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On Tuesday, the Kaunas team “Žalgiris” will finish the first round of the Euroleague with a match in the German capital Berlin with local ALBA basketball players.
ALBA itself will not be the formal end of the first round, as the fifth round match with Vitorija “Baskonia” is still postponed, but it will be played on the field immediately after the New Year, on January 5.
Currently, with 6 victories and 9 defeats, ALBA occupies 13th place in the standings and is satisfied with its performance since it is a team that was expected to be at the bottom, but the victories achieved and the game on display are far from being the worst in the Euroleague.
ALBA has given a great surprise this season by defeating CSKA in Moscow 93:88. In the ninth round at home after Peyton Sivos’s victorious shot, Wilerban’s USEL lay on his shoulders. Subsequently, in rounds 11-14, the Berliners won four times in a row: against Khimki in the Moscow region (100: 80), Valencia in Valencia (100: 92), Fenerbach in Istanbul (89:63) and Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade (90:84).
The last two rounds for the ALBA team were very unsuccessful: they lost 23 points (69:92) to the Panathinaikos Athens basketball players, who occupy a lower place in the table. Real landed in Madrid last week – 62:91.
The German club currently shows the second worst defense ranking in the Euroleague in the tournament, spending 101.6 points per 100 attacks. Only the outsider Chimki from the Moscow region is defending worse: Rimas Kurtinaitis’s opponents scored 103.6 points per 100 attacks. The long-back Žalgiris is now ahead of up to 5 teams (99.8 points per 100 attacks). Point expression ALBA allows opponents to score 83.6 points and only loses to Chimki (88.3 points) and Panathinaikos (84.1 points).
If we are used to ALBA defending badly but attacking perfectly, it is this season Aito Garcia Reneseso kariauna shows only 15 attack ratings: 93.1 points for every 100 attacks. Only ASVEL (93 points), Chimki (92.8) score worse and Crvena Zvezda (93.1 points) shows exactly the same attack.
Where are the main problems of ALBA? First you have to look at the front line, where the strong height of Landry Nnok was not acquired when he left. Although ALBA is tenth in terms of rebounds and surpasses the same “Žalgiris”, it has problems in defense below the baskets, which determines the excellent double of the opponents: 47 percent. Such a blow against rivals against ALBA is the best of the whole tournament.
A newcomer has arrived Benas Lammersas He played with Arnold Kulboka at RETAbet Bilbao. The 25-year-old, 208 cm tall center is the rookie of the tournament, which was already in full swing when he accumulated 16 points and 23 points in the last two games before the injury; He has not played for a month and is unlikely to play against “Žalgiris”.
The German “205 cm tall” has now become the main “fifth number”. Johannesas Thiemannas. The German is a very unstable player who can score 15 points and 19 points in one game, but shoot 3 points in another game, accumulate 4 fouls and record -2 points. J. Thiemannas is trying to expand the field, but is unsuccessful on 3s (23.8%), does not shine even when attacking from closer range: 47.9%. hit.
A 21-year-old Croat is also included in the rotation Krešimiras Nikičius. The 213 cm tall giant scored 2.9 points and 1.7 balls in 7 minutes, but he is an episodic player.
The most important player in the front row and the whole team is Luke’as Sikma. The 31-year-old American is the tallest in the Euroleague who reads the game best and creates opportunities for others. A few years ago, I was also interested in “Žalgiris”. L. Sikma does a lot of work without losing points: a tall man who finishes a game with 7 or 9 points scores 16 and 19 points, as he fights perfectly for the balls (6 per game) and distributes passes (3.6 on average) . In just 25 minutes, L. Sikma has 9.7 points and 14.5 utility points. It is true, if last season it reached 43 percent. releases, now he realizes only quarterly – 7 out of 28.
The main player P.Siva will miss the match with “Žalgiris”, who has the best attack rate on the field: 98.4 points per 100 attacks. The 30-year-old had caught a very good wave when he posted an average of 18.5 utility scores over the 6-game stretch. The defender has also not competed since last week.
ALBA contains fans of “Žalgiris” that provoke unpleasant memories Jaysonas Grangeris. A Uruguayan who has moved from Vitoria to Baskonia constantly plays good games against the residents of Kaunas: in 2018-2019. The season averaged 15 points and 21 utility points, threw 14 and 20 points early in the season and posted 23 and 21 utility points. It should be noted that the 31-year-old athlete, who spent the entire season last year due to injury, is no longer the player we saw him a few years ago, but he still shows quite good statistics in the Euroleague: 7.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4, 1 effective transfer and 10 utility points.
Erikssonas
It is worth mentioning and Marcusas Erikssonas. The 27-year-old Swede was expected to play the leading role, but suffered injuries: he has only played 8 games so far, and has not been on the floor for 5 weeks and will probably not be against Žalgiris. Eriksson is a sniper who records statistics of 10 points and 7 points in 23 minutes. From a distance this season it reaches 37.8 percent. accuracy.
In the Euroleague, the most sensitive position is that of light forward and here ALBA has an interesting player: They are not Giffey. The 29-year-old, 200cm tall German is a player of the “defense and three points” plan who can move to a much more capable club in the summer. From the perimeter, N. Giffey reaches 45.5 percent. (20/44) accurate, but this season he often attacks from a closer range – reaching 34 points from two points out of 70 (48.6 percent). Note N. Giffey, that in 22.5 min. he registers statistics of 9.7 points, 3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 interceptions and 9.5 utility points.
The newcomer ALBA is also interesting Simone Fontecchio. The Italian had tried the Euroleague bread, but only episodically at the AX Armani in Milan. The forward has scored 16 points this season in the Maccabi Tel Aviv basket, 20 points in a winning match against CSKA or 17 points in the strong defense of Barcelona. In other matches, however, they only hit the double-digit threshold once, and more remain in the shadows. Due to injuries, Fontecchio missed 4 rounds and returned to the pitch last week in Madrid. S. Fontecchio is a kind of “X factor” that can shine in any match.
We can call another “X factor” Maodo The, who did not live up to the expectations placed on him in the ranks of Bayern Munich, so he moved to ALBA. After his studies, the NCAA German was considered an extremely talented defender who can join even the ranks of the elite Euroleague team, but this did not happen. This season, M.Lo is playing a little better than last year (21 minutes, 9 points, 2.2 assists, 6.2 assists), but he is still a player who can only play in individual sections, and disappear completely on the site at a crucial moment. He’s not bad on 3s (36.5%), but he also lacks stability here – after the 4/6 performance he follows the 0/4 game. Either way, he’s a dangerous defender who can hit a lot of 3-pointers when he feels the pitch.
ALBA is undoubtedly the weakest team in the Euroleague on paper, but the peculiar AGRenesis system, liberalism and the confidence that are given to the players give freedom. The Asturian is not afraid to admit that he himself was surprised by the victory over Valencia and to say that “we have overcome ourselves”. Another coach would perhaps speak in this situation to ensure the supposed and expected result. The 76-year-old coach himself will not be there and will be replaced by assistant Israel Gonzalez, 45.
There really is no shortage of Spanish spices on this team, as Marco Baldi is the CEO. He brought the aforementioned strategist to the team, created a pyramid that depended on local players, and gave young players a chance. This is how the Lithuanians Marius Grigonis and Rokas Giedraitis also shone at ALBA, for whom the club received rescues.
ALBA is now afflicted with injuries, without a man. coach, who lost the rhythm of the game a bit and in the pit of play, so for “Žalgiris” it is a great moment to take a victory and finish the first round with 10 wins, which would allow him to seriously think about the place in the quarterfinals. The duel in Berlin will begin at 9 pm.
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