Four unbeaten teams, a winless Real Madrid and early clues about what lies ahead. The season’s first double-round week highlighted the importance of consistency, multiple options and defense.
The EuroLeague’s first double-round week is over, giving us a clearer picture of its teams. Three rounds are too small a sample for firm predictions, but the quick turnaround between games reveals how quickly each team can adapt. Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Valencia and Partizan remain unbeaten at 3-0, having reached the same outcome in different ways.
Panathinaikos showed that it can win convincingly despite significant absences. The 102-79 victory over ASVEL and the 90-67 win against Maccabi featured contributions beyond the usual leading figures, with Lefteris Mantzoukas making the most of his opportunities. Nigel Hayes-Davis’s return gave Zeljko Obradovic another option. The biggest positive is how well the team is functioning as a unit. With all three games played at home, however, its ability to deliver on the road remains untested.
Fenerbahce offered a different example against Dubai. It held its opponent to 66 points, won 76-66 and handed Dubai its first defeat. In a week with limited preparation time, the ability to win through defense carries particular value. For Dubai, the coming rounds will reveal whether it can reproduce the effectiveness of its opening two games away from home.
Valencia, meanwhile, stood out for its offensive production: 111 points against Baskonia and 105 on the road against ASVEL. In France, it overturned a 61-50 halftime deficit, with Nikola Mirotic and TJ Shorts playing leading roles. Partizan showed its own resilience in Munich, recovering from 13 points down to beat Bayern 86-84. Both results underline the importance of responding when a game moves away from the original plan.
Real Madrid already faces more questions. Its 0-3 start came across three consecutive road games, a factor that deserves consideration. Yet the 63 points conceded in the first half against Hapoel illustrated the problem on that particular night. Recovering from 22 points down to take the lead demonstrated Madrid’s capabilities, but the eventual 102-98 defeat exposed its struggle to maintain consistency throughout the same 40 minutes.
Hapoel, by contrast, finished the double-round week with victories over Crvena Zvezda and Real Madrid. Elijah Bryant earned MVP of the Round honors in both Round 2 and Round 3, giving his team a dependable leading performer in two demanding matchups.
Olympiacos received its own reminder in Bologna. Marcus Carr’s buzzer-beating three-pointer sealed Virtus’s 96-94 victory, but conceding 96 points raises questions about the visitors’ overall defensive performance. High offensive production needs to be backed up by comparable effectiveness at the other end, especially in games decided by a single possession.
The coming rounds will test whether these performances can be repeated against different opponents and in different arenas. For now, teams capable of winning in more than one way have reason for optimism. Those relying on isolated bursts already have specific issues to address.
