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Playoffs on the line as Fenerbahce, Efes meet

Playoffs on the line as Fenerbahce, Efes meet

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4 Lesezeit

Javier Gancedo

Playoffs on the line as Fenerbahce, Efes meet

With just two games remaining in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, a huge game in the battle to make it to the playoffs takes place on Thursday evening (19:45 CET) as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (18-14) hosts Anadolu Efes Istanbul (16-16) at Ulker Sports and Event Hall. Everything is set up for arguably one of the most exciting Turkish derbies in EuroLeague history.

First things first, both teams have the chance to qualify for the postseason, and here is how they can do so. In the case of Fenerbahce, it will qualify for the playoffs if it beats Efes and either Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (17-15) or Zalgiris Kaunas (17-15) loses. That's due to the tiebreak disadvantage Fener has against Baskonia (0-2) and Zalgiris (1-1, -12).

Efes, meanwhile, is eliminated with a loss, regardless of other scores. A win against Fenerbahce, however, would keep Efes in the playoff race due to its 2-0 record against Zalgiris. Baskonia swept Efes, so it wants to avoid any possible tie with the Spanish team, but that's a conversation for Round 34 if Efes wins and mathematically stays alive.

Both teams could end up tied with one another at the end of the regular season, so it is important to keep in mind what happened in their matchup earlier this season. Back in Round 5, Fenerbahce topped Efes 79-88 as it continued its 100% start to the season. Scottie Wilbekin, who is unavailable this time around, led the winners with 25 points. Marko Guduric added 19 while Johnathan Motley had 11. Vasilije Micic scored 19 points for Efes, which was without Shane Larkin.

There will not be much room for tactical surprises, as Efes and Fenerbahce play each other at least four times per season, and up to 18 times in a worst-case scenario, which already can't happen this season. Free throws, however, could be critical if it is a close showdown: Fenerbahce ranks last in the EuroLeague from the charity stripe at 70.8%, whereas Efes is second overall (82.4%).

For Efes, seven players in its current rotation shoot over that percentage, including Tibor Pleiss (91.3%), Elijah Bryant (86.7%), Micic (86.5%) and Amath M'Baye (86.5%). Some of Fenerbahce's main players are somewhat unreliable at the free-throw line, though, such as Nigel Hayes-Davis (74.0%), Motley (68.8%), Dyshawn Pierre (57.1%) and Nick Calathes (33.3%).

Since the then-called Fenerbahce Ulker was put together in 2006, both teams have faced each other 19 times. By far, the biggest edition of the EuroLeague's Turkish Derby took place in the 2019 semifinal at Buesa Arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Efes thrashed Fenerbahce 73-92 behind 30 points from Larkin and 25 from Micic. As many as 10 of the players that featured in that game – seven for Efes, three for Fenerbahce – are still with their respective teams, which shows a lot of continuity. Fenerbahce has a 12-7 winning record against Efes, which has been victorious in six of the last nine derbies.

Now, let's look at the coaches. Fenerbahce tactician Dimitris Itoudis won his second EuroLeague title with CSKA Moscow in 2019, downing Efes 83-91 in the championship game. On the other side of things, Ergin Ataman led Efes to an 86-89 victory against CSKA in the 2021 semifinals. Playing for CSKA, Clyburn was chosen as the 2019 Final Four MVP, although two years later he missed the potential go-ahead shot in the final seconds of the 2021 semifinal. Clyburn now plays for Efes and goes against Coach Itoudis.

No other Turkish teams have won the EuroLeague title, as Fenerbahce lifted the trophy in 2017 and Efes claimed back-to-back crowns in 2021 and 2022. With a playoff berth on the line, this latest edition of the Turkish Derby will be as good as it gets!