EuroLeague Round 2 is in the books.
There is not much time to catch our breath in the middle of the season’s first double-round week, but Round 2 gave us plenty worth discussing.
Six teams are 2-0. Six are 0-2. We saw some eye-catching numbers – individual and team – and two Round 3 games already stand out from the rest.
The 2-0 Club: Partizan!
Panathinaikos, Fenerbahçe, Valencia, Dubai, Olympiacos and… Partizan.
The black-and-whites had a relatively favorable schedule – Olimpia Milano at home and Paris on the road – but they were so widely underestimated coming into the season that not many would have picked them to start 2-0.
And they did not just win both games. Neither required too much drama.
Led by Carlik Jones and backed by excellent team defense, Joan Peñarroya’s team look like they have been together much longer than they actually have.
Panathinaikos, Fenerbahçe and Dubai will surprise nobody at 2-0. Neither, of course, will Olympiacos, who beat Žalgiris in Round 2.
We know what to expect from the team from Piraeus, but Žalgiris showed something in that matchup – the best game of the EuroLeague season so far.
They already look like serious candidates for a direct playoff spot.
Valencia edged Beşiktaş before comfortably beating Baskonia. They look set to be a serious team again, although it makes sense to wait until they face stronger opposition before drawing too many conclusions.
The 0-2 Club: Oh, Maccabi…
While his former team Valencia have made an excellent start, Pedro Martínez is struggling at Real Madrid.
Still, losing in Dubai and then in Istanbul against Efes is hardly a disaster, and Real have not looked particularly bad either.
No reason for alarm just yet.
Virtus, despite two losses, at least look like a team with a clear structure and identity, while Baskonia and Paris have so far lived up to their preseason billing as two of the weakest teams in the competition.
Crvena Zvezda and Maccabi are the other two teams sitting at 0-2.
The concern for Zvezda is that they looked worse against Hapoel than they did in the opener against Žalgiris. And, of course, two home losses hurt more.
But based on expectations – and with the obvious two-game sample-size disclaimer – Maccabi have looked like the worst team in the competition.
At times against Beşiktaş, it looked as though there was no structure or discipline to their game at all.
The head coach remained in place and most of the important players stayed, but losses to ASVEL and Beşiktaş offer very little encouragement.
Some Numbers That Jump Off the Page
Jonas Valančiūnas – 7 assists.
Seven assists from Jonas Valančiūnas. So apparently sending help against him comes with another problem.
Luca Vildoza – 6 steals.
It was hardly unreasonable to expect the Argentine to flourish with a slightly bigger role. So far, he has been rational enough, with just the right dose of his usual madness to help the team.
Vasilije Micić – 3-of-14 from three.
“I got my shots up,” Micić told reporters with a smile after Hapoel’s win over Crvena Zvezda.
“You really let it fly – 3-of-14 from three,” we told him.
“I had no idea how many I took. I was searching for myself the whole game. I haven’t taken that many shots in a long time. It feels good.”
Nadir Hifi – 7 turnovers.
Too many, obviously. But also a pretty good advertisement for Partizan’s defense.
Beşiktaş – 17-of-30 from three.
Maccabi’s defense certainly helped, but Dušan Alimpijević’s team were raining threes from everywhere.
A Quick Look at Round 3
Those of us who love the EuroLeague probably had the same reaction when we saw the Round 3 schedule: finally.
Almost an even split – four games Thursday, six Friday.
My two picks:
Virtus Bologna vs. Olympiacos.
Virtus pushed Fenerbahçe on the road and then lost in Milan in the final second. Now they finally get their first home game.
The reigning European champions are hardly the ideal opponent, but it will be interesting to see whether Virtus can make things uncomfortable – and potentially pull off an upset.
Fenerbahçe vs. Dubai.
Fener’s elite defense against Dubai’s elite offense.
The first real test of Dubai’s lofty ambitions after an excellent start to the season.