finishing the game with a career-high 37 points (7/10 2PT, 6/12 3PT, 5/6 FT), 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and a career-high 37 PIR.

“I was hitting shots. My teammates did a good job of finding me. It all went well for me tonight,” Wilbekin said after the game.

ROLLERCOASTER. FC Barcelona 81-73 defeated CSKA Moscow after a thrilling second half. CSKA won the third quarter 33-13 and took control of the game, but Barca made a comeback, winning the last period 30-13 to secure a victory.

MACHINE. Nikola Mirotic did his job again, accumulating 21 points (6/8 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 6/6 FT), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 5 drawn fouls, and 27 PIR.

“I always talk to Niko and say that for him, it is really easy to score 20 points. If we want to win big games, everyone needs to do little things. He is so good. He had some bad minutes, but he was able to rise and help us,” Jasikevicius praised his star.

TECHNICAL FOUL. Dimitris Itoudis wasn’t happy with Sarunas Jasikevicius technical foul, stating that the Lithuanian coach broke the game’s rhythm.

“I think it was an important moment of the game. He broke the rhythm with all due respect for my colleague. It is not the same as receiving a technical because you deserved it rather than stopping a fast break. We need to find some answer to this,” Itoudis commented.

TOP Plays of Round 10

Records of Round 10

PIR Scottie Wilbekin

Scottie Wilbekin (37)

Points Scottie Wilbekin

Scottie Wilbekin (37)

Rebounds Steven EnochCredit ACB

Steven EnochAnte Zizic (11 each)

Assists Scottie Wilbekin

Scottie Wilbekin(8)

Steals Jordan Loyd

Jordan Loyd (5)

Blocks Ben Lammers

Ben Lammers (3)

3-pointers made Rodrigue Beaubois Rodrigue Beaubois (7)

Results of Round 10

Zalgiris Kaunas Panathinaikos Athens 76-69 stat » LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Real Madrid 74-87 stat » FC Bayern Munich Fenerbahce Istanbul 71-63 stat » Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 93-74 stat » Zenit Saint Petersburg ALBA Berlin 75-66 stat » UNIKS Kazan AX Armani Exchange Milan 97-71 stat » Anadolu Efes Istanbul Olympiakos Piraeus 88-69 stat » Maccabi Tel Aviv Monaco Basket 95-84 stat » FC Barcelona CSKA Moscow 81-73 stat » Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.