Euroleague Top16 Week #2 Notes
Bo McCalebb is first in the league in points per minute (19.0 per 28) while shooting 80.1 TS%, a level of scoring efficiency usually reserved for PnR-bigs who can make free throws or low-usage-high-efficiency three point shooters – players whose shots are created by teammates. McCalebb’s field goals are 67.7 percent unassisted.
Euroleague Liveblog 25/26-01-2012
Real Madrid vs Montepaschi
The trouble with Fenerbahçe
Here’s a cool stat for you: three times this season Fenerbahçe Ülker have allowed their Euroleague opponents to score at least fifty points in the second half. Bad defense, right? Well, it’s not that simple. The Turkish champions are an above average defensive team so far, boasting the sixth-best defensive rating in the competition. This is evident in the first quarter of their games, where, they have kept all of their opponents except Bilbao below twenty points. Simply put, the defense of Fenerbahçe usually deteriorates as the game goes on. The latest example of this trend was their second half collapse at Kazan, when they were outscored 52 to 30 by Unics, squandering a 17-point half time lead.
Rubio: Finally free?
Weird things have been said and written in the aftermath of Ricky Rubio’s arrival in Minnesota.
Rubio is one of the top rookies in the NBA. In his floor time, he is making the Timberwolves a 104.3 offensive rating vs 96.9 defensive rating team while having played minutes with reserves and the starting unit. He is fifth in the league in assist- and steal-percentage. That is the less controversial part.
His 2010/11 season in Barcelona was a poor one. Was the two-year-spell in Barcelona a waste? Quite the contrary.
Euroleague Top16 Week #1 Notes
As far as I am concerned, this is where the competition reaches its pinnacle in entertainment. There is no possession to not play hard since point differential can very well be crucial in pushing you to the quarter finals, if possible, with home court advantage. I found the draw disappointing for a lack of rivalries, but watching four games on Wednesday and Thursday was a quick reminder of why the matchups don’t really matter: There is way too much at stake and way too little margin for error. Whoever is going in unprepared is going to be eaten alive. See Milano.
